1957 Format
Cody James Corbett
Special license plates have been issued to collectible vehicles since the late 1950s, with the introduction of antique plates in 1957. Since then several more types of collector vehicle plates have been introduced, with the newest type being plates for historic motor vehicles introduced in 2010.
This section will include the following plate types:
Antique license plates were first issued in 1957, and are issued to unmodified vehicles over 40 years old. According to the Wisconsin DOT website, they are currently only issued to vehicles manufactured before 1945.
Antique plates can only be used for special occasions, such as parades and car shows, maintenance/testing, and storage purposes. Due to these heavy restrictions, many vehicles that qualify for antique plates are registered as collector vehicles.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 57 | 57 Format | 35 293 |
| 60 Format LL Slot |
342 460 |
|
| UL Slot Tab Slots |
532 620 |
|
| UL Slot No Tab Slots |
701 1399 |
|
| UL Keyhole | 1411 1993 |
|
| 67 Format Partial Groove |
2007 2618 |
|
| Full Groove | 2868 3453 |
|
| Partial Groove | 3539 3991 |
|
| Full Groove | 4051 5782 |
|
| 80 | Wide Font Border, Slot |
36 5648 |
| Wide Font Border, No Slot |
||
| Wide Font No Border |
7069 | |
| Narrow Font | 7474 8049 |
Antique motorcycle plates are very rare. Allegedly, they were issued beginning in 1998, and the act that added the type to the statues was enacted in late 1997.
Unlike other motorcycle types, there isn't a standard size antique motorcycle plate known to exist. In the Wisconsin DOT plate guide, large size plates are still listed, and no small size plates have been found. It isn't known if small size plates have been issued or not.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 98 | 19A 78A |
Collector plates are permanent undated plates that were first issued in 1972, and are available for unmodified vehicles 20 years old or older. The usage restrictions are much lighter than on Antique plates, so much so that many people register vehicles that qualify for Antique plates as collector vehicles.
Restrictions on collector plate usage include a requirement that the registrant has a vehicle registered with standard Wisconsin license plates, restricting truck loads to 500 pounds or less, restricting collector vehicle usage to private usage only, and usage restrictions in the month of January, which collector vehicles can only be used for 5 consecutive days with a temporary registration during the month of January. You can read more on this at the Wisconsin DOT website.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 72 | Border and Slot | 5 30956 |
| Border, No Slot | Remakes Known |
|
| No Border Wide Font |
32491 83277 |
|
| Narrow Font | 83859 237229 |
Motorcycle collector plates were likely introduced in 1977. The first plates used a painted border, while later plates used a stepped border like other motorcycle plates of the time.
Three different sequences of plates have been issued, the first being a numeric series running from 9001 to 9999, the second being a single alpha series running from A101 to Z999, then a third sequence running from 1A101 onward. The 1A101 format uses a numbering system where the numbers go from 1A101 to 1A999, then 1B101 to 1B999, and so on, where the first number is currently a constant prefix number. Once 1Z999 is reached, 2A101 will likely be issued.
Like collector plates, motorcycle collector plates use an alpha suffix when multiple motorcycle collector plates are issued to the same registrant.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 77 | Embossed Border | 9001 |
| Debossed Border | 9100 | |
| Embossed Border | A263 | |
| No Border Large Plate |
A320 F457 |
|
| Small Plate | G913 R737 1A179 1C264 |
Hobbyist plates were first issued in 1976, and are available for modified, reconstructed, or replica vehicles at least 20 years old, or in the case of replica vehicles, resemble vehicles 20 years old or older. Usage restrictions are the same as collector vehicles.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 76 | Wide Font Border, Slot |
2 485 |
| Wide Font Border, No Slot |
||
| Wide Font No Border |
593 1095 |
|
| Narrow Font | 1555 22738 |
Motorcycle hobbyist plates were first issued around 1994; reportedly, they have been available since at least 1995, and have appeared in the 1998 Wisconsin plate guide. However, the act adding the plate type to the statues wasn't enacted until 2001, as far as I have been able to find.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 94? | Large Plate | 9051 |
| Small Plate | 9447 9966 |
Historic Military Vehicle plates were first issued in 2010 to solve problems with people registering their miltary vehicles. Historic military vehicle plates are available for all former U.S. military vehicles, and foreign military vehicles 20 years old or older. Usage restrictions are similar to those of antique vehicle plates, with the addition of an allowance for "occasional personal use." You can read more about the specifics of these plates at the Wisconsin DOT website.
A small run of plates around the 16000MV block was mistakenly produced; the numbers should have been around 10600MV rather than 16000MV. Reportedly, 50 of these plates with the incorrect numbers were produced and issued.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 10005MV 109nnMV 16065MV 16070MV |
A very rare plate; the highest number known is number 22 for the series.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1004MV 1022MV |
Vehicle collector plates are passenger plates issued to vehicle collectors who have collector plates on other vehicles. They go on the normal vehicle of the vehicle collector, while the collector plates stay on the antique vehicles.