Vehicle registration plates of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Current series
Slogan	End Taxation Without Representation
Size	12 in × 6 in 30 cm × 15 cm
Material	Aluminum
Serial format	AB 1234
Introduced	August 2017 (2017-08)
Availability
Issued by	District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles
History
First issued	October 1, 1907 (1907-10-01) (pre-district plates from 1903 through September 30, 1907)
v t

The U.S. federal district of Washington, D.C., first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1903. Registrants provided their own license plates for display until 1907, when the district began to issue plates.^[1]

As of 2021, plates are issued by the District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles (DC DMV). Front and rear plates are required for most classes of vehicles, while only rear plates are required for motorcycles and trailers.

Passenger baseplates[]

1907 to 1966[]

In 1956, the United States, Canada, and Mexico came to an agreement with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the Automobile Manufacturers Association and the National Safety Council that standardized the size for license plates for vehicles (except those for motorcycles) at 6 inches (15 cm) in height by 12 inches (30 cm) in width, with standardized mounting holes.^[2] The first Washington, D.C. license plate that complied with these standards was issued three years beforehand, in 1953 (dated March 31, 1954).

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1907–17	White serial on black porcelain plate; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" at top	none	12345	1 to approximately 65000, with gaps	Some serial blocks believed to be reserved for motorcycles.[3]
	1918	Embossed black serial on yellow plate; "DC 18" at right	none	12-345	1 to approximately 38-000
	1919	Embossed white serial on green plate with border line; "D.C. 1919" at right	none	12-345	1 to approximately 46-000
	1920	Embossed black serial on white plate with border line; "D.C. 1920" at right	none	12-345	1 to approximately 55-000
	1921	Embossed blue serial on white plate with border line; "D.C. 1921" at right	none	12-345	1 to approximately 67-500
	1922	Embossed white serial on red plate with border line; "D.C. 1922" at right	none	12-345	1 to approximately 80-000
	1923	Embossed white serial on brown plate with border line; "D.C. 1923" at right	none	123-456	1 to approximately 112-000
	1924	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "DIST. COL. 1924" centered at top	none	12-345	1 to approximately 91-000
	1925	Embossed white serial on dark gray plate with border line; "DIST. COL. 1925" centered at top	none	123-456	1 to approximately 114-000
	1926	Embossed black serial on orange plate with border line; "DIST. COL. 1926" centered at top	none	123-456	1 to approximately 112-000
	1927	Embossed golden yellow serial on black plate with border line; "DIST. COL. 1927" centered at top	none	A-1234	E-1 to approximately V-1000	Letters A, B, C, D, H and R used on non-passenger vehicles. This practice continued through 1934.[4]
	1928	Embossed black serial on golden yellow plate; "DIST. OF COLUMBIA - 1928" at bottom	none	A-1234	E-1 to approximately W-9000
	1929	Embossed golden yellow serial on black plate; "DIST. OF COLUMBIA - 1929" at bottom	none	A-1234	E-1 to approximately Z-8000
	1930	As 1928 base, but with "DIST. OF COLUMBIA - 1930" at bottom	none	A-1234	E-1 to approximately Y-3000
	1931	As 1929 base, but with "DIST. OF COLUMBIA - 1931" at bottom	none	A-1234	E-1 to approximately Z-3000
	1932	As 1928 base, but with "DIST. OF COLUMBIA - 1932" at bottom	none	A-1234	E-1 to approximately W-1000
	1933	As 1929 base, but with "DIST. OF COLUMBIA - 1933" at bottom	none	A-1234	E-1 to approximately X-4000
	1934	As 1928 base, but with "DIST. OF COLUMBIA - 1934" at bottom	none	A-1234	E-1 to approximately X-3000
	1935	Embossed green serial on white plate with border line; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA - 1935" at bottom	none	123-456	57-001 to approximately 191-000
	1936	Embossed black serial on golden yellow plate with border line; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" and "1936" centered at top and bottom respectively	none	123-456	54-001 to approximately 202-000
	1937	Embossed golden yellow serial on black plate with border line; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" and "1937" centered at top and bottom respectively	none	123-456	46-001 to approximately 193-000
	1938	Embossed black serial on golden yellow plate with border line; "1938" and "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" centered at top and bottom respectively	none	123-456	46-001 to approximately 182-000
	January 1, 1939 – February 29, 1940	Embossed golden yellow serial on black plate with border line; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" and "EX-2-29-40" centered at top and bottom respectively	none	123-456	46-001 to approximately 174-000
	March 1, 1940 – March 31, 1941	Embossed black serial on golden yellow plate with border line; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" and "EX-3-31-41" centered at top and bottom respectively	none	123-456	52-000 to approximately 182-000
	April 1, 1941 – March 31, 1942	Embossed golden yellow serial on black plate with border line; "EX-3-31-42" and "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" centered at top and bottom respectively	none	123-456	46-001 to approximately 183-000
	April 1, 1942 – March 31, 1945	As 1940–41 base, but with "EX-3-31-43" at bottom	none	123-456	52-001 to approximately 216-000	Revalidated through March 31, 1944, with black tabs, then through March 31, 1945, with white tabs, due to metal conservation for World War II.
	April 1, 1945 – March 31, 1946	As 1941–42 base, but with "EX-3-31-46" at top	none	123-456	45-001 to approximately 136-000	Only rear plates issued due to ongoing metal shortage.
	April 1, 1946 – March 31, 1948	As 1940–41 base, but with "EX-3-31-47" at bottom	none	123-456	50-001 to approximately 181-000	Revalidated through March 31, 1948, with white tabs.
	April 1, 1948 – March 31, 1949	Embossed golden yellow serial on black plate; "19 D.C. 48" at top	none	1234	1 to 9999	Letters B, C, D, H, L, M, R and T used on non-passenger vehicles. This practice continued through March 31, 1955.[4]
				1-2345	1-1000 to 9-9999
				A-1234	A-1 to approximately N-1000
	April 1, 1949 – March 31, 1950	Embossed black serial on golden yellow plate; "19 D.C. 49" at bottom	none	1234	1 to 9999
				1-2345	1-1000 to 9-9999
				A-1234	A-1 to approximately P-7000
	April 1, 1950 – March 31, 1951	Embossed golden yellow serial on black plate with border line; "19 D.C. 50" at bottom	none	1234	1 to 9999
				1-2345	1-1000 to 9-9999
				A-1234	A-1 to approximately S-5000
	April 1, 1951 – March 31, 1952	Embossed black serial on golden yellow plate with border line; "19 D.C. 51" at top	none	1234	1 to 9999
				1-2345	1-1000 to 9-9999
				A-1234	A-1 to approximately S-2000
	April 1, 1952 – March 31, 1953	Embossed golden yellow serial on black plate with border line; "19 D.C. 52" at bottom	none	1234	1 to 9999
				1-2345	1-1000 to 9-9999
				A-1234	A-1 to approximately P-1000
	April 1, 1953 – March 31, 1955	Embossed dark green serial on white plate with border line; "DIST. OF COLUMBIA" centered at top; "3-31" at top left and "54" at top right	"THE NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at bottom	1234	1 to 9999	Revalidated through March 31, 1955, with dark green tabs.
				1-2345	1-1000 to 9-9999
				A-1234	A-1 to Z-9999
				AB-123	AA-1 to approximately AB-999
	April 1, 1955 – March 31, 1956	Embossed white serial on dark green plate with border line; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" centered at bottom; "3-31" at top left and "56" at top right	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top	AB♦12♦34	AA♦10♦00 to AY♦99♦99; EA♦10♦00 to approximately EA♦99♦99	Serials with B, C, D, H and L as the first letter used on non-passenger vehicles. This practice continued through March 31, 1964.[4]
	April 1, 1956 – March 31, 1957	Embossed black serial on golden yellow plate with border line; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" centered at bottom; "3-31" at top left and "57" at top right	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top	AB♦12♦34	AA♦10♦00 to AY♦99♦99; EA♦10♦00 to approximately EA♦99♦99
	April 1, 1957 – March 31, 1958	Embossed golden yellow serial on royal blue plate with border line; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" centered at bottom; "3-31" at top left and "58" at top right	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top	AB♦123	AA♦100 to approximately SZ♦999
	April 1, 1958 – March 31, 1959	Embossed royal blue serial on golden yellow plate with border line; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" centered at bottom; "3-31" at top left and "59" at top right	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top	AB♦123	AA♦100 to approximately WB♦999
	April 1, 1959 – March 31, 1960	As 1957–58 base, but with "60" at top right	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top	AB♦123	AA♦100 to approximately WK♦999
	April 1, 1960 – March 31, 1961	As 1958–59 base, but with "61" at top right	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top	AB♦123	AA♦100 to approximately WP♦999
	April 1, 1961 – March 31, 1962	As 1957–58 base, but with "62" at top right	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top	AB♦123	AA♦100 to approximately WV♦999
	April 1, 1962 – March 31, 1963	Embossed dark green serial on reflective white plate with border line; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" centered at bottom; "3-31" at top left and "63" at top right	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top	AB♦123	AA♦100 to approximately WV♦999
	April 1, 1963 – March 31, 1964	Embossed black serial on reflective yellow plate with border line; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" centered at bottom; "3-31" at top left and "64" at top right	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top	AB♦123	AA♦100 to approximately XJ♦999
	April 1, 1964 – March 31, 1965	Embossed red serial on reflective white plate with border line; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" centered at bottom; "3-31" at top left and "65" at top right	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top	1A234	1A101 to 9Z999
				1A23	1A01 to approximately 2T99
	April 1, 1965 – March 31, 1966	Embossed black serial on reflective golden yellow plate with border line; "WASHINGTON, D.C." centered at bottom; "3-31" at top left and "66" at top right	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top	1AB23	1AA01 to approximately 2MH99

1966 to present[]

Since November 2000, the standard Washington, D.C. license plate design has featured some form of the slogan "Taxation Without Representation", referring to the unique circumstance that the district's residents face, in which they must pay federal income tax but cannot elect a voting member of the United States Congress.^[5]

Image(s)	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	April 1, 1966 – March 31, 1967	Embossed black serial on reflective white plate with border line; "WASHINGTON, D.C." centered at top; "3-31" at bottom left and "67" at bottom right	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at bottom	123-456	100-001 to 300-000	Validated from April 1, 1967, through March 31, 1968, with stickers.
	April 1, 1967 – March 31, 1968	As above, but without "67"			300-001 to approximately 368-000
	April 1, 1968 – March 31, 1974	Embossed black serial on reflective white plate with border line; "WASHINGTON, D.C." centered at bottom	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top	123-456	500-001 to 999-999
	April 1, 1974 – March 31, 1978	Embossed blue serial on reflective white plate; embossed blue U.S. Capitol dome graphic used as separator; screened red stripes above and below serial; "WASHINGTON, D.C." centered at bottom; "3-31" at bottom left and debossed sticker box at bottom right	"1776 BICENTENNIAL 1976" at top	123-456	100-001 to 500-000	Monthly staggered registration introduced August 1, 1983. All plates replaced between 1984 and 1986.
	April 1, 1978 – March 31, 1979	As above, but with "3-31" on sticker at bottom left (applied during production)	"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top		500-001 to 562-000
	April 1, 1979 – September 1984	As above, but without "3-31" sticker			562-001 to 925-000
	October 1984 – July 1991	Embossed blue serial on reflective white plate; screened district flag used as separator; screened red stripes above and below serial; "Washington, D.C." screened in blue centered at bottom; debossed sticker boxes in bottom corners	"A Capital City" screened in blue centered at top	123-456	925-001 to 999-999; 010-001 to 501-750	Plates with all-numeric serials validated until April 2016.[6] Slogan changed in 1991 in honor of the district's bicentennial.
	July 1991 – April 1997		"Celebrate & Discover" screened in blue centered at top		501-751 to approximately 853-000
	April 1997 – November 2000	As above, but with "Washington, D.C." and sticker boxes at top rather than bottom	"Celebrate & Discover" as above, but at bottom	AB-1234	AA-0000 to AY-9999
	November 2000 – October 2001		"TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION" screened in blue at bottom		AZ-0000 to BA-9999; BC-0000 to approximately BG-1999
	January 2001 – January 2002		"WWW.Washingtondc.gov" screened in blue centered at bottom		BB-0000 to approximately BB-1999	Alternative issue.
	October 2001 – October 2002	As above, but with serial screened rather than embossed, and without debossed sticker boxes	"TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION" as above		BG-2000 to BH-9999; BK-0000 to approximately BP-1399
	January 2002 – present		"www.washingtondc.gov" screened in blue centered at bottom		BJ-0000 to BJ-9999; EA-0000 to present	Alternative issue. EA series began in mid-2010.
	October 2002 – July 2013	As above, but with "WASHINGTON, DC" in blue at top	"TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION" as above		BP-1400 to DZ-9999; EB-0000 to EJ-9999
	July 2013 – August 2017	As above, but with "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" in blue at top			EK-0000 to FN-3999
	August 2017 – present	As above, but with "WASHINGTON, DC" at top as from 2002 to 2013	"END TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION" screened in blue at bottom		FN-4000 to GR-3549 (as of October 10, 2021)

Non-passenger plates[]

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Notes
	Annual Special Permit		Annual plates; unique design each year.	1234-65 TC-1234 TT-123[a]	2009: black on blue 2010: white on green 2011: black on magenta 2012: white on black 2013: black on white 2014: black on orange 2015: black on yellow
	Apportioned		As passenger base, with district flag used as separator in serial, but with "APPORTIONED" in place of slogan	AP-1234
	Bus		As passenger base, with district flag used as separator in serial	B-12345	Current serial sequence began 1974 at B-101; serials became screened at around B-40500. Current highest serial seen: B-52131 (on November 2, 2020).
	Commercial		As passenger base, with district flag used as separator in serial	C-12345	Current serial sequence began 1974 at C-101; serials became screened at around C-68000. Current highest serial seen: C-81200 (on February 6, 2021).
	Dealer		Annual plates; unique design each year.	DLR-1234[a]	2005: white on red 2006: white on blue 2007: black on yellow 2008: black on pink 2009: black on teal 2010: white on light blue 2011: black on yellow 2012: white on dark green
				DLR12345	2013: black on blue 2014: black on maroon 2015: black on yellow 2016: black on grey 2017: black on green 2018: black on red 2019: black on orange 2020: X on X 2021: black on pink
	D.C. Government Fleet			GT-1234[a] -DC 1234[b] -DC 12345[b]	7-digit plates began in August 2013.
	District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority			WASA 1234 DCW 1234	D.C. Water plates replaced WASA plates in October 2011.
	Livery		As passenger base, with district flag used as separator in serial	L-1234
	Manufacturer		Annual plates; unique design each year.	MFR-1234[a]
	Motorcycle			1234M MC123 MT 1234 MR 1234 MC 1234	MT series began in 2002. MR series began in 2010 but was not issued to completion. MC series began in 2012.
	Rental vehicle		As passenger base, with district flag used as separator in serial	R-12345	Many rental vehicles now use passenger or commercial plates.
	Taxi		As passenger base, with district flag used as separator in serial	H-12345 12345-H	Current serial sequence began 1974 at H-101; serials became screened at around H-85500. H-99999 reached early 2011, followed by 00001-H onwards. Current highest serial seen: 05000-H (on January 28, 2019).
	Temporary registration		Orange-red on white cardboard.	12345DA K 12345 N 12345	K series began in 2007. N series began in 2011.
	Temporary registration — motorcycle		Black on white cardboard.	MM 1234
	Trailer		As passenger base, with district flag used as separator in serial	T-12345	Current serial sequence began 1974 at T-101; serials became screened at around T-15500. Current highest serial seen: T-20013 (on May 8, 2020).
	WMATA Transit police		White with black lettering	12345	The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority issues these to itself replacing standard passenger plates on WMATA-owned transit police cars

Optional plates[]

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Notes
	Passenger—low number		Annual plates; unique design each year 2001 to present.	1 12 123 1234	Serials issued: 1 to 1250
	Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority			AKA 1234
	Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity			APA 1234
	Anacostia River environmental protection			ENV 1234
	Bad Boys Club			BBC 1234
	Blue Knights			unknown
	The Children First Foundation	October 23, 2013–present		CFF 1234
	D.C. Firefighters Local 36			FFA 1234
	Delta Sigma Theta sorority			DST 1234
	Disabled American Veteran			DAV123 DAV 123 DAV-1234
	Disabled American Veteran—Disabled			♿DAV 123 DV♿-1234 DV♿-123[a]
	Florida A&M University			FAM 1234
	Fraternal Order of Police District of Columbia Lodge			FOP 123 FOP 1234
	George Washington University			unknown
	Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity			KAP 1234
	Morehouse College Alumni			MCA 1234
	National Association of Black Scuba Divers			UAS 1234
	North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Alumni			ATU 1234
	Omega Psi Phi fraternity			QUE 1234
	Porsche Club of America			PCA 1234
	Prince Hall Family (Order of the Eastern Star)			OES 1234
	Prince Hall Masonic Family			PHA 1234
	Purple Heart Veteran			PH-1234[a]
	Spirit of Faith Christian Center			SOF 1234
	University of Michigan			UMI 1234
	St. John's College			SJC 1234
	Veterans of Foreign Wars			VFW 1234
	Washington Nationals	June 2013–present		NAT 123
	White Stars			unknown

Political types[]

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Notes
	Richard Nixon First Inaugural	1969
	Jimmy Carter Inaugural	1977
	Ronald Reagan First Inaugural	1981
	City Council

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• District of Columbia License Plates, Permits, and Vehicle Registration History
• Washington, D.C. license plates, 1969–present