I saw a license plate today in a format I have not seen before:
“5X55555”
where “5” is a digit (any digit) and “X” is a letter of the alphabet. (any letter)
Is this a particular kind of plate?
Commercial Plate common on pickup trucks.
Yeah, you automatically get one like that if you register a truck whether it’s for commercial use or not. It’s been like that since at least the '60s.
Really? All numbers, with just one letter? I know commercial plates have seven characters, but I always thought they had three letters and four numbers.
Oh well, thanks guys.
A bit of a clarification. Just recently (in the last year or two) the single letter on truck plates has moved to the sixth position from the second.
It was later than the 60’s. Gerry Brown was govenor when it was changed. You can get standard plates for a pick up if you file a form stating the the truck will not be used to haul anything, like if you keep a camper on the truck. But if a cop notices you hauling anything in the bed he cangiveyou a ticket. Commercial cost more than passenger plates that was why the change was made.
Occasionally I will see pickup trucks with the car’s plate format, #AAA#### when it should be #A#####; and will see a minivan with the truck format, #A##### when it should be #AAA####.
Minivans usually have the ‘car format’ of #AAA####.
I remember a bit of a dust-up some years ago (well, I think I remember it) regarding US-made vs foreign-made minivans. For some reason, the US mini-vans were to be classified as cars while the foreign minivans were to be classified as trucks. Perhaps that had something to do with what echo7tango noticed?
All plates in California have seven characters – unless the car is very old, that is. (Or it’s a personalized license plate. ) Three letters and four numbers is what regular cars get.
California went to 7 characters in 1980 when they went from the 999ZZZ format to the 1AAA000 format (Wikipedia’s page on CA LP history).
(My first car, bought in 1980, had issued plates 1ALW422 until I replaced them with individualized plates - still remember that to this day.)