| License plates are the backbone of the | | | | different plates to cover a variety of different |
| automotive industry. Not only do license plates | | | | vehicles. Those plates are used for classic/historic |
| identify each individual car from state to state but | | | | cars, commercial vehicles, government vehicles, |
| they are also some of the most popular collector | | | | fire trucks, police cars, tractor trailers, buses, |
| items in the United States. Each state has its own | | | | farm equipment, a veteran driver, a handicapped |
| design, layout and state slogan on the plates. | | | | driver and volunteer firefighters. |
| Some states require a plate on the front and the | | | | Aside from there being certain plates for certain |
| back of the car and some states only require one | | | | vehicles, there are also vanity plates for cars. |
| plate on the car, usually in the back. The plates | | | | Vanity plates are specialized plates designed by |
| are usually metallic or plastic and contain a numeric | | | | the vehicle owner. All 50 states and the District of |
| or alphanumeric code that the police use to | | | | Columbia provide drivers with the option of |
| identify each vehicle on the roadways. | | | | designing their own vanity plates for a cost higher |
| Every vehicle on the road must have a license | | | | than regular license plates. Vanity plates are used |
| plate, as required by United States law, including | | | | for a person's name, their pet, their favorite |
| commercial vehicles, motorcycles and some golf | | | | vacation spot, their favorite team or athlete, or a |
| carts. When vehicle owners sell their vehicles they | | | | favorite saying. |
| must remove the license plates from the car. The | | | | Other vanity plates can have team logos and |
| new owner of the car has to register for new | | | | team designs. Some can be purchases to benefit |
| plates, or tags, with the Division of Motor Vehicles. | | | | a charity such as a local animal shelter or to help |
| In the United States, New York became the first | | | | cure cancer. Optional plates include amateur radio, |
| state to require vehicles to have license plates | | | | Eagle Scout, DARE, rotary club and prisoner of |
| beginning in 1901. The catch was that the state | | | | war. |
| did not issue plates; the vehicles owners had to | | | | If required by law to have two license plates on a |
| make their own plates and attach them to the | | | | vehicle, the driver of the car can be ticketed for |
| car. | | | | not having two license plates on their vehicle. |
| The first two states to require license plates on | | | | License plates can be ordered from the Division |
| vehicles and issue them to the vehicle owners | | | | of Motor Vehicles or the Motor Vehicle |
| were Massachusetts and West Virginia in 1903. | | | | Commission, which are run by each individual |
| Standard plates, of definitive sizes, were first | | | | state. In the District of Columbia license plates are |
| issued in 1957 for every vehicle across the | | | | issued by the city government. License plates do |
| country. Their standard size is 12 by 6 inches. | | | | not cost all that much unless the owner wishes to |
| In the United States there are a variety of | | | | purchase vanity plates. |