The U.S. state of Delaware first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1905. Registrants provided their own license plates for display until 1909, when the state began to issue plates. Beginning in 1910, plates were issued in sequential order from the number 1 upwards.

, plates are issued by the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) through its Division of Motor Vehicles. Only rear plates have been required on standard passenger vehicles since 1945. All plates issued since 1942 can still be used with current stickers. Authorized reproductions of porcelain enamel plates can be obtained through a private vendor,http://www.dehistoricplate.com/ Delaware Historic Plate Company provided they fall within the state's guidelines.

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 in height by in width, with standardized mounting holes. The first Delaware license plate that complied with these standards was issued in 1958.

Delaware allows plate-owners to transfer the rights to display a particular number on their vehicle. The inherent scarcity of low-digit plates has spawned a vibrant secondary market for low numbers.

Secondary market In Delaware, plate number 1 is reserved for the governor, 2 for the lieutenant governor, and 3 for the secretary of state. But all other numbers 4 and higher are allowed to be traded. Additionally, plates up to 87,000 are allowed to display replica porcelain enamel plates. These factors have caused low plate-numbers to become positional goods and status symbols.

Marketplaces have been created to facilitate exchanges. , one such market, Low Digit Plates, has priced five-digit plates in the low-thousands of dollars, and three-digit plates approaching $70,000. Single-digit plates are particularly valuable. Plate number 9 was traded for $185,000 in 1994 (). In 2008, number 6 went for $675,000 ($ in ).

Passenger baseplates This is a list of the plate templates used by Delaware.

1909 to 1942 No slogans were used on passenger plates during the period covered by this subsection. ImageFirst issuedDesignSerial formatSerials issuedNotes1909White on black porcelain; "DEL. 1909" at top12341001 to approximately 1500Serials followed on from those on pre-state-issued plates.1910Black on white porcelain; "DEL. 1910" at top1231 to approximately 9001911White on dark blue porcelain; "DEL. 1911" at top12341 to approximately 13001912White on maroon porcelain; "DEL. 1912" at top12341 to approximately 18001913White on black porcelain; vertical "DEL" and "1913" at left and right respectively12341 to approximately 2000As above, but with "DEL 13" at right2001 to approximately 25001914Yellow on black porcelain; "DEL 14" at right12341 to approximately 32001915Blue on white porcelain; "DEL 15" at right12341 to approximately 47001916White on dark green; "DEL 16" at right12341 to approximately 70001917White on black; "DEL 17" at right12341 to approximately 107001918White on brown; "DEL 18" at right123451 to approximately 130001919White on dark blue with border line; "DEL 19" at right123451 to approximately 131001920Black on light green with border line; "DEL 20" at right123451 to approximately 181001921Red on white with border line; "DEL 21" at right123451 to approximately 208001922Blue on white with border line; "DEL 22" at right12-3451 to approximately23-3001923White on black with border line; "DEL 23" at right12-3451 to approximately25-0001924Brown on white with border line; "DEL 24" at right12-3451 to 20-000;30-001 to approximately39-000Serials 20-001 through 30-000 reserved for commercial vehicles.1925Black on orange with border line; "DEL 25" at right12-3451 to 30-000;45-001 to approximately48-000Serials 30-001 through 45-000 reserved for commercial vehicles and tractor units.1926Yellow on blue with border line; "DEL 26" at right12-3451 to approximately37-0001927Red on gray with border line; "DEL 27" at right12-3451 to approximately40-0001928Black on white with border line; "DEL 28" at right12-3451 to approximately50-0001929Blue on golden yellow with border line; diamond at left and "DEL 29" at right12-3451 to approximately47-0001930Golden yellow on blue with border line; diamond at left and "DEL 30" at right12-3451 to approximately45-0001931As 1929 base, but with "DEL 31" at right12-3451 to approximately48-0001932As 1930 base, but with "DEL '32" at right12-3451 to approximately47-0001933As 1929 base, but with "DEL '33" at right12-3451 to approximately48-0001934As 1930 base, but with "DEL '34" at right12-3451 to approximately47-0001935As 1929 base, but with "DEL '35" at right12-3451 to approximately48-0001936Golden yellow on blue with border line; "DELAWARE – 36" at bottom12♦3451 to approximately 51♦000First use of the full state name.1937Blue on golden yellow with border line; "DELAWARE – 37" at bottom12♦3451 to approximately 53♦0001938Red on silver with border line; "DELAWARE – 38" at bottom12♦3451 to approximately 55♦0001939Silver on maroon with border line; "DELAWARE – 39" at bottom12♦3451 to approximately 58♦0001940Blue on golden yellow; "DEL. EX. 3-31-41" at bottom12♦3451 to approximately 60♦0001941Golden yellow on blue; "DELAWARE 3-31-42" at top12♦3451 to approximately 59♦000

1942 to present ImageFirst issuedDesignSloganSerial formatSerials issuedNotes1942White on black porcelain; "DEL." at top with tab slots to left and rightnone12♦3451 to approximately 87♦0001Measures 5.5" x 9.5". Month/day tab (3/31 in black on white, 6/30 in white on green, 9/30 in white on red, or 12/31 in white on brown) fitted at top left and year tab (even-numbered years in blue on gold and odd-numbered years in gold on blue) at top right until 1963, when sticker revalidation commenced. Issued in pairs until 1945; only rear plates have been required ever since. Authorized modern reproductions allowed.1947Riveted polished stainless steel serial on black painted stainless steel base plate. Base embossed with Delaware on top. Insert space at bottom. Insert format continued as original. none1234561 to 2000001Plates varied in size:5-digit 9.5 x 5.5 in6 digit 11 x 5.5 in.Renewed with metal tabs.1951Riveted reflective white scotchlite painted stainless steel serial on black painted stainless steel base plate. Base plate embossed with Delaware on top. Insert spaces at bottom. Insert format continued as original. none1234561 to 2000001Plates were smaller than the 6 digit plates if they were 5 digits or lower. Renewed with metal tabs.1954Riveted reflective-coated steel serial on black painted stainless steel base plate. Base plate embossed with Delaware on top. Insert spaces at bottom. Insert format continued as original. none1234561 to 2000001Plates with or less 5 digits were smaller than 6 digit plates. Renewed with metal tabs.1958Riveted gold serial on reflective dark blue plate; "DELAWARE" centered at top; tab slots at bottomnone1234564 to approximately 2130001-2First 6" x 12" plate. Validated with tabs until 1963, and with stickers thereafter.1962Riveted gold serial on reflective dark blue plate; "DELAWARE" centered at bottom"THE FIRST STATE" centered at top1234564 to approximately 2620001-2Validated with stickers.1969Screened gold serial on reflective dark blue plate with gold border; "DELAWARE" centered at bottom"THE FIRST STATE" centered at top1234564 to 9999991-2Several variations of the font used for the serial exist. Some replacement plates have riveted numbers.2008Plates have a beveled edge around the plate as opposed to the previous all-flat plates. Notes: 1 The state recycles serials, so they can be found on any base. 2 Serials 1, 2 and 3 reserved for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State respectively. Plates with these serials are blue on gold with the state's coat of arms at the left.

Non-passenger plates Delaware does not use leading zeros on its plates, so serials are composed of a variable number of digits.

ImageTypeSloganSerial formatNotesCommercialThe First StateC123456123456DealerThe First StateD12345Farm TruckThe First StateFT1234HandicappedThe First StateHP12345International Symbol of Access at left.LimousineThe First StateLX1234Motorcyclenone12345"M/C" at bottom left.Pleasure CommercialThe First State123456Issued to station wagons and sport utility vehicles.Recreational TrailerThe First StateRT1234Recreational VehicleThe First StateRV12345State-OwnedThe First StateS1234Street RodThe First StateSR123TaxiThe First StateTX1234Temporary RegistrationThe First StateXA123456Delaware started issuing temporary tags with an all-numeric format, then moved to the letter X as a prefix, then XA, XB, XC, XD, XP then XQ as of June 19, 2021TrailerThe First StateT123456

Optional plates Delaware does not use leading zeros on its plates, so serials are composed of a variable number of digits.

ImageTypeSerial formatNotesCentennial of Delaware License PlatesRemakes of passenger serials:123456Remakes of pleasure commercial serials:123456Issued from October 1, 2008, through December 31, 2009. Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 2008 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first time Delaware was so honored.Disabled American Veterans123DAVDuckRemakes of passenger serials:123456A portion of the proceeds from this license plate's sales benefit Delaware's two National Estuary Programs: the Center for the Inland Bays and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. These funds are used to improve the health of Delaware's coastal waterways, bays, and estuaries.LighthouseRemakes of passenger serials:123456Remakes of pleasure commercial serials:123456A portion of the proceeds from this license plate's sales benefit Delaware's two National Estuary Programs: the Center for the Inland Bays and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. These funds are used to improve the health of Delaware's coastal waterways and bays, or "estuaries."Lighthouse—PersonalizedvariousA portion of the proceeds from this license plate's sales benefit Delaware's two National Estuary Program's: the Center for the Inland Bays and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. These funds are used to improve the health of Delaware's coastal waterways and bays, or "estuaries."Passenger—PersonalizedvariousPurple Heart1234State LegislatorsLegislators' initials:A. B. C.Support PollinatorsRemakes of passenger serials:123456First issued June 2021. Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 2021 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the second time Delaware was so honored.Telephone PioneersTP1234University of DelawareUD1234Volunteer Firefighter1234

References

External links Delaware license plates, 1969–present Low Digit Plates