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Beginning in 1940, Wisconsin started issuing large metal tabs with cryptic codes to heavy trucks and trailers. "Insert" plates, as they're often referred as, are basically a consolidation of heavy truck/trailer plates and PSC permits.

Year	Vehicle Plate	Quarterly Plate
Pre-1940	W. Yoder Auction	Gideon Nicksic
Post-1940	W. Yoder Auction

Like their predecessors, they carried various letter and number codes correlating to specific information about the carrier, the quarter, and so on.

So, for example, CX3 would be a March dated contract/common carrier from an odd base year such as 40 41, 44 45, etc, C S would be a contract/common carrier special scheduled vehicle from an odd base year, and Z 2 would be a December dated private carrier from an even year base such as 41 42, 45 46, etc, 4 T would be a June dated tax only plate, and so on.

Sep 1940 - Jun 1947

The first insert tabs were issued in July 1940, set to expire in either September 1940 or June 1941. The standard C, K, P, and Z classifications were issued for the entirety of the time that insert tabs were issued, along with their "X" combination variants for each letter. C S, K S, P S, and Z S were known to exist for December 1940 through June 1943 and were only issued for two quarters of each year - December (2nd quarter), and June (4th quarter). A "K C" tab on a 40 41 base plate has also been found, though there is no documentation of such a tab so it's unknown when they were issued or what they were used for. September 1942 through June 1944 tabs were only issued to trailers, as other vehicles received windshield stickers similar to the tabs for quarterly validation.

Table cells without a border are unknown colors, and blank table cells are tabs that aren't known to exist.

Sep 1947 - Jun 1951

This distinct style of tab was issued to oval format insert truck plates from July 1947 to June 1950. All tabs from each quarter use the same color scheme as opposed to the earlier tabs which had different colors for private and contract/common carriers.

Sep 1950 - Jun 1956

Vertical style tabs were issued beginning in July 1950, and from July 1952 to 1956 had slots in various positions around the tab, presumably as a hanging hole while painting the tabs. The "T" designation was added in July 1954 for 55 base tax only plates. Additionally, strange "85-01" tabs were issued to logging trucks around the mid-1950s.

Sep 1956 - Dec 1962

Distinct style tabs were issued beginning in July 1956, for 57 baseplates. Sometime around 1958 "XT" tabs were added for dairy tractors; it isn't known if they were issued after 1960. For the 62 base, two additional designations were issued to bridge the gap with switching from fiscal year to calendar year plates in 1962, using the CX/PX letters. Most tabs had the tab at the left, but Dec 1957 and Dec 1960 tabs used the tab at the right. It is unknown if any other quarters had the tab at the right and the reasoning for this is unknown.

Stickers began to be issued in 1963, replacing tabs. Unlike the tabs, "C" was a constant letter for contract/common carriers, while "P" was a constant letter for private carriers, with the "X" combination designation as well. A new "X" letter code began being used for tractors; there is documentation on their meaning in some 1970s plate guide, however I don't currently have it on hand so I don't know what they were used for. Monthly stickers were introduced around 1964.

Monthly sticker formats massively changed in 1967, and all insert stickers were slightly skinnier beginning in 1967.

In 1968, stickers had year identifiers added. They're simply 2-digit year abbreviations, stacked like everything else. A "R" designation was added by 1971 for rental vehicles, and square stickers with only a quarter and year code were issued beginning in 1973 for quarterly school buses.

From 1978 onward, insert stickers were square shaped. Additionally, "T" stickers were discontinued and tax only plates were issued the plain quarterly stickers like school bus plates. Monthly stickers were also discontinued around 1978, though the law for them was repealed in 1977. It's unknown if "X" stickers were issued for 1978 or 1979.

Additionally, motor home plates were introduced in 1978, with the quarters running in a April to March cycle, so quarter 1 corresponds with June, 2 September, etc. and motor homes had their own stickers for 4th quarter from 1978 to 1984. Strangely, 4th quarter 1979 stickers (March 1979) were simply a cut version of a regular 4th quarter 1978 sticker so as to cut out the year and carrier information.

In 1980, carrier information was removed from the stickers and all stickers now were plain "quarterly" stickers with only a number, a year code, and the DOT logo and a "WIS" like other stickers of the time. Motor homes continued using unique stickers for 4th quarter expirations, adding a "MAR" month abbreviation and slightly tweaking the 1st quarter sticker color for other vehicles.

Beginning in 1984, stickers showed the month of expiration by a standard three-letter code; "MAR" for March, "JUN" for June, and so on. Motor homes also adopted these same stickers, eliminiating the delayed sticker color cycles. Additionally, monthly stickers were reintroduced in 1985, which used the same 1-9 and OND codes as before in the 1970s, however this time the plates were to be registered for a minimum of three consecutive months; consequently, monthly stickers from this point onward are very rare.

From 1992 onward, all insert stickers used three letter month codes for all insert stickers.

Created May 3, 2023. Updated April 16, 2024.