1933
Jaxon Simms
Distinctive plates issued to buses have been issued in Wisconsin since the mid-1920s. Since the first two bus types city bus and interurban bus were added, several other classifications of bus plates have been added.
In 2004 all bus plates were combined into one "bus" type. Even still, individual types such as school bus can still be identified within this "bus" class with their large inspection stickers and 5-year expiration intervals.
This page includes the following plate types:
City bus plates were issued between 1926 and 1940.
| Base Weight |
Variation | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | G | H | ||
| J | K | L | ||
| M | N | |||
| 26 | ||||
| 27 | ||||
| 28 | C 9 | |||
| 29 | ||||
| 30 | ||||
| 31 | ||||
| 32 | ||||
| 33 | ||||
| 34 | ||||
| 35 | ||||
| 95 H | ||||
| 36 | ||||
| 37 | ||||
| 38 | ||||
| 39 | ||||
| 3-31-40 | ||||
| 1 G | ||||
Like city bus plates, interurban bus plates were issued between 1926 and 1940.
| Base Weight |
Variation | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | G | H | ||
| J | K | L | ||
| M | N | |||
| 26 | ||||
| 27 | ||||
| 28 | ||||
| 29 | ||||
| 30 | ||||
| 31 | ||||
| 32 | ||||
| 33 | 8 E | |||
| 34 | ||||
| 19 M? | ||||
| 35 | ||||
| 36 | ||||
| 37 | ||||
| 22 G | ||||
| 9 M 22 M |
||||
| 38 | ||||
| 31 M? | ||||
| 39 | ||||
| 3-31-40 | ||||
| 1 H? | ||||
| 14 N |
Insert bus plates are issued to charter coach buses. According to the ALPCA archives, insert bus plates have been issued since at least 1934, though not much is known about insert bus plates issued before WWII.
| Base Weight |
Variation | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | G | H | ||
| J | K | L | ||
| M | N | |||
| 40 41 | ||||
| 18 J | ||||
| 41 42 | D 20 | |||
| 42-43 | ||||
| (G) | ||||
| 44 45 | D 17 | |||
| 45 46 | C 24 | D 43 | E 54 E 207 |
|
| F 226 F 319 |
G 376 | H 297 | ||
| J 227 | K 154 | L 104 | ||
| M 58 | N 83 | |||
| 47 48 | 11 C | |||
| 72 J | ||||
| 48 49 | ||||
| 49 50 | ||||
| 50 51 | ||||
| 51 52 | ||||
| 53 | ||||
| H 122 | ||||
| K 203 | ||||
| M 118? | ||||
| 54 | ||||
| N 300 | ||||
| 55 | ||||
| J 1 | ||||
| 56 | ||||
| 57 | ||||
| K 19 | L 8 | |||
| 58 | ||||
| 59 | ||||
| 60 | ||||
| K 10 | ||||
| M 10 | N 189 N 442 |
|||
| 61 | ||||
| 62 | ||||
| N 484 N 550 |
||||
| 63 | ||||
| N 448 | ||||
| 64 | ||||
| N 555 | ||||
| 65 | ||||
| N1089 N1113 |
||||
| 66 | ||||
| N 5 N1116 |
||||
| 67 | ||||
| N 849 N1189 |
In 1967 insert bus plates used the colors and replacement cycles of passenger plates. Unlike other types, insert bus plates were completely undated aside from their stickers, making unissued plates have no date whatsoever.
| Base Weight |
Variation | D | E | F | G | H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | K | L | M | N | ||
| 68 | Full Groove | D 120 D 152 |
||||
| J 10 | N 423 N 1401 |
|||||
| Partial Groove | D 183 | |||||
| 73 | D 158 | |||||
| J 87 | K 24 | N 242 N 373 |
In 1978, along with all other plate types in Wisconsin, the weight classes changed. Bus plates continued to be issued with the same color schemes and replacement cycles as passenger plates, with the exception of the 88 base which used passenger plate colors but didn't use graphic plates until a new 94 base was issued.
| Base Weight |
Variation | C | X | D | E | F 20,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G 26,000 |
H 32,000 |
J 38,000 |
K 44,000 |
L 50,000 |
||
| 80 | DA 55 | |||||
| GA 57 | ||||||
| 88 | FA 139 | |||||
| GA 21 | JA 167 | |||||
| 94 | Narrow Prefix | CB 2 | EB 105 | FB 1 FB 78 |
||
| JB 290 | KB 5 | |||||
| Wide Prefix | FB 123 FB 135 |
|||||
In 2004, all bus types were combined into one "bus" type. Despite them all being one type, insert bus plates are still identified by their use of insert stickers and weight class stickers as opposed to normal passenger stickers in 5-year expiration intervals.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 04 | Avery Sheeting | 1073 B 2351 B |
| 3M Sheeting | 7475 B 19070B |
|
| Avery Sheeting | 25890B 27755B |
BX bus plates are used for privately owned mass transit vehicles. They initially expired in June but since 1962 have carried a constant December expiration.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 56 | BX 102 | |
| 57 | BX 969 | |
| 58 | ||
| 59 | ||
| 60 | BX 7 | |
| 61 | ||
| 62 | BX 568 | |
| 63 | BX 31 | |
| 64 | BX 1313 | |
| 67 | BX 1931 BX 2199 |
|
| 70 | BX 919 BX 1010 |
|
| 74 | BX 306 BX 812 |
|
| 78 | ||
| 80 | BX 45 BX 195 |
|
| 82 | BX 25 BX 125 |
|
| 84 | BX 55 | |
| 86 | [BX 00] | |
| 88 | BX 1 |
In 1988, BX bus plates switched to a 5-year registration cycle.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 93 | BX 161 | |
| 98 | ||
| 03 |
In 2004, all bus types were combined into one "bus" class. BX bus plates, however, can still be identified with their constant December expirations in 5-year intervals and lack of weight stickers.
School bus plates were first issued sometime between 1942 and 1946, with school buses being issued municipal plates through at least the early 1940s. Many early school bus plates used unique color schemes unlike any other plates in the state, particularly the 49 50 base which used orange numbers on a green background.
| Base Weight |
Variation | B | C | D | E | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | H | J | K | |||
| 45 46 | [B 65] | [C 47] | [D 106] | [E 232] | F 36 [F 190] |
|
| [G 55] | [H 14] | [K 3] | ||||
| 47 48 | 83 E | 70 F | ||||
| 49 50 | F 93 | |||||
| 50 51 | Unknown Color |
D 1 |
||||
| 51 52 | F 187 | |||||
| G 220 | ||||||
| 53 | ||||||
| 54 | D 7 | |||||
| 55 | ||||||
| H 75 | ||||||
| 56 | ||||||
| 57 | ||||||
| H 19 H 566 |
In 1958, weight codes were elimiated from school bus plates, and instead used a constant "SB" prefix. In 1962, the expiration month changed from June to December, and in 1970 a small run of "BS" error plates were made.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 58 | SB 1006 SB 1484 |
|
| 59 | SB 609 | |
| 60 | SB 264 | |
| 61 | SB 575 | |
| 62 | SB1769 SB1786 |
|
| 63 | SB 1729 | |
| 64 | SB 2580 SB 4442 |
|
| 67 | Pre-1967 Format |
SB 304 SB 4485 |
| 1967 Format | SB 7158 | |
| 70 | Partial Groove | SB 1331 1499 SB |
| Full Groove | SB 1843 SB 4217 BS 4438 BS 4457 SB 5632 SB 5633 |
In 1973, inspection stickers were added to the plate. Initially the inspection stickers were large stickers similar in size to heavy truck stickers at the time, however from 1976 onward smaller square stickers have been issued. 1978 and 1979 dated plates were issued two inspection stickers for each plate, presumably to cover up the older vertical stickers completely. Finally, expirations shifted from December to June in 1975, with the first June expiration date being in 1977.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 73 | Partial Groove |
316 13167 |
| Full Groove |
15133 | |
| 80 | 1 10050 |
|
| 88 | 1 6199 |
In 1988, the expiration month switched to December again.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 89 | Offset Right |
3872 7512 |
| Right Aligned |
10761 12920 |
|
| 93 | Wide Font | 7817 12290 |
| Narrow Font | 15078 16249 |
Around 2003, the expiration month changed to June yet again. Some plates from the era used a December expiration, others used a June expiration, while others still had a "JUN" sticker overlapping a "DEC" sticker, so it's unknown exactly when the expiration month changed.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 03 | 40135SB 53992SB |
In 2004, all types of bus plates were combined into a single "Bus" type. However, school bus plates can still be identified by their large square inspection stickers and 5-year June expirations.
Even though driver education plates aren't a type of bus plate, I include them here because they are related to school bus plates.
Driver education plates were first issued in 1975, set to expire in 1976. Driver education plates were issued up until 2004, then after that regular passenger plates were issued, expiring in 5-year expiration intervals, though older driver education plates have been validated to at least 2028.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | Border and Slot | A 1611 A 5562 |
| Border, no Slot | A 6090 | |
| No Border or Slot | ||
| 93 | A 7623 | |
| 98 | 1848DE | |
| 03 | 4030 DE 4649 DE |
Driver education motorcycle plates were issued from at least 1975 to 1988. Eric Tanner notes that the 75 base had no space for a sticker, and no dated examples have been known so far.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | C1112 | |
| 93 | C1352 |
Motorcycle plates captioned "rider education" have been found, and it is unknown if it is a continuation of driver education motorcycle plates or if they're a separate type.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 88? |
