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Supporting the hobby, conducting research, preserving & promoting the history of Pennsylvania License Plates
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Weekly Posts
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BREAKING: Jeff Lawson spotted this Let Freedom Ring base plate at a recent Phillies game. As a reminder, this will be the next design for all license plates issued in the state, including special organization plates. This is likely a state-owned vehicle but it's exciting to see the upcoming base on the road. It should be noted that the few plates on this base that have been spotted are in the JWS series; this one appears to have those same letters but in a different order. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger version, and stay tuned to this site as this base starts to proliferate!
Avery Merz sends in this great shot of a new Passenger high! As you can see, the end of the "M" series is rapidly approaching. Perhaps the start of the Let Freedom Ring base is NBA-0000? For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!
Here's another new high, this one for the Limousine plate type, spotted by our own John McDevitt. This plate type advances rather slowly so new highs are usually not much higher than the high they are replacing. In this case, it's replacing LM-32011 spotted back in September 2024.
Here is one last new high for the week, this one for the U.S. Air Force Veteran plate type, spotted by Ben Vaughn. PennDOT offers dozens of military and veteran plate types, visit the Military & Veteran page of this website to see all of the various types!
Lastly we have a sharp-looking Disabled Veteran plate, spotted by John Clark. To many onlookers, this is one of the first DV plates issued, but this is a personalized/vanity version of this plate type.
Here is the first image of the recently-announced A Haven plate type from John Clark. We are grateful to John and so many others for sharing their finds with us. It helps this website and helps the collecting community as a whole!
Matt Ciecka sends in this new high for the Person with Disability plate type. The serial format for this plate type moved from "99999 PD" to "A0000 PD" sometime around February 2022. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!
This 1927 Truck plate was spotted on eBay recently. For many years, Truck plates used the first letter of the serial to indicate the weight class of the truck ("R" being the lightest and "Z" being the heaviest, skipping "X"). The "U" weight class is somewhere in the middle. Click on the plate type to see more history!
Scott Zillmer sends in this very nice picture of a State Representative plate. State-level legislators have been receiving special plates since the 1950s and they were clearly marked as such starting in mid 1960s.
Last up this week is a 1980s-era Amateur Radio plate still in use. This type has been out since 1956 and has been issued continually ever since. Thanks to Evan Datillo for the picture!
WEBSITE UPDATE: We have added links to PDF applications for the various plate types as well as PennDOT Fact Sheets. You can access them on the "List of All Plates & Current Highs" page, then going to "Defunct, Special Event, & Misc." page, then under the three "Documents" links under the "Miscellaneous" column. Here are the direct links:
Documents (Plate Applications)
Documents (Plate Type Fact Sheets)
John Clark shares this "first-of" picture of a National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial plate. This plate type was first announced in May 2014 (!!) and the number 1 plate was issued in March 2025.This may be the only time you ever see one of these!
Speaking of plates you may only ever see on this website, here's a rare one: the motorcycle version of a Distracted Driving Awareness "Special Fund" plate. As a reminder, plates categorized as "Special Fund" plates see a portion of the plate sales go towards a trust fund for the cause associated with the plate. Per PennDOT, "fees raised from this registration plate will be used exclusively to advance public education and outreach on the dangers posed by distracted driving."
Here are Motorcycle Dealer plates from 1999 to present. Which base is your favorite? Weigh in on the Facebook group Keystone State Plates group on Facebook!
Lastly we have another "first-of" for the site: a personalized Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of PA with the map outline. Thank you to Ben Vaughn for this picture. Ben has a sharp eye and has helped us to add many "first-ofs" to this website.
BREAKING NEWS: John Clark alerted us to the existence of a graphic rendering of a Blue Lodge plate on the upcoming "Let Freedom Ring" general redesign. This picture was posted on the organization's website so we believe this is how the final product will appear. We also received information from PennDOT saying that the major plate types (Passenger, Trailer, Truck, etc.) should start hitting the streets in May or June with all other plate types (including organizational plates) by July. We will keep you abreast as the various types are spotted on the new base.
John Clark shares this picture of an Eastern University plate, the first plate of this type observed with the map outline graphic. This plate type began in 2012, meaning that about 4 plates are issued each year on average.
Here we have a 1917 Tractor plate from Tim Gierschick. All known plates under E1000 measure 6" x 14" and all plates E1000 and above measure 6" x 16". No plates E1 thru E9 have been observed but it's thought that these plates may measure 6" x 11" - TBD! As always, you can click the type name link to see complete history for all years.
Brandon Sowers shares this picture-perfect shot of a Disabled Veteran (Severe Disability). This is not a new high, just a very nice picture to share.
Last up is this picture of a Boy Scouts of America plate, a "first-of" shot with the map outline. Thank you to Ben Vaughn for the picture!