# Poll: Lowest License Plate Number seen on a Passenger Car **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 12, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643 "2003-12-12T18:42:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643/21 "2003-12-15T16:18:19Z")
Mayor of Jackson usually had a “1” as well. It’d be fun to see if I could get one like that. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643/22 "2003-12-18T04:24:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hirundo82 \* > \*\*Not necessarily. I know a person who has told me his goal when he applies for a license plate is to get the lowest number possible. One of his cars has “3”, another has “8”, and he is definitely not an office holder. This is Virginia as well, BTW. \*\* > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by LifeOnWry_ > \*\* > I have a friend whose license number is 13, but I have seen another car around here with the plate number 4, and another with 18.\*\* It looks like Hirundo82’s friend and LifeOnWry’s friend wins the prize. How in the world did your friend get single digit plates? That seems almost impossible! Does he know someone at the DMV, or was he lucky to get an order in right after some old person died? ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643/23 "2003-12-18T14:59:07Z")
My friend had a personal license place done up with “42”. Yes, he was a HHGTTG fan. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643/24 "2003-12-18T21:13:36Z")
I haven’t seen any low plates in person but I have seen an “A - 1” plate in some car book. I don’t think it was a vanity plate, either. Looked British. ---
**Author:** ![severin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@severin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/severin)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643/25 "2003-12-18T21:35:51Z")
Here in Germany license plates have a pattern, too. It starts with 1-3 letters of the city. F for Frankfurt or M for Munich, then there are up to 3 letters followed by up to 3 numbers. Looks like this: F-OO 100 (that’s my friends). I recently saw F-007, it was a mercedes of course! (I don’t know how you get such a number. Money or something.) Since diplomates have license plates starting with a zero, they can get the lowest. Something like this 0 - 0001., but I’ve never seen this, yet. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Stover9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Stover9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stover9)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643/26 "2003-12-18T21:53:38Z")
I saw on the news awhile back where the state of Illinois was going to cuction off license plate numbers to raise state revenue. Of course, this was a travesty to many older folk, who had had the same plate numbers (such as “1” or “7”) for several decades. It was part of who they are, and now these political bastards want to take it away from them! ---
**Author:** ![Stover9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Stover9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stover9)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643/27 "2003-12-18T21:56:42Z")
er…that’s supposed to be “auction” not “cuction” . . . . . . and I like the 42 idea, Anonmymous C… ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643/28 "2003-12-19T16:11:02Z")
Pennsylvania has specialty license plates that start with a two-letter prefix, then 5 digits. I saw one once that went 00007. ---
**Author:** ![manwithaplan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@manwithaplan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manwithaplan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643/29 "2003-12-19T16:15:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfje \* > \*\*Here in ireland, a number plate starts with the year the car is made (currently 03), then 1 or 2 letters denoting the city in which it is registered (D for Dublin, C for Cork, L for Limerick…you get the drift), followed by the actual registration number. Cuppla days ago I saw this plate: > > 00 D 2 > lowest I’ve ever seen. \*\* I’ve seen the Mayor of Dublin’s official car a few times, which is always given the first number. ---
**Author:** ![manwithaplan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@manwithaplan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manwithaplan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643/30 "2003-12-19T16:17:23Z")
Sorry - that sounded a bit “na na na na na”. ---
**Author:** ![Hirundo82](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/919ad9/32.png) [@Hirundo82](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirundo82)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643/31 "2003-12-19T21:11:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stink Fish Pot \* > \*\*It looks like Hirundo82’s friend and LifeOnWry’s friend wins the prize. How in the world did your friend get single digit plates? That seems almost impossible! Does he know someone at the DMV, or was he lucky to get an order in right after some old person died? \*\* Actually, now that I think about it his sister does manage the DMV office in the town where he lives. That might have something to do with it; I guess I just never connected it before. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643/32 "2003-12-20T03:35:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hirundo82 \* > \*\*Actually, now that I think about it his sister does manage the DMV office in the town where he lives. That might have something to do with it; I guess I just never connected it before. \*\* Yeah, I would say that has **everything** to do with it. She can quickly check the registration files and see if anyone has died or not renewed a number with a couple of keystrokes. The normal Virginian would have to call and/or use a website. And those low numbers are grabbed as soon as they become available. So having a friend (or relative) in the right place is a huge advantage. The bastard! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-lowest-license-plate-number-seen-on-a-passenger-car/218643.md?page=1)