Cody James Corbett
Wisconsin issues two different types of "special" license plates: one is used for special vehicles, and one is optional-issue special passenger plate types.
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Special vehicle license plates have been issued since the mid-1950s, and initially encompassed many special-use vehicle classes, ranging from excavating vehicles to carnival vehicles to organizational vehicles. However, around the mid-2000s most of these special vehicle plates were discontinued and replaced with "restricted use" stickers on other plate types, though organizational vehicles still receive "special-X" plates to this day.
This section will include the following plate types:
"Special" license plates with strange serial formats are listed in registration figures for 1929 and 1931. No plates or formats have been found yet, and only 11 plates are documented to ever have been issued.
| Base Weight |
Variation | C |
D |
E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | [C 5 X] | [E 3 X] | ||
| 30 | ||||
| 31 | [1 C X?] | [E 1 X?] |
Special-UX plates have been issued since at least 1956. Special-UX plates are used for trucks and trailers with permanently mounted special equipment, qualifying for reduced-fee registrations.
Initially, from 1957 to 1959, at least some plates were issued in pairs; 1 pair is known for 1957 (UX 3744), 2 pairs are known for 1958, and one pair is known for 1959 (UX 3339). In 1960, pairs were discontinued and all plates were issued singly from that point onward. It currently isn't known if 1956 plates were also issued in pairs or not, since there is no documentation of these plates before 1957.
Interestingly, the only 1956 plate known has a "JUL" date as opposed to the normal "JUN" date that other plates in the state used.
Like other "insert" type plates that didn't receive insert tabs, a "DEC 62" sticker was issued on the 1962 base to extend the base from a fiscal year cycle to a calendar year cycle. Additionally, unlike almost all other types in the state, 74 base plates received "76" dated stickers when all other plate types were staggered between varying months of the year; trucks jumped from December 1975 to January 1977, while farm plates jumped from 1975 to February 1977, for example. Semi trailer plates issued a new base for 1976, however special-UX plates continued using the 74 base through 1977, and since they retained their December expiration cycle, they were issued "DEC 76" stickers. Interestingly enough, the 76 stickers are the same color as "77" dated stickers that were issued to every other non-passenger type at the time; this pattern continued through 1981.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 56 | UX 1133 | |
| 57 | UX 353 UX 3744 |
|
| 58 | UX 4 UX 3948 |
|
| 59 | UX 6 UX 4447 |
|
| 60 | UX 663 UX 2177 |
|
| 61 | UX 652 UX 3236 |
|
| 62 | UX 1372 | |
| 63 | UX 601 UX 4704 |
|
| 64 | UX 131 UX 947 |
|
| 65 | UX 1184 UX 5326 |
|
| 67 | UX 1104 UX 4698 |
|
| 70 | UX 5476 UX 9856 |
|
| 74 | UX 1127 UX 8921 |
|
| 78 | 5579 UX |
In 1980, special-UX plates gained weight class codes in their numbers like many other types at the time. It appears that weight classes for these plates used the same weight classes as heavy truck plates at the time, however DOT plate guides during the 1980s listed all vehicle weights below 20,000lbs. as receiving "EX" code special-UX plates. Guides from the 1990s show weights down to the "XX" code of 10,000lbs., so it's likely they used heavy truck weights and the earlier guides were inaccurate.
| Base Weight |
Variation | D 12,000 |
E 16,000 |
F 20,000 |
G 26,000 |
H 32,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J 38,000 |
K 44,000 |
L 50,000 |
N 56,000 |
P 62,000 |
||
| Q 68,000 |
R 73,000 |
S 76,000 |
T 80,000 |
|||
| 80 | EX 46 EX 508 |
GX 22 | ||||
| KX 26 KX 55 |
NX 20 | |||||
| TX 13 TX 16 |
||||||
| 82 | DX 30 | EX 403 EX 1025 |
FX 41 FX 319 |
|||
| LX 262 | ||||||
| RX 81 | SX 59 | TX 133 TX 136 |
||||
| 84 | EX 120 EX 220 |
GX 133 GX 633 |
||||
| JX 161 | LX 103 | NX 138 | ||||
| RX 36 | SX 22 | TX 159 TX 313 |
||||
| 86 | EX 306 EX 818 |
GX 785 | ||||
| RX 2 RX 25 |
||||||
| 88 | EX 38 | |||||
| 90 | DX 200 DX 230 |
EX 398 | FX 588 | HX 385 | ||
| LX 71 | NX 38 | |||||
The M weight class was added in 1992. The X weight class has been seen in DMV plate guides in 2002, though it is unknown if these plates actually exist or not.
| Base Weight |
Variation | X 10,000 |
D 12,000 |
E 16,000 |
F 20,000 |
G 26,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H 32,000 |
J 38,000 |
K 44,000 |
L 50,000 |
M 54,000 |
||
| N 56,000 |
P 62,000 |
Q 68,000 |
R 73,000 |
S 76,000 |
||
| T 80,000 |
||||||
| 92 | DX 309 | EX 547 | FX 290 | GX 749 | ||
| HX 43 | ||||||
| 94 | Wide Font | EX 1215 | FX 1010 | |||
| HX 1225 | MX 1015 | |||||
| QX 1017 | ||||||
| TX 1198 TX 1199 |
||||||
| Narrow Font Narrow Prefix |
||||||
| Narrow Font Wide Prefix |
GX 2043 | |||||
Special-X plates were allegedly started in 1956, but 1954 and 1955 plates have been confirmed. Special-X plates are issued to "special use" vehicles, like some buses, red cross vehicles, special vehicles in parades, and fire department vehicles.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 54 | 129 X | |
| 55 | 69 X 142 X |
|
| 56 | 100 X 198 X |
|
| 57 | 204 X 448 X |
|
| 58 | 105 X 419 X |
|
| 59 | 170 X 594 X |
|
| 60 | 445 X | |
| 61 | ||
| 62 | 491 X | |
| 63 | 503 X | |
| 64 | 340 X 2330 X |
|
| 67 | 127 X 4960 X |
|
| 70 | 231 X 10852 X |
|
| 74 | 137 X 5218 X |
|
| 78 | 13 X 1707 X |
|
| 80 | 1338 X | |
| 82 | 1011 X | |
| 84 | 299 X 706 X |
|
| 86 | 56 X 761 X |
|
| 88 | 423 X 425 X |
Beginning in 1989, plates were issued and revalidated on a 5 year cycle.
| 93 | 1 X 923 X |
|
|---|---|---|
| 98 | 1026 X 1237 X |
|
| 03 | 4006 SP 6362 SP |
|
| 08 | 6401 SP 7845 SP |
Special-X bus plates were regular special-X plates, but with numbers starting at 50001X as opposed to the normal 1 X starting number. They were first issued in 1979, and were discontinued in 1989.
As of July 2024, no real issued plates have been found; the only plate I've seen is a DMV sample from 1988.
Special-Z license plates were issued from at least 1958 to 2004, with the first documented base being dated "JUN 59." They were issued to certain seasonal equipment opearated empty, particularly excavating and carnival equipment in transit. Like special-UX plates, they were issued "76" dated stickers as opposed to most other types in the state that skipped straight to "77" stickers.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 59 | ||
| 60 | Z 40 | |
| 61 | Z 219 | |
| 62 | ||
| 63 | Z 235 | |
| 64 | ||
| 65 | ||
| 67 | Z 1128 Z 2823 |
|
| 70 | Z 184 Z 4518 |
|
| 74 | Z 197 Z 4513 |
|
| 78 | 1794 Z 4408 Z |
Like special-UX plates, weight classes were added to the serial in 1980. Beginning in 1989, an increasing number of plates were issued insert stickers as opposed to the normal-sized stickers they were supposed to be issued.
| Base Weight |
Variation | A 4,500 |
B 6,000 |
C 8,000 |
D 12,000 |
E 16,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F 20,000 |
G 26,000 |
H 32,000 |
J 38,000 |
K 44,000 |
||
| L 50,000 |
N 56,000 |
P 62,000 |
Q 68,000 |
R 73,000 |
||
| S 76,000 |
T 80,000 |
|||||
| 80 | AZ 25 | BZ 56 | CZ 326 | DZ 20 DZ 421 |
EZ 238 | |
| HZ 153 HZ 193 |
JZ 4 JZ 59 |
KZ 67 KZ 143 |
||||
| LZ 32 LZ 75 |
NZ 18 NZ 97 |
PZ 2 | ||||
| 82 | BZ 123 | DZ 16 DZ 533 |
EZ 45 EZ 330 |
|||
| HZ 92 HZ 222 |
JZ 2 JZ 174 |
KZ 139 | ||||
| LZ 4 | NZ 71 NZ 81 |
PZ 7 | QZ 5 | RZ 15 | ||
| TZ 33 | ||||||
| 84 | AZ 37 | BZ 150 | CZ 519 | DZ nn DZ nn |
||
| FZ 491 | HZ 62 | JZ 88 JZ 147 |
KZ 88 KZ 93 |
|||
| LZ 104 LZ 119 |
NZ 58 NZ 78 |
PZ 101 | QZ 83 | |||
| 86 | BZ 41 | CZ 142 | EZ 404 | |||
| FZ 333 | GZ 484 | HZ 264 | JZ 130 JZ 145 |
|||
| LZ 138 LZ 159 |
NZ 78 | PZ 82 | QZ 84 | |||
| 88 | AZ 38 | EZ 18 | ||||
| FZ 631 | HZ 258 | JZ 153 JZ 162 |
KZ 106 KZ 171 |
|||
| NZ 57 | RZ 113 | |||||
| 90 | AZ 29 | DZ 1 DZ 10 |
EZ 144 | |||
| FZ 94 FZ 348 |
GZ 170 | JZ 78 | KZ 4 KZ 52 |
|||
| LZ 236 | QZ 87 QZ 142 |
RZ 80 | ||||
In 1992, the X and M weight classes were added. Around 2005, special-Z plates were discontinued, though plates remained valid through 2008.
| Base Weight |
Variation | A 4,500 |
B 6,000 |
C 8,000 |
X 10,000 |
D 12,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E 16,000 |
F 20,000 |
G 26,000 |
H 32,000 |
J 38,000 |
||
| K 44,000 |
L 50,000 |
M 54,000 |
N 56,000 |
P 62,000 |
||
| Q 68,000 |
R 73,000 |
S 76,000 |
T 80,000 |
|||
| 92 | AZ 36 | CZ 356 CZ 381 |
DZ 48 DZ 611 |
|||
| EZ 386 | FZ 339 FZ 670 |
GZ 662 | ||||
| KZ 144 | LZ 201 | MZ 39 | NZ 85 NZ 92 |
PZ 1 PZ 101 |
||
| RZ 101 RZ 158 |
||||||
| 94 | Wide Font | CZ 1362 | XZ 1201 | DZ 1434 | ||
| EZ 1214 | FZ 1317 | JZ 1096 | ||||
| LZ 1145 LZ 1163 |
MZ 1038 | NZ 1013 NZ 1093 |
PZ 1005 PZ 1114 |
|||
| QZ 1086 QZ 1090 |
RZ 1010 RZ 1136 |
SZ 1098 | TZ 1436 | |||
| Narrow Font Narrow Prefix |
CZ 1531 | |||||
| Narrow Font Wide Prefix |
DZ 1822 DZ 2016 |
|||||
| FZ 2195 FZ 2403 |
JZ 1555 | |||||
| PZ 1141 | ||||||
| QZ 1152 QZ 1286 |
RZ 1177 RZ 1236 |
TZ 1743 TZ 2256 |
Many special passenger plate types have been issued over the years, starting with disabled veteran plates in 1950. Later on, disabled plates were issued. More special-issue passenger plate types were added throughout the 1980s for various military veterans and members, and beginning in the 1990s optional-issue passenger plates were added for causes such as university plates, endangered resources, and so on. From the 2000s onward, more and more special-issue plate types were issued, and there are currently around 50 specialty types on the roads.
Also note that this section is currently being written. Since Wisconsin offers so many specialty plate options, and my specialty in research isn't specialty plates, this section will slowly be written as I research these plates more.
This section includes the following sections:
And this is a consolidated list of all the plate types in this section:
Other plates are often referred to as "special" plates, however they're shown in their own categories. Plates for vehicle collectors (including antique, collector, and hobbyist) are shown on the collectors page, disabled plates and amateur radio plates are shown in the passenger page, and samples are planned to be on their own page.
Military and occupational plates were some of the first optional-issue passenger plates, beginning with ex-prisoner of war plates in the early 1980s. Currently, plates are available for various veterans and their families, ex-prisoners of war, and guard members, to name a few.
Special interest plates have been available since the early 1990s, beginning with university plates. Since then, Wisconsin has continually added more and more special interest plate types.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 99 | 10002K 10452K |
|
| 10 | ||
| 16 |
These plates were first issued in 2001, and use a constant "D" prefix.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | D11735 D13605 |
Endangered resources were one of Wisconsin's first special-interest optional plate types, being introduced in the mid-1990s. Since then, no less than three distinct designs for these plates have been issued. All three designs are currently in use, though according to the WisDOT previous red-lettered plates were replaced in 2007 with black-lettered plates.
The first design was a simple wolf image at the left with modified captions, and was issued from their introduction until 2010. The second design was an entire nature scene with a badger at the left, and is notable as being Wisconsin's only plate ever issued to be fully flat. The third, and current design, was issued beginning in September 2015 and features an eagle over a lake scene in the background, with this third base being embossed.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 95 | Detailed Wolf | 10103E 40628E |
| Crude Wolf | 41101E 42118E |
|
| 07 | 44739E 60694E |
|
| 10 | 10010ER 12971ER |
|
| 16 | 3M Sheeting | 13342ER 14106ER |
| Avery Sheeting | 15481ER 18421ER |
Green bay packers plates were first issued in 2001, and have used a constant "G" letter suffix since their introduction.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Avery Sheeting | 12019G |
| 3M Sheeting | ||
| Avery Sheeting | (Vanity Confirmed) |
Ice age trail plates were first issued in 2022, and are currently one of the most popular specialty plate types.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 10004AT 11236AT |
Introduced in 2015.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | 10048GT 14009GT |
Milwauke brewers plates were first issued in 2010, with two different series. The first series uses a baseball glove, and uses the suffix "AB," while the second one uses an "M" logo, using the suffix "AC." In 2020, both designs were updated.
| Base | Variation | "B" | "C" |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 2309AB 6902AB |
1001AC 5792AC |
|
| 20 | 10069AB 11973AB |
10029AC |
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | 10038MB 12532MB |
Road america plates were first issued in 2021, and are Wisconsin's most popular specialty plate by far. In June 2024, road america plates switched over to the new 3M prismatic sheeting.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Avery Sheeting | 10027RA 21547RA |
| Prismatic Sheeting | (Vanity Confirmed) |
Sesquicentennial plates were issued between 1997 and 1998, and were one of Wisconsin's most popular specialty plates. Initially plates used five numbers and a constant suffix of "T," but that format was quickly overflowed into an "A1111T" format, which also was overflowed into an AA111T format. The last plate issued was DW999T, though remakes were made until 2008.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 98 | 14700T 90140T C5956T R5490T AX617T DW999T |
Spay/neuter/adopt is one of Wisconsin's newest specialty types, being issued beginning in May 2024.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | 10003SN 10039SN |
Suicide prevention foundation plates were introduced in May 2024, along with spay/neuter/adopt plates.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | 10001PF 10002PF |
Specialty plates for county forests were issued beginning in February 2025.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 1005CF |
University plates were the first special interest optional plate types issued, first being issued in 1990.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 90 | Wide Font | 10187 13195 |
| Narrow Font | 14518 |
In 2007, the older "puck" style university plates were discontinued in favor of more standard printed emblems. University of Wisconsin branches all use a "U" suffix, while Marquette University plates use a constant stacked "MU" suffix. UW-Madison plates started at 30001U, while other UW system plates use a single series starting at 10001U.
| Base | Variation | UW | UW-M | MU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07 | 3M Sheeting | 10268U 10645U |
30209U 34094U |
10176MU 11091MU |
| Avery Sheeting | 11014U 11187U |
36173U 38247U |
11731MU |
Versiti plates were first issued in 2021.
| Base | Variation | Ranges |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | 10001VS 10083VS |
![MrSchimpf](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wisconsin_"Road_America"_license_plate.jpg){kind=link}