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From the 1930s to the 1980s, various supplemental license plates and permits were issued in addition to other types of license plates. Some of the most common supplemental plates are PSC plates, which were issued from around 1932 to 1940.

This page includes the following plate types:

• PSC Permits
• MVD Permits
• Lessor
• Private/For Hire Lessor
• Reciprocity
• IRP Permits
• Peddler Permits
• Permit Reciprocity/Pro Rate
• Prorate (bingoboard)
• Canadian Reciprocity
• Tax Only

PSC Permits

PSC permits were first issued in 1932. They were primarily issued to trucks as supplemental plates, and carried many cryptic letter codes and color schemes. Some years have documentation on the meaning of these codes, while many years have no documentation on what these are and next to nothing is known about these plates, or how many other variations and codes may exist.

PSC permits had two different sizes they primarily used; one "small" plate type that was 4 1/2 by 10 inches, and one "large" plate type that was around 6 1/4 by 13 1/2 inches. The black on yellow 1932 psc permits and all 1933 psc permits were the larger size, while all other PSC permits are the smaller size.

1934, 1935, and 1939 have their color schemes fully documented, while 1935, 1936, and 1939 have their letter codes fully documented. The rest of the years are educated guesses of various reliability; I'm fairly confident that the information on 1938 and 1940 PSC permits is accurate, however some years, like 1932, 1933, and 1937, are complete guesses with little to no evidence to back it up. So take the designation information with a grain of salt for those kinds of years.

Common Carrier??
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Private Carrier?
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Contract Carrier?
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Contract Carrier
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Private Carrier
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Private Carrier
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In 1938, PSC permits reworked the codes significantly. Contract carrier and common carrier plates were combined into one "contract/common" carrier class. Quarterly plates were issued beginning with the 38 base, with private vehicles over 8,000lbs, and contract/common vehicles of all weights, receiving these plates. Codes for tax-exempt and special permits were also introduced, with "R" and "A" being used for tax-exempt permits and "S" being used for special permits.

Letter codes alternated between bases from 1938 to 1940; private carriers alternated between "V" and "Z," while contract/common carriers alternated between "K" and "X." Tax-exempt letter codes alternated between "A" and "R," while quarterly and special permit codes were constant; "1" "2" "3" and "4" were used for quarter numbers, while "S" was always used for special permits.

Private Carrier
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Contract Carrier
1st Quarter
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Contract Carrier
Tax-Exempt
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Contract Carrier
1st Quarter
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Contract Carrier
Tax-Exempt
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In late 1939, PSC Permits were issued by the MVD, and as such changed their caption to "MVD" instead of "PSC." These MVD permits were discontinued in July 1940 and it appears they were primarily replaced by tabs on heavy truck plate types, though "NOT FOR HIRE" plates without serials were issued from July 1940 to June 1941, presumably as a supplemental plate to go with 40 41 base light truck plates. Additionally, a reworked type called "lessor" began issuance sometime around 1942,. Quarterly MVD permits got up to the second quarter before being discontinued.

Lessor

Lessor plates were first issued in July 1940, set to expire in June 1941. The first plates had no serials, though by the 42-43 base they had serials on them.

Wisconsin MVD (fair use)

Between 1956 and 1959, lessor plates were split up into "private lessor" and "for hire lessor" plates, and were issued bicycle sized plates instead of full sized plates. From 1959 to 1962, for hire lessor plates were issued plates in the colors and replacement cycles of heavy truck plates, while private lessor plates used light truck colors and replacement cycles. From 1963 onward, plates have used calendar year replacement cycles and heavy truck colors.

Lessor plates were discontinued in 1972.

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Gideon Nicksic

Reciprocity

Reciprocity plates were issued beginning in 1952, and were supplemental identification plates issued to out-of-state trucks and trailers having full reciprocity with Wisconsin. These plates were discontinued in 1961.

There is three different variations known for this plate type: one which is red on white, one which is black on white, and one that is black on yellow. The meaning of these different colored bases is not known, however it's been theorised that they may have been issued to different types of vehicles, or issued to different types of motor carriers.

IRP Permits

IRP permits were small supplemental permit plates issued to apportioned trailers and semi-trailers operated by for hire carriers or owned rental companies. They were first issued in 1978, set to expire February 1, 1979, and the blue "WIS FEB" base was used for two years.

The green 1980 base shifted the expiration date from February 1 to December 31, and plates were issued annually through 1982.

In 1982, IRP permit plates were issued only to apportioned trailers and semi-trailers owned by rental companies, discontinuing the "1" and "2" sticker codes previously used.

The 1983 base appears in the 1983 plate guide, and samples have been found of these plates, however in the 1983 plate guide from the former plate room supervisor, there is a note on the IRP permit plates noting that they're "VOID" and "NOT ISSUED," so I'm guessing these plates were planned to be issued but the type was discontinued either very shortly after being issued or before they were first issued in 1983.

Peddler's License

While not technically a supplemental plate, I include these plates here as they are a type of permit.

Peddler's licenses were small permit plates issued primarily to horse-drawn vehicles beginning in 1911. Plates were white on dark blue all years, and the last seen base is from 1942.

In 1919, peddler's licenses had the expiration date and horse designation on aluminum tabs. For 1924 and 1925, they had the expiration date and horse information on embossed rectangles with the text debossed onto the embossed rectangles. By 1931, these designations were plain embossed text.

Between 1919 and 1939, the horse designation was in an abbreviated format of "2-H" and "1-H," while the horse designation on 1942 plates was "1 HORSE" and "2 HORSE." An "AUTO" designation is also known on a 1941 plate.

The expiration dates are in seemingly random intervals, and I don't know anything about their registration periods or the significance of the dates of these plates.

The following types are also shown in the Apportioned/Tractor page, as these plates have an ambiguious placement as to whether they belong with tractor plates, or they belong with supplemental plates.

Permit Reciprocity

Permit reciprocity plates were issued from 1956 to 1969. They were a type of permit issued to out-of-state trucks having limited reciprocity with Wisconsin.

Andrew Turnbull

Andrew Turnbull

In 1970, permit reciprocity plates were renamed to prorate plates. Prorate plates were issued from 1970 to 1971, then were discontinued and likely replaced with prorate bingoboard plate stickers.

Prorate Bingoboard

Prorate bingoboard plate stickers were issued from 1971 to at least 1989. As the name suggests, they were stickers issued to bingoboard plates.

Canadian Reciprocity

Canadian reciprocity license plates were issued to semi trucks having reciprocity with Canadian provinces. As of 1960 they were issued to semi trucks having reciprocity with Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, and as of 1963 they were issued to semi trucks having reciprocity with Saskatchewan. Canadian reciprocity plates were discontinued around 1967.

Tax Only

Tax only license plates were another type of permit for out-of-state trucks having limited reciprocity with Wisconsin.

According to the 1985 Wisconsin plate guide, this confusing class of plates is "issued for vehicles currently registered in states having limited reciprocity with Wisconsin. Permits interstate operation only in accordance with reciprocal agreement with states imposing a tax on vehicles operated by Wisconsin residents."

These plates were issued from 1954 to 1986, then discontinued. Between 1975 and 1977 numbers for these plates dropped drastically and went from almost 10,000 numbers to less than 1000 in 1978, with the last found base in 1985 not even reaching 100.

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Timothy O'Connor

Created January 21, 2023. Updated November 25, 2023.