PApl8s.com - 2008 Archives

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News and postings from 2008

First image of a Berwyn Fire Company plate. I still have not acquired the skills to take out shadows in Photoshop, nor frames, nor covered portions of plates. Posted 12/31. Last plate for 2008.

First image of a Pennsylvania SPCA plate. This image was provided by Brian Hite. The reason for the leading 1 is that the Pleasant Hall Volunteer Fire Company is using the 00000^P/_Hseries. In other words Pleasant Hall Volunteer Fire Company has the first block of ten thousand numbers with the ^P/_Hsuffix and the Pennsylvania SPCA has the next, followed by Philadelphia University with 20000^P/_H. Posted 12/29.

Much like the plates below, the regular production U.S. Armed Forces Retired plate uses 'T^itle C^aps and ^{superscript small caps}' in the legend font, while the sample uses 'title caps and lower case' for the plate legend. it is not known if all production plates and samples are formatted like these. Also worth mentioning is the fact that this plate type is no longer issued but can still be validated. Posted 12/26.

While adding and updating some sample images today, I noticed that the Shippensburg University Alumni regular production plate legend and font differ from what is used used on the sample plate. I have only two images of production plates, the one above and ^S/_U00108, and both are formatted the same, it is not known if all production plates are formatted alike. The previous issue yellow-on-blue plates used the same format as the sample plate. Posted 12/20.

First image of a Flourtown Fire Company plate. Posted 12/18.

First image of an International Union of Operating Engineers plate. Posted 12/18.

First image of a Holy Family University plate. Posted 12/17.

This is an updated image of a PA Society Sons of American Revolution plate. The previous image was very blurred. Posted 12/17.

This is the final pair of NASCAR sample plate images from Paulie Bagnarol. The plate image to the far left is a NASCAR 3 Dale Earnhardt Legacy. This plate type has been in use throughout the NASCAR plate program which began in 2004. The other image is a NASCAR 8 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. plate which was also issued from 2004 thru 2007. Posted 12/17.

PA Council On Independent Living adds their name to the list of specialty plates. Posted 12/17.

Another pair of samples from Paulie Bagnarol. The plate image to the far left is NASCAR 22 Dave Blaney. This plate type was issued for 2006 only. The other image is a NASCAR 26 Jamie McMurray plate which was also issued for 2006 only. Posted 12/12.

Pittsburgh Harlequins Rugby Football Assoc. comes on board with their own plate. Posted 12/12.

First image on this website of a Flyers Wives Charities plate. Posted 12/7.

This plate is likely a passenger re-make of a 1977 base now on the 1999 www base. Actually re-makes are vanity plate bearing the same number/letter combination as an earlier plate. The unusual feature of this plate is the use of a keystone separator on a vanity where normally a dash would be used; however, this is the the first time this has been seen. Image provided by the The Triborough Organization. Posted 12/7.

A couple more sample plates courtesy of Paulie Bagnarol. The plate to the far left is NASCAR 24 Jeff Gordon. This plate type has been in use throughout the NASCAR plate program which began in 2004. The other image is a NASCAR 48 Jimmy Johnson plate which was has also been issued for the five years that the NASCAR plate program has been running. Posted 12/7.

The two images on the left show an unusual format for the Resource Conservation - River Otter plate. The images were provided by Nick Tsilakis. The plate to the right shows the standard format, with this being the first one issued. So where does the plate with the 3-digit format fit in? This is not likely to be an error plate since three (3) plates with the ^R/_C000 have been documented so far. I have asked this question of PennDOT, and was told that to answer my question would violate record confidentiality. I insisted that I did not want or need to know who owned such a plate, just explain the unusual formatting. The question went unanswered. You be the judge. My guess is that like some other plate types, i.e., Veteran, there is a low numbered reserve group that are not available to the general public. Posted 12/4.

Philadelphia University joins the ever-growing ranks of PA specialty plates The use of the numerical "2" prefix along with the ^P/_H suffix is due to Pleasant Hall Volunteer Fire Company using 00000^P/_H and the Pennsylvania SPCA using 10000^P/_H. Posted 12/4.

This is an updated (better) image of 32° Masonic Learning Centers for Children plate. Posted 11/30.

Another pair of sample plate images from Paulie Bagnarol. The plate to the far left is NASCAR 9 Kasey Kahne. This plate type has been in use throughout the NASCAR plate program which began in 2004. The other image is a NASCAR 18 JJ Yeley plate which was issued for the 2006 racing season only. Posted 11/30.

The Union Hose Company of Annville Inc. now has its own specialty plate. Posted 11/30.

More images from Paulie Bagnarol's sample plate collection. The plate on the left is a NASCAR 2 Kurt Busch plate which represents plates issued for the 2006 racing season. The other is a NASCAR 29 Kevin Harvick which used this number 29 graphic for the 2007 and 2008 racing season. Prior to that he also used number 29 but the graphic used an outlined number instead of the solid graphic. See image below. Posted 11/25.

UPDATE: Information received from Steve Ondik — In regards to the NASCAR 29 PLATE of Kevin Harvick, his sponsorship changed at the beginning of the 2007 season. The car number was still 29, but he was sponsored by GM Goodwrench until the end of 2006, then in 2007 and 2008, was sponsored by Shell Gasoline. The image to the left is from the 2004 to 2006 period. Note the difference in the 29 graphic. Updated 11/30.

These nice Bus images on the www base were provided by Clayton Moore. When PA re-plated in 2000, all existing bus plates were reissued on a plate-for-plate basis. This included anything between BA-10000 to BA-47999. The replacement plates in this series on the www base did not use the dash separator. That being said, the plate on the left is from the 'replacement' group, while the other plate was for a 'new issue' which started at BA-48000. So far the lowest number spotted on the 'replacement' group was BA28644, although theoretically there could be plates in the BA10000 range. Posted 11/25.

These current FARM VEHICLE REGISTRATION EXEMPTION stickers aren't exactly license plates, but they are used in place of them on certain farm trucks. The law allows farm owners to register farm trucks, for a reduced fee, with certain travel distance restrictions. These stickers are placed on the side of the vehicle near the driver's door. The sticker on the left is for vehicles under 17,000 lb. and the other is for vehicles 17,000 and over. Of course a FARM TRUCK license plate is an option as well. Posted 11/18.

Here's another pair of sample images from Paulie Bagnarol: On the far left is NASCAR 5 Kyle Busch. This type was issued for the 2006 racing season only. The use of the numeral 1 following the ^N/C_/5 prefix is to differentiate between the NASCAR 5 of Terry Labonte which was issued during 2004 and 2005. The other plate is a NASCAR 45 Kyle Petty issued for the 2004 thru 2006 racing seasons. Posted 11/18.

No Re-Plating for PA

Received this tip from Ned Flynn today that he saw in the Pocono Record . The newspaper reported on why we haven't heard about new plates on the 10 year cycle that was mandated when the web plates (WWW.STATE.PA.US) came out. The Governor is about to sign a bill to repeal that law and make replacements available free when one's current plate is no longer legible. This isn't a surprise since even the DAx plates are still in good shape with no fading of the blue numbers nor cracking of the reflectorization. And the paper says it will save $60 million. Posted 11/13.

And a couple more sample images from Paulie Bagnarol: On the far left is NASCAR 17 Matt Kenseth. This type was issued for the 2004, 5 and 6 racing seasons. The other is NASCAR 55 Michael Waltrip issued for the 2006 racing season only. Posted 11/13.

Contributor Nick Tsilakis spotted a School Vehicle plate, SV-19808, with a keystone separator. This is the first time any kind of separator has been reported on this plate type. This change may have taken place at SV-19500, as plates up thru SV19468 have no separator. This plate type dates back to around 1997 on the yellow-on-blue base, and has seen a number of variations in tag legend fonts and bases. Posted 11/7.

Here's a couple more sample images from Paulie Bagnarol: On the far left is NASCAR 41 Reed Sorenson. This type was issued for the 2006 racing season only. The other is NASCAR 43 Richard Petty Historic issued for the 2004 thru 2008 racing seasons. Posted 11/5.

The University of Notre Dame gives their plate a color face lift, far left. The "University of" has been added to the plate legend and "Alumni Association" removed. Posted 11/5.

At first glance this might look like just another Fire Fighter plate, but it's actually part of a very short run of plates with characteristics of both the www plates (Format 1) and visitPA plates (Format 3). The plate shown here is on the www base but uses the narrow tag line and small Maltese cross as used on the visitPA. This short run would have been issued during the transition from the www base to the visitPA base. I'm estimating that this plate run may be about 100 plates. This is based on the fact that FF35991 is Format 1, while FF36016 and FF36040 are Format 2, and FF36109 is Format 3. This hybrid format was first reported by Nick Tsilakis and later by Eric Butler, but the plate above is the first image. Follow the Fire Fighter link to see all three formatting variations. Posted 10/29.

Added another pair of sample images from Paulie Bagnarol: On the far left is NASCAR 10 Scott Riggs. This type was issued for the 2006 racing season only. The other is NASCAR 12 Ryan Newman, issued for the 2004 thru 2006 racing seasons. Posted 10/27.

Here is another soon-to-be plate, Fort Mifflin on the Delaware. Posted 10/27.

Added image of this nice Linglestown Fire Co. #1 sample plate. This is a new plate type. This plate type uses the suffix ^L/_F with a leading 3. The Mario Lemieux Foundation uses the ^L/_F with a leading 0 while the Limerick Fire Company also uses the ^L/_F suffix but with a leading 1. My guess is that there is another pending plate with ^L/_F and a leading 2. Posted 10/21.

I said in a previous post that images of a number of NASCAR plates were still needed. I then spotted this NASCAR 45 Kyle Petty plate.

A couple more sample images from Paulie Bagnarol: On the far left is NASCAR 14 Sterling Marlin. This type was issued for the 2006 racing season only. The other is NASCAR 20 Tony Stewart, issued for the 2004 thru 2007 racing seasons, but not for 2008. Posted 10/19.

In my display of NASCAR plates, there are still quite few types for which I do not have actual plate images. If anyone has any images they would be willing to share, I would be most appreciative.

Bill Stephens sends along this image of a 2010 validation sticker helping to fill a gap in the stickers section. Pennsylvania issues validation stickers for 5-year trailer registrations, so at present stickers are being issued for 2014. Also, sticker formatting follows an 8-year cycle, so sticker foreground and background colors repeat every 8 years. Posted 10/19.

A couple of sample images from Paulie Bagnarol: On the far left is NASCAR 43 Bobby Labonte, from the 2006 racing season, and the other is NASCAR 99 Carl Edwards, also for the 2006 season. His 2005 plates were slightly different.

This is a prototype image of a soon-to-be plate for Ingomar Vol. Fire Co. No. 2. The reason for the initial 1 in the plate serial is because Friends of Valley Forge Park has the block of the first 10,000 numbers (00000V/F). Posted 10/13.

Snapped this image out of state recently. Don't know if this is a State Officials and Dignitaries plate or a low numbered vanity. I put it in the State Officials group just because it's the lowest numerical plate image I have. Posted 10/8.

The Girl Scouts of the USA is now moving forward with a plate. Posted 10/8.

This unusual sample plate image of a NASCAR 88 Dale Jr. was provided by Paul Bagnarol. Watch for a bunch of additional samples from Paulie's amazing sample collections. Posted 10/8.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. gets its own special organization plate. Posted 10/2/08.

The GOOD INTENT FIRE COMPANY #1 joins the ever-growing list of PA fire companies with special organization plates. Posted 9/25.

This image of an ALPCA Convention 2008 Souvenir Motorcycle plate from the ALPCA Utah Regional Reception Dinner plate was provided by Clayton Moore. Posted 9/21.

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH give its plate a colorful facelift, far left. Posted 9/21.

Nick Tsilakis has provided this very nice first image of an updated RAILS-TO-TRAILS CONSERVANCY plate which is now on the visitPA base with the color screened logo and flat RT prefix and plate legend. Posted 9/17.

The INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS becomes a member of the ever-growing ranks of special organization & specialty plates. Posted 9/17.

The NATIONAL MS SOCIETY will be offering a plate soon. Posted 9/12.

Here's one you don't see every day. Contributor Grant MacKenzie spotted this inversion error PASSENGER plate in a parking lot. Somebody wasn't proofing the plates the day this one slipped thru, or maybe it was a bad day in the Big House. Posted 9/10.

New specialty plate will soon be available from the PENNSYLVANIA SPCA. The reason for the '1' prefix is because PLEASANT HALL VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY has been assigned the first block of 10,000 numbers with the PH suffix. What is less apparent is the meaning of the PH suffix. Posted 9/7.

VANITY MOTORCYCLE or REGULAR MOTORCYCLE? When I first spotted this plate thru my dirty front windshield, I thought it was just a standard issue motorcycle with a wide separation between the A and the 7. It does follow the standard AAA00 format. My next thought was that it could easily be a vanity. You decide. Posted 9/5.

Received this new CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE plate yesterday for an old bike I own. This is also the high number plate for this type, and a rather unusual plate. According to PennDOT statistics, there were only 304 classic motorcycles in PA in 2007. Not sure if the starting point on these plates was ^C/_L0000 or ^C/_L0100. I'm leaning toward the latter since I have 9 images of classic motorcycle plates all in the 100, 200, 300, 400 and now 500 series, but nothing below ^C/_L0103. Posted 8/31.

Fellow ALPCAn, Brendan Sherry, has kindly provided several images of #1 plates. Brendan was the prime mover behind the VIRGINIA TECH plate program. Posted 8/29.

Another nice #1 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS image. This plate is also from Brendan. Posted 8/29.

This ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY plate image was sent in by Brendan as well. For whatever reason RMU plates don't seem to find their way to the eastern end of the state. Posted 8/29.

This unique STREET ROD plate on the left appears to have undergone some modification of its own. It's not unusual to see these plates altered by covering the street rod image with a picture of the vehicle that the plate is on. In this case Pennsylvania has been abbreviated, STREET ROD has been moved, and the graphic image has been removed with an NSRA sticker added. The plate on the right is the standard issue. Posted 8/24.

Is this new a HOT ROD type on left? Not really, just a standard PASSENGER plate customized by covering up the yellow visitPA stripe and adding the words HOT ROD. Posted 8/24.

Added this EMERALD SOCIETY of Bucks and Montgomery Counties prototype to the pending proposed list. Information received from Paulie Bagnarol. Posted 8/24.

Based on information received from Steve Ondik, this CONRAIL HISTORICAL SOCIETY plate has been removed from the Pending / Proposed list and place in the Plates That Didn't Make It group. Posted 8/24.

Fellow ALPACA member Salvatore J. Dodd, Sr. shares this image of a remake of a 1977 PASSENGER base plate. Original plate would have been blue on yellow KEYSTONE STATE base. Plate could be 6-digit numeric or 5-digit with an alpha character in the 1st, 2nd or 6th position. Posted 8/18.

The section on ANTIQUE MOTORCYCLE plates has been somewhat revised. While this website focuses primarily on current plates, Antique Motorcycle plates can date as far back as the mid-1950s, therefore they are current, at least by my definition. The goal of this effort is to catalog / document the entire progression in terms of number sequence, number and letter formats, the placement of plate legend, and the spacing of the bolt holes. All of these variables have produced about 10 format variations. For example, the three plates shown here may look similar. They all have a single letter followed by a 2-digit number, but upon closer examination it can be seen that the left plate has PENNA on the top while the others have it on the bottom, while the plate on the right shows the use of wide hole spacing. This wide spacing is seen on all subsequent plates. This is a research work in progress. In fact, more data and images are needed to complete this effort. If anyone has plates or plate images in their collection that would help bridge some of the gaps, the images or data would be appreciated. I am especially interested in any plates in the 1 to 999 range. I also know that there are Antique Samples with a single 0 and those with three 0s. Those images would also be appreciated. Posted 8/15.

Noted on the Plate Highs page that PA has apparently exhausted the current TRUCK series, with a reported high of YXX-8312. It is not known if the series was fully exhausted to YZZ-9999, but in any case a new series in a new format has been reported. This new format was spotted on plate Z-0012AD. This is a marked departure from the standard passenger, trailer and truck plate formats. The reason for this format change is not known. I don't have an image of one yet. Posted 8/14.

Added PLYMOUTH FIRE COMPANY #1 as a new special organization plate. Posted 8/14.

Spotted on the road today . . . I saw a BUS plate on a SCHOOL BUS, and while this combination is not that unusual, what made the plate somewhat unique was the number — BA28644. Up to this point the lowest bus plate number spotted on the www base was BA31500. When PA re-plated back in 2000, all existing bus plates were reissued on a plate-for-plate basis. This included anything between BA-10000 to BA-47999. These replacement plates in the BA10000 to BA47900 series on the www base did not use the dash separator. The dash separator was added at BA-48000 for newly issued, not reissued plates. So why are the low numbered plates so rare? As far as I know, the numerical series actually started on the 68 base with BA-10000 and has progressed from that point. Posted 8/12.

Chuck Harrington was kind enough to provide some additional information about this IOCC plate. The plate age is either 1965 or 1966. A number of plates such as of Mayor, Council, Commissioner, etc. also have silk screened state seals. This IOCC plate is on a 1965 base plate. It wasn’t until 1967 that the state went to the expense of buying state seal dies for embossing. Anything on the 1965 base plate with an embossed state seal is from 1967 to 1970. Posted 8/12.

Clayton Moore recently informed me that he spotted an ANTIQUE HISTORIC CAR plate number BA11 without the embossed white border. Up till now I had listed the plate series as beginning with AA00 and going to ZZ99 as having the white embossed border. Now it appears that AA00 to BZ99 did not have the white embossed border, which did not come along until CA00. Clayton is attempting to get a picture of BA11. In the meantime I saw this BM63 plate at a car show on Saturday. Also for comparison, I posted a plate from the C series showing the border. Posted 8/3.

Bruce Bufalini provided this CLASSIC CAR plate image. What's unusual about this plate is the PERMANENT validation sticker which has not previously been seen on this plate type. In recent years some of the newest plates in the C10000 series and above have been seen with annual validation stickers, but only on a small number of plates. These are considered permanent plates so why the need for any stickers? Posted 8/2.

The Plate Highs page states that PA has switched SPECIAL MOBILE EQUIPMENT plates over to the visitPA base. This was reported by Bill Stephens. The previous high was plate SME-037V which was still on the www base, and now plate SME-953V is on the visitPA base. It can't be determined when the change took place, although in most cases it occurs at the thousand rollover point, although on occasion changes come about on the 500 mark or at some other point. Anyway, if anyone happens to see one of these and can snap an image, send it in, and I'll put it out there for the world to see.

Same story for SALVAGE YARD plates. They're now out there on the visitPA base, but they have not found their way in front of my lense . . . yet. Posted 7/30.

At first glance this interesting plate may look like the start of the passenger plate series but it's actually a PASSENGER VANITY plate. This plate format of three letters followed by four numbers actually dates back to 1991 when the first of these came out on the yellow-on-blue keystone state base. Of course all standard passenger plates also have a keystone separator where this plate has a space. When the re-plating started in 1999 the series started picked up at DAA-0000 continued until the release of the visitPA base which started at GBA-0000. The plate image was provided by Grant MacKenzie. Posted 7/29.

The plate on the far left represents a short run of maybe 500 plates. This is an intermediate version of the BLUE LODGE plate between the www base (center left) and the current visitPA base (right) which now uses a flat screened logo and ^M/_B prefix. The plate on the far left uses the visitPA base but retains the embossed logo and stacked prefix. I have images of three of these intermediate plates but unfortunately none without a fame or some other object obscuring a portion of the image. This three step process has also been documented in FOP plates, and reported, but so far not documented in FIRE FIGHTER plates. Posted 7/29.

This COMMERCIAL plate has somehow survived from the Bicentennial era. If commercial sounds a bit strange it's because that term has not been used on PA plates since these plates were (or probably should have been) replaced when the series was re-issued in 1977 using the, now more familiar, TRUCK legend. There is no real distinction between the terms commercial and truck. Posted 7/25.

Not quite a current PA plate, but nevertheless an unusual sighting, especially on the road — or in this case in a restaurant parking lot. No other current plate was visible and PA is not a YOM state. (YOM, a state which allows the use of Year of Manufacture plates.) Posted 7/25.

Here's another PERSON WITH DISABILITY MOTORCYCLE plate image. Still trying to find one of these without a frame, reflectors, extra stickers, etc. It appears that the starting point for this relatively new type was P00A. That would make this plate the 248th to be produced. The P that is part of the serial number is a non-advancing character. The small PD with the wheelchair symbol are not part of the registration number. Posted 7/21.

Here's a triple combination on the far left — an ANTIQUE MOTORCYCLE plate, an inspection sticker from what appears to be 1979-80, and a motorcycle plate from 1916, all on this antique motorcycle and sidecar. I'm guessing that the A30 plate is old (circa 1980) based on the narrow hole spacing and its serial number. Sorry I didn't get the make of the motorcycle. The 1916 plate is not a sidecar plate as PA never registered these, only the bike itself. All the images can be enlarged except the inspection sticker. If anyone is interested, I have a 2.75 MB version of the full image image. Posted 7/17.

This IOCC (International Organization of Christian Charities) I recently added to my collection. Don't know the vintage of this plate but it bears a resemblance to some of the GOVERNORS' plates from the mid-1940s thru the 60s with the raised loaf and vertical legend. This image is part of the OFFICIAL FRONT PLATE images. Posted 7/16.

This COMMONWEALTH COAT OF ARMS plate image was provided by Nick Tsilakis. This plate, unlike many coat of arms plates, has the raised loaf but no contrasting color like the plate above. This image is part of the OFFICIAL FRONT PLATE images. Posted 7/16.

Spotted this TRAILER DEALER plate recently. This dealer type is one of the more unusual. I have a total of seven images of this type ranging from TD1023D to the one pictured, which may be considered the current high. All are formatted alike with "TD"1000"D", with the TD prefix and D suffix remaining as fixed, non advancing characters. I believe that TD1000D was also the starting point when the www plate came into being at the time of replating. Posted 7/15.

This plate type has been in existence for many years and may go back to 1954. There are also quite a few bikes registered as ANTIQUE MOTORCYCLES, although to the casual observer this may not be the case. According to a PennDOT, Report of Registrations, for 2007 there were 6,464 motorcycles registered as antiques in PA, while in 2003 there were 4,233. As this number continues its steady growth, so do the formatting variations of the registration plates. I have accumulated well over 60 images of antique motorcycle plates from PA, and in so doing have tried to identify the formatting variations and various alpha-numeric serial progressions used. These plates pictured above represent a new serial format not previously seen. It appears that the AA0 to ZZ9 series has been exhausted and has been replaced by this new series which probably began at A0A. As always, if anyone has images or data that would be helpful in this research effort, your input is always welcome. Posted 7/14.

Spotted these MOTORCYCLE DEALER plates at the Boyertown bike show. The plate on the far left is the oldest. It is unknown where the number series began when PA began issuing plates on the www base. I will guess that it was somewhere in the 7000 range because I have images in the 7, 8 and 9000 series but none lower on this base. I have no images of M/C dealer plates just prior to the transition to the www base. If someone does, I'd appreciate the info. The next two images represent plates made on the visitPA base. This base was first seen in June of 2006 and began when the previous series was exhausted after hitting MCD9999. These plates follow a MCD/000A format with the numerical portion advancing from 000A thru 999A, then 000B, etc. I don't think anyone is tracking the high plates for this type but I submit that the MCD033C is close to the current high. Posted 7/13.

Got quite a few images at the Boyertown motorcycle show last evening, among which was this low number MOTORCYCLE VANITY plate. Posted 7/13.

Spotted on the road today . . . outside the emergency room of a local hospital I saw a hospital security vehicle with an EMERGENCY VEHICLE plate. The plate was in the EV-30000 range suggesting that it was not one of the free registrations which are in the EV-50000 to the current high. The vehicle was using amber lights so it definitely was not a police vehicle. These plates are permitted to be used on Fire Department, Ambulance, Police, Sheriff, Blood Delivery, Organ Delivery, Armed Forces Emergency Vehicle, Coroner, Medical Examiner, Haz-Mat Vehicle, Philadelphia Parking Authority, and certain privately owned vehicles used as emergency vehicles. Quite a list but seldom seen outside of Fire and EMS vehicles. Posted 7/10.

Ned Flynn captured this image of the number 1 CARPENTER'S UNION plate. Posted 7/8.

After the ^PD0000Y series of the PERSON WITH DISABILITY plates was exhausted, the expectation would have been the continuation of the series with the Z suffix, such as ^PD0000Z. However back in May 2007 Nick Tsilakis reported a plate in a new series — 00000^PD, and now on the visitPA base. OK, so it appeared that the Z suffix series had been skipped. Then shortly thereafter visitPA plates with the Z suffix started appearing in numbers, but what happened to the 00000^PD plates? It seems like there was an early release a few 00000^PD plates then these were stopped and the distribution of the Z suffix plates continued. Now the Z plates have been exhausted or nearly so. See Pa Plate Highs page. The plate pictured here looked brand new. Posted 7/3.

Spotted on the road today . . . I saw a large wrecker with two PA plates on the front. One was an Apportioned plate and the other was a Repair / Towing. There was no good way to photograph it as it was in my rear view mirror. I've seen this truck in the past, or at least one with the same combination of plates, but now I know who the owner is, so I will attempt to get an image or two. Posted 7/3.

Added CHRISTIAN HOMESCHOOL ASSOCIATION OF PA as a new Special Organization / Specialty plate. Posted 7/3.

This is not a new image, having been originally posted on this site back in August of 2006 as a mystery plate. I received the following information today. At the time when these plates were issued, this was a pet project of Governor Ridge (being from the Erie area). This information was provided by Chuck Harrington. This plate could very well have been given to him. Posted 7/3.

This same friend reminds me that STATE OFFICIALS AND DIGNITARIES' plates in addition to the number series of 24 thru 999 also includes A0 thru Z9 and 0A thru 9Z. Of course this group also includes some low numbered vanities from within the same series. This information was provided by Chuck Harrington. Posted 7/3.

Here is a unique FLAGSHIP NIAGARA plate. The plate is odd because it has more digits than a standard F/N plate. This plate was recently sold on eBay. The seller at the time claimed to know nothing about the plate. It appears the plate was never on a vehicle and never had a validation sticker applied to it, so it may have been something experimental. Posted 6/25. Revised 7/2.

AVONDALE FIRE COMPANY joins the ever growing list of PA fire companies with special organization plates. With PA having some 2500 fire companies . . . that could be quite a list of possible future plates. Posted 6/25.

GREENFIELD TWP VFC OF LACKAWANNA COUNTY will soon have its own official plate. Posted 6/22.

*WIKIPEDIA WEBSITE DISCLAIMER*

While surfing the web I came across a Wikipedia page dedicated to Pennsylvania plates. (It appears that there are similar pages for most other states.) As I scrolled down the page, I saw a number of plate images that came from my PA PL8S website, even listing this site as the source. I want to make it clear that I have never submitted images to any Wikipedia site. I find this a little disturbing but what is much more disturbing is the listing of several plate types (with pictures!) that do not exist in PA, for example, COMMERCIAL, LIVERY and RENTAL TRUCK. This is an obvious hoax, and I would hope the party or parties responsible would remove this fakery. I believe the posting of fictitious information does a disservice to the hobby by inviting skepticism and distrust. Posted 6/21.

After the above was posted at 07:42, the fake plates were removed by 13:17.

First image of a PASSENGER plate in the H series. In keeping with past practice, the HAA series was skipped. Posted 6/19.

Out on the road today . . . spotted this 82^nd AIRBORNE DIVISION ASSOCIATION plate. Posted 6/17.

Spotted these two MUNICIPAL MOTORCYCLE plates at a recent bike show. These were both on police motorcycles. It would appear that the older blue-on-white plates are still in use. Posted 6/15.

While I don't catalog plates on this website that don't reflect current use plates, with the exception of a page dedicated to GOVERNOR, SPECIAL EVENT and OFFICIAL FRONT plates, I do occasionally post something unique. He is an inversion error plate on the '71 Bicentennial base. This image was provided by Norm Lipponcott. Posted 6/15.

The plate on the far left (PA PL8S) was (and is) my plate and reflects the name of this website, the other PL8S-PA was spotted at a recent ALPCA event. They are both considered PASSENGER VANITY plates. Posted 6/13.

Here's one you haven't seen before — WCU-PA CAMPUS USE. West Chester University has decided to begin a registration program for their university-owned vehicles that are used only on-campus and not used on public roadways. The plates will be issued by the university itself, and not by PennDOT. These plates will be used only on the small campus vehicles (ATVs, UTVs, tractors, Cushmans, etc.) that are used off road around the campus for identification purposes. Full size vehicles that travel on streets and roads will continue to use Pennsylvania Official Use plates issued by PennDOT. It is not known if other colleges and universities will follow this new direction. Note the use of the bar coded validation sticker. Plates measure 4" by 7" like motorcycle and ATV plates. Posted 6/8. Additional text added 6/9.

Spotted a DISABLED VETERAN plate in the DV-24000 series today. The plate unfortunately was covered by a frame which almost obscured the plate legend. While it would not have made a good image, this sighting helped establish that the Type 3 plates with PENNSYLVANIA on the top and DISABLED VETERAN on the bottom ended at DV-24999, and Type 4 plates with PENNSYLVANIA on the bottom and DISABLED VETERAN on the top likely started at DV-25000. Click the link above to see all six type variations.

I still need information or images of Disabled Veteran plates in the DV-18000 to DV-21999 range to lock in the transition from Type 2 to Type 3.

See also SEVERELY DISABLED VETERAN. Posted 6/6.

Spotted this # 1 TALL CEDARS OF LEBANON plate recently. Too bad the image is spoiled by an advertising frame. Posted 6/2.

For many years Pennsylvania has designated HANDICAP / PERSON WITH DISABILITY MOTORCYCLE plates with a

sticker. I had never seen one of these in spite of 'scoping' thousands of motorcycle plates. Nick Tsilakis managed to spot the plate shown here and send these images. To my knowledge this is the first one of these to be documented. One reason for this elusiveness is the fact that only several hundred of these have been issued. Presently these plates are being replaced with the new PD motorcycle plate. Posted 5/30.

Spotted this 'current high' PERSON WITH DISABILITY plate today. This plate type switched to the visitPA base at the start of the Z suffix; however, a few plates have been reported with a 00000^PD format. Posted 5/23.

I have been trying for a long time to figure out when TAXI plates switched the bottom tag legend from using a sans serif I to a serif I in the word TAXI. Thanks to Jay Embee, and the images on the far left and center, that formatting change appears to have occurred at TX-39000. Jay has been kind enough to send me several images of Taxi plates recently. For the purposes of this website, I have categorized plates from TX-35000 to TX-38999 to be Type 1, from TX-39000 to TX-45999 to be Type 2, and TX-46000 and beyond to be Type 3. See Type 2 and Type 3 plates below. TX-35000 was the starting point for plates on the www base, and TX-46000 was the starting point for plates on the visitPA base (Type 3). Of course there were Taxi plates prior to the TX-35000 on previous bases. Prior to 1977, the first year for TAXI plates, BUS plates were used. Posted 5/23.

WISSAHICKON FIRE COMPANY is the latest in the ever growing list of specialty plates. Posted 5/23.

Bill Adams provides this image of a currently validated PASSENGER plate. Note the 08 and 09 stickers. This plate, which was just recently replaced, had a valid registration card which did concur with the plate number. Somehow it missed getting replaced way back when. The answer many have something to do with the purchase of a new vehicle in 2001 and this yellow-on-blue plate being issued rather than a www base plate. Posted 5/21.

There is nothing special about these images — just a couple of shots of a nice ANTIQUE MOTORCYCLE plate taken at a recent bike show. I will post several Municipal Motorcycle plates in the next few days. Posted 5/21.

FLOURTOWN FIRE COMPANY joins the ranks of a number Pennsylvania fire companies that have gotten their own specialty plate. Posted 5/21.

Jay Embee managed to snap this image of the #1 BLUE MOUNTAIN JEEP ALLIANCE plate. Posted 5/14.

WEST VIRGINIA (UNIVERSITY) ALUMNI gives their plate a fresh look. Posted 5/14.

? There have been two posting on the Yahoo Plate List recently from contributors who reported that they have seen Pennsylvania plates with an NX prefix followed by 5 numbers on the www base. One reported seeing the plate on a U-Haul truck, but neither was able to provid plate legend information. I have no record of any such plate and neither does the ALPCA archives. Can anyone shed any light on this plate type? Posted 5/4.

Another PERSON WITH DISABILITY MOTORCYCLE plate image. Unfortunately neither one shows the plate without a frame and other assorted adornments. As stated on the previous post, the PD and wheelchair symbol which are flat screened are not part of the registration number. The embossed P is part of the number but is a static, non-advancing character. Therefore the plate sequence will be P00A to P99A, then P00B to P99B, etc. to P99Z. That would make the P23A plate the 23^rd or 24^th to be produced. These are relatively new plates having been released on 12/21/07. They replace plates with HP decals which I have never seen. Posted 5/4.

First image of a TRANSPORTER plate on the visitPA base, provided by Jim Moini. Posted 5/3.

Jim Moini also enhanced the image of this SUPERIOR COURT President Judge plate previously provided by Ned Flynn. Posted 5/3.

Updated sample image of FRIENDS OF DRAKE WELL, INC. plate provided by Paul Bagnarol. Posted 5/2.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. switches rides for 2008 and gets a new plate to go along. This NASCAR N88 plate, starting at 1000, is to differentiate between it and the older Dale Jarrett plate which also used N88, but the serial number on them began with 0100. The Dale Jarrett plate was issued for the 2004 to 2006 racing seasons. The new 88 plate also suggests the discontinuation of the NC8 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. plate which was issued from 2004 thru 2007. Posted 5/2.

Ned Flynn sent me some photos of this very unusual SUPERIOR COURT President Judge plate. It appears that the photo was taken in an area with limited light which made it difficult to enhance the image. Anyway, great find and thanks Ned. The link above will take you to the section with another Superior Court plate image also from Ned. Posted 4/29.

UNION FIRE COMPANY NO. 1 has a new specialty plate with a nice colorful logo. Posted 4/29.

Recently spotted an EMERGENCY VEHICLE plate on eBay with EV-23894 and with the tag line pluralized as EMERGENCY VEHICLES. There was a run of several thousand of these before it got changed back. Previously I listed the starting point for the plural plate legend series as beginning at EV-24000, this finding suggests that this change started in the 23000 series.

These white on red plates were supposed to have been replaced with the newer visitPA style, however, a number of these are still in use especially those around the EV-30000 point but prior to the changeover. Posted 4/20.

FRIENDS OF DRAKE WELL, INC. announces a new plate to support the Drake Well Museum. Posted 4/20.

The plate on the far left is my current plate. It's a low number PASSENGER VANITY. I had the number several years ago on the www base (near left) and just had it reissued on the visitPA base. Posted 4/13.

AFSCME COUNCIL 13 announces a new plate. The near left image was provided by Craig Wanner. Posted 4/13.

Updated image of a 'Type 4' SCHOOL VEHICLE plate. This plate type is seen on school vans but not buses. Posted 4/10.

Still another new prototype. This one from the ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS. Posted 4/10.

I had an opportunity to photograph this beautiful 1919 GOVERNOR plate thanks to Ned Flynn. Posted 4/8.

Prototype image of new MALVERN FIRE COMPANY plate. Posted 4/8.

First image of a PENN ALUMNI (University of Pennsylvania) plate. This nice photo was provided by Ned Flynn. Posted 4/5.

Prototype image of new OMEGA PSI PHI FRATERNITY, INC. specialty plate. This plate type begins at 10000 since Oakmont Fire Company uses the same O/F suffix but has the number block beginning with 00000. Posted 4/3.

This POW sample image was provided by Paulie Bagnarol. My section on POW plates shows four variations of samples. This image represents a fifth variation. Paul relays that the blue border and state name and slogan have been rolled over with blue color, and underneath is red, the blue over the red, gives it a purplish tone. This plate also has two sticker wells at the top. Posted 3/26.

Prototype image of new specialty plate from HOLY FAMILY UNIVERSITY. Also moved this plate type from the Pending/Proposed group. Posted 3/26.

This GOVERNOR and LT. GOVERNOR plate image on the '77 base were provided by Eric Conner. Notice the Lt. Governor's plate has an '83 validation sticker. Eric also points out that no “Governor” or #1 plates with the later bases (Friend, Keystone, Internet) have surfaced. It is believed that Governor Thornburgh (1979-1987) was the last governor to use the #1 license plate. Governors Ridge (1995-2001), Schweiker (2001-2003), and Rendell (2003-present) did not or do not use #1 tags. Posted 3/23.

Prototype image of new specialty plate from the READING BUCCANEERS, INC. Posted 3/22.

Image of 1971 GOVERNOR'S palte supplied by Eric Conner. Posted 3/21.

Prototype image of new specialty plate from POINT PARK UNIVERSITY. Organizations are generally assigned blocks of 10,000 numbers, therefore these plates start at 10000^P/_P since Planned Parenthood of PA is using 00000^P/_P. Posted 3/20.

Update the UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN sample plate with a better image. This sample plate type is one of the toughest to find. Posted 3/18.

This hot PENN STATE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION plate was apparently secreted off the production floor at the big house. It found it's way onto eBay only to be quickly pulled. This is an all flat plate as the embossed serial numbers have yet to be applied. Posted 3/18.

1962 GOVERNORS' CONFERENCE. The plate on the right was supplied by Eric Conner. Based on information provided by Eric, it is believed that the left plate type was provided to governors attending the conference with their name on it. (Eric has seen Governor Lawrence's plate.) The right plate was available to other non-governors attending the event. These plate were likely intended for front use only since they do not have a serial number. Posted 3/18.

1988 NORTHEAST GOVERNORS' CONFERENCE. For this event the plates had serial numbers and would be considered a true special event plate which could be used in place of a standard rear plate for a limited period of time. Posted 3/18.

This is an early SNOWMOBILE registration sticker, unknown vintage. Unknown if there was an accompanying validations sticker.

I have reorganized the SNOWMOBILE section somewhat. I need several sticker images to make the group complete. In addition, I welcome information from someone who knows about the snowmobile registration sticker formatting, etc. Posted 3/9.

This an image of a 2001 SNOWMOBILE Validation Sticker featuring a coating of 2008 slush. Posted 3/9.

This an image of a 2004 SNOWMOBILE Validation Sticker and Registration Sticker. Posted 3/9.

This image is of a 2005 SNOWMOBILE Registration Sticker and Validation Sticker. Posted 3/9.

And finally a 2008 SNOWMOBILE Registration Sticker and Validation Sticker. Interestingly all four (4) of the 2001, '04, '05 and '08 stickers were seen recently pulled up to a pizza restaurant during a snowstorm. Apparently the year of your registration really doesn't matter that much. Posted 3/9.

Slowly I'm adding more nice images of these historic GOVERNOR'S plates. The image are from fellow ALPCA member Eric Conner. Posted 3/8.

Several more GOVERNOR'S plate images from Eric Conner. These 1944, 1949 and 1952 plates use a format without numbers. Posted 3/2.

I spotted a plate recently that helped to narrow down the transition point from the old (Type 4) to the newer visit PA base (Type 5) EMERGENCY VEHICLE plate. The plate was EV-30309 and was on the visitPA base. The plate on the far left is the documented high on the white-on-red base. Interesting to note also is the fact that while ostensibly all the older EV plates were replaced, in reality a number of the older type plates are still in use with current validation stickers. Most of those still in use appear to be those that were issued shortly before the changeover, such as the plate on the far left. If this weren't confusing enough, there is also an EV-50000 series of plates (Type 7). The difference between the Type 6 and Type 7 plates, aside from the number series, is that plates in the 30000 range are not fee exempt, while plates in the 50000 range are fee exempt. Posted 2/29.

This is not an official plate, or at least no one issued by PennDOT. It was in use on the front of a Philadelphia School Police vehicle. Interesting plate nonetheless. Sorry 'bout the image quality. Posted 2/29.

Information received from Bruce Bufalini is that SALVAGE YARD (WL) plates have now made the changeover to the visitPA base. The switch likely occurred at WL-23000 as he spotted WL-23007 on the new base. No image available. Posted 2/23.

First image of a POTTER COUNTY VISITOR ASSOCIATION plate. Unfortunately the plate frame completely covers up the plate legend. Not clear why someone would go to the effort of buying such a plate and then cover up its name. Posted 2/23.

This trio of GOVERNOR plates from 1930, 1932 and 1936 are the first in a series of GOVERNOR plate images provided by fellow ALPCAn Eric Conner. Click any of the text links to read more about these plates. Posted 2/23.

This 2007 INAUGURAL plate image was provided by Eric Conner. Posted 2/23.

These 1987 INAUGURAL and 1991 INAUGURAL plate images were provided by Eric Conner.

Coming soon will be a new section on GOVERNOR plates courtesy of Eric. Posted 2/17.

Received information from Nick Tsilakis which helps to establish (or at least narrow down) the changeover point from Type 1 to Type 2 SCHOOL BUS plate. Plates SC-00000 to possibly SC-05499 or more likely SC-05999 are Type 1 and use the upper tag line font, while later plates use the lower font. The difference is subtle. Click the image to the left to see a larger picture. From SC-47000 to the current high plates are on the visitPA base. These are Type 3 plates. Posted 2/15.

Updated image of PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART plate. Posted 2/12.

This 1983 INAUGURAL plate image was provided by Eric Conner. This is a pewter plate. Posted 2/12.

This 1975 INAUGURAL plate image was provided by Eric Conner. Posted 2/8.

This 1971 INAUGURAL plate image was provided by Eric Conner. Posted 2/6.

It's been quite a while since I've added pictures to the SPECIAL EVENT plates page, but Eric Conner has been kind enough to send me quite a few images of Inaugural and Governor's plates, including this 1967 INAUGURATION plate. I will be adding them gradually.

In 1963 and 1967 the license plates were issued to the individual car dealers who had cars in the inaugural parades of those years. The dealerships were not required to return the tags after the parade. Posted 2/5.

Image on far left is a newer UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH - OFFICIAL plate. The image on the near left is an older version. (This image was provided by Bruce Bufalini.) Note the plate legend on the new type uses a 'Small caps' font while the earlier plate uses a 'Title Case' format. On my Image Gallery 1, I refer to them as Type 2 and Type 1. This is one of the few type of PA plates issued in pairs. Posted 2/3.

Image on far left is an early PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY - OFFICIAL plate which is still in use. It has two sticker wells, one in each upper corner, whereas the newer plate has only one sticker well in the lower left corner. UPDATE, 2/5: Plate A15-44P has the two sticker wells, while plate A20-96P is of the latter variation. On my Image Gallery page I refer to them as Type 1 and Type 2. This is one of the few type of PA plates issued in pairs. Posted 2/3.

UPDATE: In further discussions with Eric he indicates that this plate has been around for a few years but originally did not have the Coat of Arms on the plate. Posted 2/3.

UPDATE: Bruce Bufalini points out that the characters are actually 7 and the letter O. (In PA, tag font numbers are larger than letters.) I agree with his assessment. Posted 2/1.

We have seen this plate before, but this time Eric Conner has provided a much better image. It's on a Mercedes 330. It was suggested to me by someone who should know that it could belong to a Member of Congress, but since this vehicle is driven by a college student that may not be the case. In any case, until we know more I have moved it to the STATE OFFICIALS and DIGNITARIES group. Posted 1/31.

UPDATE: Today I spotted a REPAIR TOWING plate in the 47000 range with the wider tag legend. This suggest that the plate range was from RT-47000 to RT-48999. Posted 1/30.

Updated image of Type 2 REPAIR TOWING plate. ~~The Type 2 run appears to be only 1000 plates from RT-48000 to RT-48999.~~ The Type 1 plate uses a narrower tag line and the Type 3 is on the visitPA base. Click this REPAIR TOWING link to see all three variations. Posted 1/28.

This image is of the first LIMOUSINE plate I've seen in the 26000 series, and the highest I've seen. All others seen are in the 20000 to the high 25000s. The vehicle still had the temp document in the rear window but it was wearing a validation sticker. So it suggests that the plate is fairly new, however, the plate highs page lists the high as being in the 28000 series. Posted 1/27.

First image of a revamped DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY plate on the visitPA base. Posted 1/24.

More on the new PERSON WITH DISABILITY MOTORCYCLE plate. The PD and wheelchair symbol which are flat screened are not part of the registration number. The embossed P is part of the number but is a static, non-advancing character. Therefore the plate sequence will be P00A to P99A, then P00B to P99B, etc. to P99Z. That would make the P52B plate the 152^nd to be produced. Posted 1/24.

Spotted this unusual looking LIMOUSINE wearing a BUS license plate. It's made to look like a police vehicle with light bar, two-tone paint, spotlight and 911 stickers. The bus plate is required when the capacity of the limo exceeds nine passengers, exclusive of the driver. This bus plate (BA-62016) is also the current high for PA. Posted 1/17.

UPDATE to postings of 1/12 & 1/13 — additional information on this PERSON WITH DISABILITY MOTORCYCLE plate received from Nick Tsilakis, the entire plate is flat screened, except the P52B which is embossed. Posted 1/14.

First image of a CETRONIA AMBULANCE CORPS plate. The '1' numeric prefix is because this organization has the 10000 number block. The 00000 number block is assigned to the Community Academy of Philadelphia. Posted 1/13.

Nick Tsilakis provides this first glimpse of a PERSON WITH DISABILITY MOTORCYCLE plate. He snapped this with his camera phone. The image gives some indication of the plate formatting. The alpha-numeric sequence seems a bit strange though. There were only about 350 motorcycles with the HP stickers, so I can't imagine that the sequence began at A00A. Possibly the P (after PD) is a static character, making this the 152nd plate produced. That would seem to make more sense. The other unusual feature is spelling out the word motorcycle completely. Regular cycle plates just have MC at the bottom. In addition, it can't be determined how much of this plate is flat and how much is embossed. I feel sure the P52B is embossed, but less certain about the PD & symbol and the word MOTORCYCLE. Posted 1/12 & 1/13.

Updated image of (Type 5) SAVE WILD ANIMALS - TIGER plate. This plate is an indication that this plate type is nearing the end of the series, as the Z after the stacked ^P/_Z prefix is the last character to advance. When this series is exhausted I understand that there will be a changeover to the visitPA base. Posted 1/11.

Have now identified 3 type variations on these TEMPORARY INTRANSIT (is intransit a real word?) cardboard plates. I know there are earlier variations, but this website generally tracks plates currently in use or those in use since the 1999-2000 re-plating. The image on the far left (now Type 1) was provided by Bruce Bufalini. It uses what appears to be the state seal as a watermark. The center image, Type 2, uses the Commonwealth coat of arms, and the right plate (Type 3) uses a PennDOT logo as a watermark. Posted 1/7.

Information received from Nick Tsilakis: He spotted a “Type 6” EMERGENCY VEHICLE plate EV-31975, on the visitPA base, which furthers the “high” for the 30000 series. Posted 1/7.

I'm sure to most this piece of minutia has little if any meaning, but if anyone happens to look me up in the ALPCA Roster, or has me listed by my ALPCA number, I am now using membership number 4376 in place of 9271. 4376 was my membership number when I originally belonged to ALPCA back in the 80s. Posted 1/1/08.

This 7-01 PA0000 VALIDATION STICKER image was sent to me by Clayton Moore. Clayton also asked if I had ever seen one of the PA0000 stickers with such a recent date. I have not. I know that years ago a vehicle registered after the base plate was issued, received a plate with a PA0000 sticker and the following year a regular sticker with a serial number on it was issued; however, I thought this practice had been discontinued. Posted 12/31.

Update — this sticker was on a yellow-on-blue base truck plate. It was under an 02 sticker. This suggests that PA was still using the PA0000 stickers at least up to that point. Posted 1/1/08.

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