Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1902

At this early point in the history of license plates in the United States of America, none of the 45 states, territories, or the District of Columbia, was issuing its own plates. The State of New York remained the only state that required vehicle owners to register their automobiles. The system of using the owner's initials as the registration number, begun in 1901, remained in effect. This would change in 1903 when a number was assigned to each owner to display on their vehicle. Across the country the increases in the number of automobiles was being noticed, and there were many cities, like Chicago, that had already begun to require their owners to register their vehicles.

Passenger baseplates In the table below, a light green background indicates that the owner of the vehicle was required to provide their own license plates. These plates are called "prestate" by most collectors. In the prestate era many states only provided the license plate number on a small disc or on paper, and the owner was required to have their license plate(s) made. These early license plates were created from kits that could be purchased at a hardware store, may have been available from automobile clubs or associations, they were forged by blacksmiths or other tradesmen, or the owner may have made their own plate with whatever materials they had on hand. Prestate plates were made from a variety of materials, but most often were made of leather, steel, or wood.

Legend:Regular state issue plate(s)Prestate era plate(s)No plates issued by state or territory

ImageStateDesignSloganSerial formatSerials issuedNotesNew YorkOwner's initialsNoneAB or ABCNoneRegistrations continued from 1901 and were numbered 955 to 2036 (1082 registrations issued).

State registrations The following chart shows the year each U.S. state, territory, and the District of Columbia began to require license plates (prestate) and when they started to provide license plates. In some cases locations did not issue any prestate plates or no prestate plates are known, and this is indicated by the table cell not having a date. Clicking on a state name or a year in the table will take you to those articles.

StatePrestate yearFirst yearStatePrestate yearFirst yearAlabama1911Montana19131915Alaska1921Nebraska19051915American Samoa1924Nevada19131916Arizona19121914New Hampshire1905Arkansas1911New Jersey19031908California19051914New Mexico19051912Canal Zone1910New York19011910Colorado1913North Carolina19091913Connecticut19031905North Dakota1911Delaware19051908Northern Mariana Islands1944District of Columbia19031907Ohio1908Florida19051918Oklahoma1915Georgia1910Oregon19051911Guam1916Pennsylvania19031906Hawaii1922Puerto Rico1912Idaho1913Rhode Island1904Illinois19071911South Carolina1917Indiana19051913South Dakota19051913Iowa19041911Tennessee19051915Kansas1913Texas1917Kentucky1910U.S. Virgin Islands1917Louisiana1915Utah19091915Maine1905Vermont1905Maryland19041910Virginia1906Massachusetts1903Washington19061915Michigan19051910West Virginia1905Minnesota19031909Wisconsin1905Mississippi1912Wyoming1913Missouri19071911

Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1902

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