In the United States and Canada, license plates are issuedby an agency of the state or provincial government (or its equivalent, forexample, the District of Columbia). In the U.S., some Native American tribesalso have their own plates. The U.S. federal government issues plates only forits own vehicle fleet and for vehicles owned by foreign diplomats.
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Generally, the appearance of plates is frequently chosen tocontain symbols, colors, or slogans associated with the issuing jurisdiction.
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In the U.S., where each state issues plates, New York hasrequired plates since 1901. At first, plates were not government issued in mostAmerican jurisdictions and motorists were obliged to make their own. Massachusettsand West Virginia were the first states to issue plates, in 1903. The earliestplates were made out of porcelain baked onto iron, or simple ceramic with nobacking, which made them extremely fragile and impractical. Few examples ofthese earliest plates survive. Later experimental materials include cardboard, leather,plastic and during wartime shortages copper and pressed soybeans.
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Earlier plates varied in size and shape from onejurisdiction to the next, such that if one moved, new holes would be neededdrilled into the bumper to support the new plate. Standardization of platescame in 1957, when automobile manufacturers came to agreement with governmentsand international standards organizations. While peculiar local variants stillexist, there are three basic standards worldwide.
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license plate size: 12 by 6 inches (300 mm by 150 mm)
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Numbering and letteringGenerally, the appearance of plates is frequently chosen to contain symbols, colors, or slogans associated with the issuing jurisdiction. Formats for license plate numbers, which are usually alphanumeric, are designed to provide enough unique numbers for all motor vehicles a jurisdiction expects to register. For example, the small states Delaware and Rhode Island are able to use formats of 123456 and 123-456, respectively, while California uses the seven-character format 1ABC234, and several other populous states and provinces use a seven-character ABC-1234 or ABCD-123 formats.
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. K1 I5 w; a4 Y% X5 d) pIn some states, information such as county of registration or month of expiration is incorporated into the number. The last number on a Massachusetts license plates indicates the month the bearer's registration expires (1234 AB would expire in April, the fourth month; zero is used for October expirations; and X and Y are used for November and December expirations, respectively, on commercial plates and pre-1978 passenger plates), as does the first number or letter on West Virginia plates (1-9 and O, N, and D for January through September and October, November, and December, respectively). In Alabama, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, a one- or two-digit number representing the county of issue begins a license plate number. Standard issue Idaho license plate numbers begin with a single-letter or a number-letter code representing the county of issue.
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" Z6 p* M) A; h& @Several states - Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Iowa, Mississippi, and Tennessee - place the full name of the county of registration explicitly on their standard-issue plates but not as part of the plate serial. Kansas plates carry a sticker bearing a two-letter county code, and Ohio plates a sticker with a two-number county code, but neither is a part of the plate serial. Texas places the county name on the windshield registration sticker but it likewise is not part of the plate serial.
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In most states, plates for vehicles other than passenger cars, such as trucks and trailers, may use different numbering formats, either with or without the type name appearing explicitly on the plate.
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While it is popularly believed that license-plate numbers are assigned randomly, the usual practice is to assign them in ascending order, beginning with a starting point such as AAA-001. Thus, someone familiar with the sequence can determine roughly when the license plate was issued. In a few cases, numbers are assigned in descending order. For example, when Virginia switched to a seven-character for its standard issue in 1993, numbers beginning with AAA-1000 were already in use for extra-cost, optional-issue plates; therefore, the new standard license plates were issued in descending order from ZZZ-9999. The "400th Anniversary" license plates, issued since 2003, are numbered in ascending order from JAA-1000. South Dakota has used the sequence of county population size for the first numbers, and has also experiments with using county abbreviations as the prefix. After Ontario's transition to ABCD-123 in 1997, plates were issued in ascending order starting with AAAA-001. It took close to ten years to exhaust the supply of plate numbers with A as the first digit. In late 2006, plates with B as the first digit were assigned, and have continued from there sequentially.
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1 D1 T' ~( m2 h6 B; ?, r& VThe gradual increase in the use of letters in the serials of license plates has given rise to an increased possibility of unintentional profane or inappropriate words or messages arising from the use of sequential alphanumeric combinations. Thus, numbering sequences generally exclude certain combinations of letters or numbers that would be potentially offensive. Jurisdictions' attention to excluding offensive combinations varies widely, however. In 1986, Waldale, a Canadian licence plate manufacturer, due to a production error, produced an entire batch of New Brunswick plates that began with the letters ASS. The plates were never issued, and were officially scrapped, but many found their way into the collectors' market.
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$ n; F% [2 d% n0 ]! N$ G x% PIn the United States and some parts of Canada, special plates are issued to persons with disabilities having the International Symbol of Accessibility on them, which entitle them to special parking privileges. Alternately, a placard, which in some jurisdictions can be hung from the rear view mirror, is issued and has the advantage of being transferred easily from vehicle to vehicle.
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standard-issue passenger plate serial formats7 w8 Z4 B7 }9 l" \7 ?
| State/Province/Territory | Type | Serial format |
| Alabama | "Stars Fell On Alabama" (coded by county of issuance)6 ^. W# v8 Q v
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0 l1 w) M& O R% o d$ S8 i"God Bless America" | - 0A1234B
- 00A123B
- 00A1B2C (following exhaustion of above format)
- AB12345
- 12345AB
|
| Alaska | "Celebrating Statehood 1959-2009" | ABC123 |
| Alberta | "Wild Rose Country" | ABC 123 |
| American Samoa | "Centennial 2000" | 1234 |
| Arizona | "Grand Canyon State" | ABC1234 |
| Arkansas | "The Natural State" | 123 ABC |
| British Columbia | "Beautiful British Columbia" | 123 ABC |
| California | script | 1ABC234 |
| Colorado | mountain scene | 123-ABC |
| Connecticut | "Constitution State" | 123-ABC |
| Delaware | "The First State" | 123456 |
| District of Columbia | "Taxation without Representation"/ T! d9 ~* x. e- V3 H9 Q3 W
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"www.washingtondc.gov" | AB-12341 P, x( b. `( A6 J, n+ j
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AB-1234 |
| Florida | county name
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! _; t: h4 v, \# @. K. v"Sunshine State" | A12 3BC
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123 ABC |
| Georgia | GEORGIA.gov | ABC 1234 |
| Hawaii | "Aloha State" (coded by county of issuance) | - ABC 123, where first letter is A-G, J, L, N, P, or R-Z (City and County of Honolulu)
- HBC 123 (Hawai‘i County)
- KBC 123 (Kaua‘i County)
- MBC 123 (Maui County)
|
| Idaho | "Famous Potatoes" (coded by county of issuance) | - A 123456 (variable number of digits following space)
- 0A 12345 (variable number of digits following space)
- 0A B1234 (following exhaustion of above format)
- 0A BC123 (following exhaustion of above format)
|
| Illinois | "Land of Lincoln" | A12 3456 |
| Indiana | state coat of arms
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"In God We Trust" | 123ABC* ~3 A4 Z; D3 H3 I: ?6 C% Y6 x' O7 N
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| Iowa | farm scene | 123 ABC |
| Kansas | state seal | 123 ABC |
| Kentucky | "Unbridled Spirit" | 123 ABC |
| Louisiana | "Sportsman's Paradise" | ABC 123 |
| Maine | "Vacationland" | 1234 AB (variable number of digits preceding space) |
| Manitoba | "Friendly" | ABC 123 |
| Maryland | "www.maryland.gov" | 1AB C23 |
| Massachusetts | "The Spirit of America" (coded by month of expiration) | - 12A B30 (1 through 7 for January through July, respectively)
- 123 AB0 (8 for August and 9 for September)
- 1AB 230 (0 for October)
|
| Michigan | "www.Michigan.gov" | ABC 1234 |
| Minnesota | "10,000 Lakes" | ABC 123 |
| Mississippi | lighthouse | ABC 123 |
| Missouri | "Show-Me State"6 w2 \! r- [6 ]# {
& _* b9 `) B) v2 P/ N6 W) J2 Zbluebird (future) | 1AB 23C+ K. e% Q' s2 k: b! l _
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| Montana | "Big Sky Country" (coded by county of issuance) | - 0C-12345 (variable number of digits following divider)
- 0C-1234A (following exhaustion of above format; variable number of digits following divider)
- 00-12345 (variable number of digits following divider)
|
| Nebraska | Douglas, Lancaster, and Sarpy Counties
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5 S+ r' B2 O& Z8 o# m) q( @all other counties (coded by county of issuance) | ABC 1231 c8 Z, o& g- ?+ p3 n2 U
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- 0-A1234 (variable number of digits following letter)
- 0-AB123 (following exhaustion of above format; variable number of digits following letter)
- 00-A123 (variable number of digits following divider)
- 00-AB12 (following exhaustion of above format; variable number of digits following divider)
|
| Nevada | "The Silver State" | 123-ABC |
| New Brunswick | Viking ship | ABC-123 |
| New Hampshire | "Live Free or Die" | 123 4567 |
| New Jersey | "Garden State" | ABC-12D |
| New Mexico | yucca
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7 D+ \& V$ {4 [3 y: j4 J; M$ bhot air balloon | 123-ABC( G* j$ |, `1 A4 @ l; ?
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| New York | "The Empire State" | ABC-1234 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | pitcher plant | ABC 123 |
| North Carolina | "First in Flight" | ABC-1234 |
| North Dakota | "Discover the Spirit" | ABC 123 |
| Northwest Territories | "Explore Canada's Arctic" | 123456 |
| Nova Scotia | "Canada's Ocean Playground" | ABC 123 |
| Nunavut | "Explore Canada's Arctic" | 12345N |
| Ohio | "Birthplace of Aviation" | ABC 1234 |
| Oklahoma | "Native America" with shield
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T/ N) @5 P/ N2 {3 x: f" ]"Native America" with photograph (future) | - ABC 123
- 123 ABC
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| Ontario | "Yours to Discover" | ABCD-123 |
| Oregon | pine tree | 123 ABC |
| Pennsylvania | "visitPA.com" | ABC-1234 |
| Prince Edward Island | "Canada's Green Province"$ a1 `. u9 Y' B! N! `
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"La province verte du Canada" | AB 123, K% O/ S E. y) L5 }
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| Puerto Rico | "Isla del Encanto"; j( _4 ?# j4 C2 z0 W N; b
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"Cincuentenario" | ABC 123
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| Quebec | "Je me souviens" | |
| Rhode Island | "Ocean State" | 123-456 |
| Saskatchewan | "Land of Living Skies" | 123 ABC |
| South Carolina | "Smiling Faces. Beautiful Places."* y! O0 N8 `. Q! p6 ]& o. Y
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"In God We Trust"
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3 e# q d+ J. Y" {3 T"travel2sc.com" (future) | 123 ABC
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ABC 123 |
| South Dakota | "Great Faces. Great Places." (coded by county of issuance) | - 0AB 123
- 00A 123
- 00A B23 (following exhaustion of above format)
- 00A BC3 (following exhaustion of above format)
|
| Tennessee | "The Volunteer State" | 123-ABC |
| Texas | "The Lone Star State" | *ABC-123 |
| Utah | "Life Elevated" with skier6 B9 C2 w& N6 l8 ?
( ?$ o; W) ]! L: n9 S"Life Elevated" with rock formation | A12 3BC1 g; D/ O8 m9 z; p3 J
* Z, p9 A; _4 I/ v$ V; F5 KA12 3BC (first letter progresses backwards from Z) |
| Vermont | "Green Mountain State" | ABC 123 |
| Virginia | "America's 400th Anniversary"" | ABC-1234 |
| Washington | "Evergreen State" | 123-ABC |
| West Virginia | "Wild, Wonderful" (coded by month of expiration) | - 0AB 123 (1 through 9 for January through September, respectively)
- ABC 123 (O, N, and D for October, November, and December, respectively)
|
| Wisconsin | "America's Dairyland" | 123-ABC |
| Wyoming | Devil's Tower (coded by county of issuance) | - 0-1234 (variable number of digits following divider)
- 0-123A (following exhaustion of above format; variable number of digits following divider)
- 0-12AB (following exhaustion of above format; variable number of digits following divider)
- 0-1ABC (following exhaustion of above format)
- 00-1234 (variable number of digits following divider)
- 00-123A (following exhaustion of above format; variable number of digits following divider)
- 00-12AB (following exhaustion of above format; variable number of digits following divider)
|
| Yukon | "The Klondike" | ABC 12 |
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Appearance7 V* ?4 n7 P! {
As pictures below.
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本帖最后由 MichaelHsu170 于 2008-1-26 12:38 编辑 ]
