Every vehicle owner needs to have a license plate on their car. This is a universal rule-breaking which can attract hefty penalties and charges. In the United States, license plate is also called a vehicle registration plate. The history of license plate dates back to 1901. When the first vehicles got on the road, there were no number plates. So who came with the idea to have a license plate?
The First License Plate
New York was the first state that made it mandatory for vehicles to have a license plate in 1901. But, it wasn’t the state agencies but the vehicle owners who made these plates with their initials. The plates during those times were made of iron or leather.
Massachusetts was the first to make state-issued license plates mandatory in the year 1903. Frederick Tudor was the first to get a number plate with number ‘1’. The license plates in the early years were made of iron and covered with porcelain. They had cobalt blue background and the number was written in white. The word MASS. AUTOMOBILE REGISTER was written along the top of the plate.
By 1918, all the states in the US started issuing their own vehicle registration plates.
License plate Issuance Authority
The Departments of Motor Vehicles is the sole authority for issuing all the license plates in the U.S. If a vehicle is being issued to the federal vehicle fleet or foreign diplomats, only then the federal government agency will issue the number plate.
License Plates Nowadays
Over the years, the government has become more specific about the installation of number plates and what all should it include. There has been a rise in the demand of custom license plate frames because these add a more personalized touch to the exterior of the vehicle and help in creating a statement also.
Number plates are mostly made of steel, billet aluminium and other types of materials. Vehicle owners can choose the background, font, size, and color as per their choice.
Last Words
As far as license plates are concerned, we have come a long way from just having the initials of the vehicle owner to having customized colors, text, and other things on the number plate. For those who want their number plate and vehicle to stand out, there could not be a more creative and economical option than a customized license plate.
