NEW PLATES ALERT! John McDevitt reports the below four new special organization plates. Keep your eyes peeled as they are likely to hit the roads soon!

A Haven
Edinboro Volunteer Fire Department
Lily’s Hope Foundation
Swarthmore Fire & Protective Assn.

Jordan Irazabal submits this new high for the Disabled Veteran (Severe Disability) plate type. This type recently transitioned from the dark blue on white base to the "Family of Plates" design, starting at "80000 DV". For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's a great find: a new high for the blue base of the Knights of Columbus plate type, a jump of about 200 numbers from the previously observed high. Click the link to see a complete history for this type. Thanks to Bautista Della Torre for the picture.

Bob Connison shares this picture of a 1968 Tractor Dealer plate. This may appear to be the #1 plate for this year, but looking at a few years before and after, it appears that it's actually #1001.

Bob Connison also submits this picture of a Valley Forge Council BSA (Boy Scouts) plate, now the second known plate of this type. This type, as well as other special event plate types, is located on the Defunct, Special Event, & Misc. page. Click the link to see this plate type's complete history!

Here is a new high for 1912 Dealer plates. Highs for early plates are hard to come by so this is a welcome find! Photo credit goes to eBay user "pinkocelot".

Dan Mong shares this picture of a new high for the U.S. Submarine Veterans plate type. This type has been out since 2005, which means about 10 are issued each year on average. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Our own John McDevitt shares this picture of a personalized Penn State Alumni Association plate. This plate type has been out since 1985, making it one of the longest-running special organization plates. The current high for numbered plates is "P/S 30368", which means that almost 800 plates have been issued every year, on average. That's a huge number for PennDOT standards!

Here is a throwback to one of PA's rarest plate types, if not THE rarest plate type: Moped Dealer. Your author has contacted countless moped dealers around the Commonwealth and only one dealer admitted to having these plates, and he was even receptive to a visit. He is located in the middle of the state, out in the country, and had numbers 4000, 4001, and 4002. It is my belief that these are the only such plates issued. He has since received the redesigned plates from PennDOT when the Dealer plates were redesigned back in October 2022.

Lastly, here's a picture of a very tough type to spot in the wild: U.S. Army Reserve, spotted by John Clark. This type, like the Reserve types for the other four branches of the military, started in 1987 on the blue base and transitioned to the "www" base (shown here) in 2000. Click the link to see this plate type's complete history!

As reported on this site on 7/14/2024, several new Miltary & Veteran plate types were authorized by House Bill 2301 (later Act 60). We now have prototype images of four of the five plates: Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Woman Veteran, Woman Veteran (Motorcycle), and Honoring Our Women Veterans (Motorcycle). The fifth type is Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal. Click the links to see more information about each type! Thanks to John McDevitt for the images and information.

The Civil Defense plate type now has its own page on this website. You can find it on the Defunct, Special Event, & Misc. page, or by clicking the link here.

Rob Higgins shares this picture of a new high for the Penn Alumni plate type. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Tim Gierschick sends in this picture of a Philadelphia Centurions Motorcycle Club plate. This plate is almost never observed in the wild so this is a great spot!

Last up this week is a personalized Neumann University plate from Richard Than. This is a "first-of" for this site, thanks Richard!

This pair of highs for the Clarion University and Lehigh University Alumni plate types comes to us from John Clark. Both have the map outline graphic in the top-left and both are "first-of" pictures for this site, and both are new highs! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Ian Emmett posted this picture of a U.S. Air Force Reserve plate on the Keystone State Plates Facebook group. The previous high on this base was A/F 0251 so this is a new high but over 2x! Thanks Ian!

Sebastian DiSclafani sends in this picture of a NASCAR plate. "N/C/8" is for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. PennDOT issued NASCAR plates for various drivers from December 2004 through May 1, 2010. This site has an entire page dedicated to NASCAR plates, click the link to see more!

An anonymous contributor shares this promotional plate for the PA Department of Corrections / State Employee Combined Appeal 2024 Car Show. This type of plate is located on the Front/Booster/Souvenir Plates page of this website, under the Defunct, Special Event, & Misc. page.

Last but not least is this picture of a Combat Action Ribbon without a sticker well, another "first-of" for this site. Thank you to Matt and to everyone who contributes to this site and our hobby as a whole!

The Plate of the Week award goes to Clayton Moore for his spot of this Dealer - Multipurpose plate, which appears to be part of a run of 100 plates from "MP4900D" to "MP4999D" that was issued starting in late 2019 or early 2020 (thanks to John McDevitt for his research on this part). This is also a "first-of" for this website. Click the link to see more about this type!

Here's a neat one from John McDevitt: a Person with Disability (Motorcycle) plate with a "Q". This is neat for two reasons: (1) it represents the first time that one of these plates have been observed without the leading "P" (as the "P" series was exhausted) and (2) the letter "Q" does not appear on too many other PA plates. After "Q99A" will come "Q00B", etc.

Here's a new high for 1928 Bus plates. This plate comes from the seller "Signs By Jake" on eBay. On early Bus plates, the serial number started with the letter "O" and then a number.

John Clark shares this new high for the Thiel College plate type. Thiel College is located in Greenville, PA and their plate program started in 2013, meaning about 14 plates are issued every year on average. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Last up this week is what appears to be a test/prototype 1977-base plate from John Clark. It's unknow if this was produced before or after this base hit the road.

The Plate(s) of the Week award goes to John Anshant for these "first-of" pictures of Motor Boat License Dealer plates! These three plates are part of a group of plates from seven different years of which this site still needed pictures. Click the link to see more about this type!

Here's another one from John Anshant, this time a sample/test plate for the Bus plate type. This is another "first-of" for this site, thank you John!

NEW PLATE ALERT! This plate type (Operation Inherent Resolve) was announced on this site on our 7/7/2024 post (click here for archived posts). We now have a prototype image! Keep your eyes peeled, as they should start hitting the roads soon.

Brendan Sherry shares this new high for the Official Use - PA Turnpike (Non-Commercial) plate type. A few years ago, the Official Use plate type split into a few sub-types, such as PA Turnpike, PA State Police, and PennDOT. Non-Commercial versions have the "P/A" at the end of the serial, where as Commercial versions of the same plate type have "P/A" at the beginning of the serial. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Last but not least is a new high from John McDevitt for a very rare type to spot: Distinguished Flying Cross. To give you an idea of how rare this type is to spot, the last time this high was updated was March 2022. This plate type came out in 2012, which means that around 6 of these plates are issued each year, on average. Thanks John!

The Plate of the Week award goes to John Clark for this "first-of" picture of the brand new PA Sportsman plate! As reported on our 10/6 post, this plate costs $40 for a numbered plate and $168 for a personalized plate, and $14 from the sale of each plate will be credited to the Youth Hunting and Fishing Restricted Account. Thanks John!

NEW PLATE ALERT! John McDevitt reports that Thaddeus Stevens College will soon have its own plate. This school is located in Lancaster, PA. Stay tuned to this website for more!

Here's something you don't see every day: a 2-digit 1915 Motorcycle plate. In 1914 (first year for Motorcycle) and 1915, the letter "O" was used before the plate number, so the lowest serial for those years was "O1". Plate size varied depending on the number of digits on the plate. Click the link to see more!

John McDevitt spotted this picture of a Disabled Veteran sample plate on PennDOT's website. Veteran collectors know that samples of modern PA types are difficult to get, so this one is kind of like eye candy!

Last up this week is a 1938 Official plate. From 1936 through at least 1938, Official Use plates used a block of numbers from the Passenger series. It's possible (probably, even) that this practice continued past 1938, but the "OFFICIAL" legend was dropped after 1938 and was picked back up starting in 1956. Click the link to see the history for all years!

A collector who goes by "Tuscarora Antiques" online shares this pair of 1934 Passenger and Dealer plates. The pool of serial numbers was not shared between these two types for this year; "D5" and "E3" existed for both the Passenger and Dealer types.

Brandon Sowers submits this perfect picture of an Implement of Husbandry plate. This plate type is very tough to spot in the wild, let alone in someone's collection. These plates are issued to unpowered farm implements. There seems to have been a skip from around IMP-5500 through IMP-7000 so this plate is from the high block of numbers. It's also a new high! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's another high from Brandon Sowers, this one for the Square & Round Dancers plate type. This plate started on the blue base at "S/D 00001" and new registrations on the base pictured here started at "S/D 01500".

This picture of a sticker well-less Bronze Star plate is a first-of for this website! Click on the link to see the observed serial ranges for all of the format changeovers for this type. Thanks to Bruce Bufalini for the picture.

Last but not least, we have this picture of a Multipurpose Dealer plate. There are 12 Dealer types offered by PennDOT and this is one of the harder ones to spot in the wild. Thanks to Ian Emmett for the spot!

The Plate of the Week award goes to Jimmy Coates for this awesome picture of a 1951 Motor Boat License Dealer plate! It's a "first-off" for this website and of course it's a #1 plate. This type falls under the "Defunct, Special Event, and Misc." page on the Current Plates & Highs page. Thanks Jimmy!

John McDevitt reports that the Western Berks Fire Department will soon have their own license plate. This fire deparment is located in Wernersville, PA is a western suburb of Reading. Who will be the first to spot one?

Jordan Irazabal sends in this picture of a new high for the Pre-Owned Dealer plate type. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Next up is another "first-of" image for this website: a 1949 Commercial Motorcycle plate. These plates were issued for business purposes (hauling, transporting, delivering, etc.), not for personal/pleasure. This was the last year for this type.

Last up this week, Erik Thompson shares this picture of a personalized Persian Gulf War Veteran plate. This plate type is difficult enough to spot in the wild, let alone a personalized version. Thanks Erik!

The prototype for the new PA Sportsman Special Fund plate has been revealed! From PennDOT: "The Youth Hunting and Fishing Account was established as a special fund for the purpose of conducting activities that promote youth hunter and fishing education by the PA Fish and Boat Commission and the PA Game Commission." The plate costs $40 for a numbered plate and $168 for a personalized plate. Fourteen dollars from the sale of each plate will be credited to the Youth Hunting and Fishing Restricted Account. Thanks to John McDevitt for the pictures, including an up-close look at the beautiful logo.

Jonathan Ortmann sends in this picture of a personalized Conserve Wild Resources plate, a first-of image for this site!

Many Non-Passenger plates are eligible for personalization, but the personalization option is less well-known for some types - such as the six pictured! PennDOT form MV-904C outlines character limitations and fees. Thanks to John McDevitt for the information and curated pictures.

Next up is a 1936 Trailer plate from Clayton Moore. It's also a new discovery for serial formats for this year and type! It was previously thought that numbering went from 9999 to A000, as some types in that era did, but now we know that it went to A0 or A1. Thanks Clayton!

Last up this week is a new high for the Spay/Neuter Saves Lives plate type from John McDevitt. This type came out in 2023 and it appears to be enjoying decent sales so far. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

The Auto Wheel plate was a mystery for a long while - until Ned Flynn stumbled upon an eBay listing of one such plate along with the original envelope it came in. The envelope's return address was Auto-Wheel Coaster Co., Inc. of North Tonawanda, NY. It turns out that these plates were made as an add-on for the toy wagons they made. From Ned: "The Auto Wheel Coaster Company manufactured wooden sleds and toy wagons in that Buffalo suburb for sixty years beginning in 1904. The two holes on the top of the plate were evidently for the lucky boy's dad to screw it onto the back of the wagon, just as his parents' car displayed its own license plate." There is now a page for this plate type, found at the link above and also on the Defunct, Special Event, & Misc. section of the List of All Plates & Current Highs page.

John McDevitt shares this 2024-2025 validation sticker for a powered motorboat. Motorboats received metal license plates from 1931 through 1963, after which time stickers were issued. Check out the complete history on the Motor Boat License page!

Mark Bonora sends in this picture of the very rare Fort Mifflin on the Delaware plate type. As of today, only six of these plates have ever been issued. Thanks, Mark!

It appears that the serial progression for All-Terrain Vehicle (Type 2) plates is as follows:

0000X - 9999Z
000X0 - 999Z9
00X00 - 99Z99
0X000 - 9Z999
X0000 - Z9999
XA000 - XZ999
X0A00 - X9Z99
X00A0 - current high

As a reminder, Type 2 plates are for larger ATVs and the first letter only uses X, Y, and Z. Thanks to an eBay seller for the first picture and Avery Merz for the second and third pictures.

Last up this week is a new high for the Limousine plate type. These plates are showing up less and less over the years with the rise in popularity of services such as Uber and Lyft. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

The Plate of the Week award goes to an anonymous contributor for this picture of a 2025 Passenger plate. This base is not available to the public until mid-2025, once the current supply of "Family of Plates"-style plates has been exhausted. This plate is believed to be registered to a vehicle in the PA Executive Branch fleet.

Chuck Harrington shares this plate that was made for the National Governor's Security Association in the 1980s. This plate was not made for use on a vehicle, but as a souvenir for conference attendees. Thanks, Chuck, for sharing!

Here are a few new highs for the following types from John Clark:

Saint Francis University
Shady Side Academy
Neumann University

For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Julian Marrero sends in this picture of a personalized/vanity plate on the 1980s/1990s blue base. These plates are listed in the second column of pictures on the Passenger page.

Last but not least, Heather Conlan sends in this picture of a personalized National Constitution Center plate, a "first of" for this website. It is believed that there are less than 20 of this plate type on the road, so this is a fantastic spot.

NEW PLATE ALERT: Our own John McDevitt reports that a new plate is coming to Pennsylvania: NAWCC.ORG history page. Pretty obvious what this type is, right? The legend gives it away? Okay, maybe not... This is a new plate for the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors. The plates should be on the streets any "time" now, but don't wait, time is "ticking".

Here are a few new highs for the following types from John Clark:

Action For Animals Humane Society
La Roche University
Lock Haven University
National Police Defense Foundation

For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Ryan Battin shares this high-quality picture of the recently-redesigned Repossessor plate type. This is not a new high but it's the first "good" picture of this type and format. Thanks Ryan!

Peter Clericuzio shares this picture of an early vanity/personalized plate. On this website, vanity/personalized plates are listed under the Passenger pages, in the second column of pictures. Fun fact: The "PA0000" in the sticker means that the year shown on the sticker is the first year that particular number was issued.

Last up this week is a "first-of" picture for this website: a personalized Appalachian Trail Conservancy plate without a sticker well or map outline. This one comes to us from Tom O'Brien. Click the link for a complete history on this type!

The Plate of the Week award this week goes to an anonymous contributor for their shot of number 4. This is technically considered a vanity/personalized plate, the history of which can be found in the middle column of photos on the Passenger history page. For a long while, number 1 was reserved for the Governor, number 2 was reserved for the Lieutenant Governor, and numbers 3-23 were reserved for members of the Governor's Cabinet, but this is no longer the case.

Here are a few new highs for the following types: Antique Historic Vehicle (from Bruce Bufalini), Washington & Jefferson College (from Bruce Sakson), Rutgers University (from Jaska Börner), and Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 (from Nick Tsilakis). For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's another high, this time for the Preserve Our Heritage type from Dante Hornberger. What's more interesting than it being a new observed high is that it's likely the "beginning of the end": the "Z" series will likely be the last series before this type is transitioned to the "Family of Plates" design language. As always, stay tuned to this site for more developments.

Here is a pair of special organization plates without the sticker well and without a map graphic. As discussed in previous posts, this was a holdover format while plates were produced but the map graphic hadn't yet been decided on. Thank you to Nick Tsilakis for the picture of the Pennsylvania College of Technology plate and Brendan Sherry for the picture of the Purple Heart / Combat Wounded Veteran plate. Click the links to learn more about the history of these plate types.

Last but not least, we now have a graphic rendering of the recently-redesigned Philadelphia Museum of Art plate. One personalized plate (right) has been observed with the new logo but no numbered plates - yet! Thank you to John McDevitt for the info and picture.

The Plate (Plates?) of the Week award this week goes to Walt Poposki for this awesome run of #1 Moravian University plates. This plate type recently received a minor redesign to its logo, and it is now Moravian University (no longer Moravian College). Moravian University is located in Bethlehem, PA. Click the picture to see a full-size version! Extra credit question: There is one format missing from this group - do you know which one it is? Check out Keystone State Plates Facebook group to chime in!

Up next is a new high for the PA District Kiwanis International plate type. This plate type has a very interesting history: it was annouced in 2005 but not enough orders were received so the organization cancelled the plate program in May 2009. In April/May 2015, the plate program was resurrected and plates started to hit the roads shortly thereafter. The last time this high was updated was November 2017 with number 00010 K/I. According to the vanity checker, 00016 K/I is the highest current number. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here is a pair of Gold Star Family plates (left from Jeff Lesher, right from Nick Tsilakis). The numeric plate is a new high. Click the link for a complete history on this plate type!

Chuck Harrington sends in this picture of a plate in recognition of Governor Wolf's second inauguration. There was no official Inaugural plate for the 2019 Inauguration so this is considered a souvenir plate. Click the link to learn more about the history of this plate type.

Last up this week we have a personalized Blackthorn Rugby Football Club plate sent in by Chris Van Zandt. This is a relatively new plate type; it came out in 2022.

The Plate of the Week award goes to our own John McDevitt, for this new high (left) for the Dealer - Farm Equipment plate type. Last October all Dealer types were redesigned and replaced but none of these have been observed on the new format (right). John has reached out to PennDOT numerous times and has not gotten any conclusive information. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's a new plate type: American Fire Company #1, not to be confused with American Hose Company No. 1 plate type. No active plates on the road yet, so keep your eyes peeled!

John McDevitt also reports that two plate types are getting new logos: Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix and Geneva College. Click the links for a complete history on these plate types.

Here's a fairly uncommon one to spot in the wild: Commonwealth Constables Association, sent in by Bruce Bufalini. This type came out in 2016, which means that about 6 of these are issued each year on average.

Lastly we have this rare spot by John McDevitt of a Commercial Implement of Husbandry plate. These plates are for self-powered vehicles engaging in work on behalf of a farm. Here's a Fact Sheet from PennDOT for more information.

Ryan Battin submits this new high for the Classic Motorcycle plate type. The high for this type seldom gets updated; the last time it was updated before today was March 2022 with number 1008. This means about 230 plates are issued each year. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's another high sighting, this one from Nick Tsilakis, for the Millersburg Fire Company plate type. This type started in 2009, which means that about 3 plates are issued every two years! This is a great spot!

Bruce Bufalini shares this picture of a plate that appears to be an Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) plate. These plates are not made by PennDOT, and they are almost certainly for campus use only. IUP does have a special organization plate, click the link for more info!

John McDevitt reports that NicNac Charities will soon have a special organization plate. No plates are active yet, according to the PennDOT vanity plate availability tool.

Last up this week is a personalized Emergency Medical Services plate, a first for this site. Thank you to John Clark for the spot!

LEGISLATION UPDATE:

1. Here is a link to the official PennDOT bulletin regarding the general plate redesign: Link to Bulletin 24-15

2. Here is a link to a PennDOT bulletin stating that the Otter plate has been replaced by the Eastern Hellbender plate, but Otter plates may still be ordered - see Bulletin for details: Link to Bulletin 24-16

3. Act 60, formerly House Bill 2301, was signed into law on July 15, 2024. It authorizes five new plate types (Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Women Veteran, motorcycle-sized Women Veteran, motorcycle-sized Honoring Women Veterans, and Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal) and removes 12/31/2025 expiration of Distracted Driving Awareness Plate. The new plates will be available in 120 days from the date of signing, on or about November 12, 2024.

You can see any plate-related legislation news at the Legislation page, linked here.

The Plate of the Week award goes to Ben Vaughn who sends in this picture of a Robert Morris University plate. This type is one of a few special organization types that are still on the 1999 "www" base. This is because PennDOT overestimated demand and, as a result, there are still "www" plates sitting in their inventory. In fact, John McDevitt reports that their inventory on this plate type goes to R/M 01999. Considering that this plate type has been around since 2003 and they are only at R/M 00633, it will be a long while before the "www" base is exhausted. It's also a new high! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's another new high, this one for the Disabled Veteran (Severe Disability) type from Ryan Battin. This type started in 1986 on the dark blue-on-white base and transitioned to the "Family of Plates" base 2021, starting at 80000 DV or 80001 DV.

This spot of a Fire Fighter plate by Bruce Bufalini is the first image for this site of a numbered FF plate with the map outline. Jeffrey Henry on Facebook pointed out that the Maltese cross moved closer to the left edge once the map outline was added to the plate. This site has a picture of a personalized FF plate with a map outline and the same is true. Check out the Keystone State Plates group on Facebook for more. Click the link for more history, and thanks Bruce!

Lastly we have this awesome picture of a 1950 Truck plate on what appears to be a 1950 Ford pickup truck. The "R" in the plate serial is a weight class designator - "R" is the lightest weight class. Click the link and navigate to 1950 to see more information on weight classes. Thanks to Richard Gullo for the picture - click it for a larger image!

The Plate of the Week award goes to Clayton Moore (again!), who sends in this picture of a 1926 Motorcycle Dealer plate. As with Clayton's award-winning submission last week, this is also a "first-of" picture for this site. This type has a confusing history: the law authorizing this type was signed on 6/30/1919 but the earliest evidence of these being issued is an order for 500 plates in 1922, even though the first plate observed is a 1923 plate. Click the link to see the complete history for this type!

Here's a new high for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation plate type from John Clark. This type came out in 2005, which means that about 26 plates are issued each year, on average. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

One thing this site focuses on is crossover points for different formats of plates (sticker well, no sticker well, map outline in place of sticker well, etc.) Ben Vaughn spotted this University of Pittsburgh plate without a sticker well, a "first-of" for this site. Click the link to see more about this type's history. Thanks Ben!

Our fearless leader, John McDevitt, was able to get actual images of the three special organization plate types that also offer motorcycle-sized plates: Blue Knights - LEMC, Fraternal Order of Police, and International Assoc of Fire Fighters. According to John, 27 plates are currently registered for the motorcycle-sized Blue Knights - LEMC type, 15 plates are currently registered for the motorcycle-sized Fraternal Order of Police type, and 58 plates are currently registered for the motorcycle-sized International Assoc of Fire Fighters type. This website and all of the amazing information herein exists because of John - thank you John!

Last but not least is a neat 1933 Passenger number from Bob Baker. Here's a snippet from the 1933 Passenger record - as you can see, this number falls into the second serial format. Click the link to see more!


"Serial formats:

- 1 - 99999
- A, then A1 - Z9999 ("B" follows "A9999", etc.)
- 0A - 9A, then 1A0 - 9A9, then 1A000 - 9A999 (then 0B - 9B, etc.)
- 00A - 99A, then 10A0 - 99A9, then 10A00 - 99A99 (then 00B - 99B, etc.)
- 000A - 999A, then 100A0 - 0A999 (then 000B - 999B, etc.)
- 0000A - 9999Z
- AA, then AA1 - AA999 ("AB" follows AA999, "BA" follows AZ999)
Observed high: SY282"

The Plate of the Week award goes to Clayton Moore, who shares this picture of a 1942 Governor plate. This is a "first-of" picture for this site. From 1930 through 1964, Governor plates incorporated an embossed bread loaf-like graphic, and some years did not even have the "GOVERNOR" legend. Click the link to see the complete history for this type!

Here's a new Truck high from Avery Merz. Many people on the Keystone State Plates Facebook group are speculating what the serial sequence will be once "ZZZ-9999" is reached. Feel free to join the conversation there! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

John McDevitt discovered this Type 2 All-Terrain Vehicle plate on eBay. This is the first time for Type 2 plates that two letters have appeared in a serial format - see the link for more information. An ATV that would receive a Type 2 ATV plate has a width which exceeds 50 inches or a dry weight which exceeds 1000 pounds. Type 1 plates are for ATVs which are less than 50 inches wide and a dry weight less than 1,000 pounds.

Someone who goes by "Tuscarora Antiques" on Facebook submits this picture of the new Blue Star Family plate type. It's also a new high. We are still looking for a high-quality picture of this type, so keep your eyes out!

Last up is a 1914 Truck plate, sent in by Clayton Moore. What's strange about this one is that, according to a January 1, 1915 article in the Harrisburg Telegraph, 6,453 solid tire (Truck) registrations were issued in 1914. This type started at #20000, which means that the highest number issued would have been #26452. Pennsylvania largely overestimated the demand for 1914 and 1915 Truck plates so there were a bunch of leftover plates that had the space on the left for the metal tab strip, and most of those were repurposed as Passenger plates. Either this plate had a tab strip affixed to it by a collector later, or this was issued as a Truck plate in late 1914. For more information, click the links to explore the history of both types.

Clayton Moore shares the picture on the left of a 1933 Motorcycle plate. The picture on the right (from Jeff Lesher) is also a 1933 Motorcycle plate. The difference is that the "33 / PA" is in two different spots on the plates. Up until now, we thought that "33 / PA" was on the left side through number 9999, and then switched to the right side once the serial number got a letter (Starting at "A1"). Once "A198" was found, we learned this was not the case. Discoveries like this make the hobby ever-exciting!

State Senator Rosemary Brown shared this mockup of the new plate design mentioned last week, but this one features a dark blue border. The few pictures that have surfaced of the plates in use (mostly courtesy of the Governor's office) have not had this blue border. We will see how the final version turns out. Thanks to John McDevitt for the info!

Matt Ciecka shares this pair of Philadelphia Centurions Motorcycle Club plates. The one on the left is a new high (if you can believe that the sixth plate issued is a new high for a plate type that's been out since 2018) and the plate on the right is a personalized version of same. According to PennDOT's website, there is no motorcycle-sized plate for this type, but several people in the collecting community have said otherwise. We hope to obtain a picture of one of these in the near future.

John McDevitt sends in this new high for the Person with Disability plate type. This type started in 1965 - click the link to see the complete history! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here is a slew of new highs for college plate types: Temple University Alumni, West Virginia Alumni, Lebanon Valley College, and DeSales University. Thanks to John Clark for the pictures!

PLATES TO BE REDESIGNED

On July 9, Governor Shapiro announced that Pennsylvania license plates would be redesigned to commemorate the 250th birthday of the United States. These plates will be available for order starting Spring 2025 and will become the standard issue once inventory of the current design is depleted. This will be the new design for all plates, including Military, Specialty, Special Organization, and Special Fund. Thank you to Stephen Caruso on Twitter for the first two pictures (on a Suburban belonging to the Executive branch) and PennDOT for the third picture. You can expect this new design to hit the streets in the second half of 2025. What do you think of the new design? Check out "Keystone State Plates" on Facebook to join the conversation.

LEGISLATION UPDATE: (1) Senate Bill 916, mentioned last week, which authorizes a Pennsylvania Sportsman plate, was signed into law on July 8 and will take effect on or about September 6, 2024. (2) House Bill 2301 authorizes special plates for recipients of Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, removes 12/31/2025 expiration of Distracted Driving Awareness Plate, authorizes Women Veteran Motorcycle Plate, Honoring Women Veteran Motorcycle Plate, Women Veteran Plate, Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal (B prefix or suffix). The bill was presented to the Governor on July 9, 2024, it is awaiting his signature. You can see any plate-related legislation news at the Legislation page, linked here.

Brayden Harnish sends in this new high for the Sports Car Club of America plate type. This type came out in 2005 which means that about 11 plates are issued each year (less than one per month). For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Clayton Moore shares this awesome picture of a 1938 Motorcycle sample plate. Check out the linked page to see the complete history for Motorcycle plates!

Matt Boyer sends in this picture of a personalized Holy Family University plate. This is the first such image for this website - thanks Matt!

LEGISLATION UPDATE: House Bill 73, now Act 36, which authorizes an Operation Inherent Resolve Veterans plate, has been passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by the Governor on July 1. It authorizes a veteran of the military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, encompassing campaigns in Iraq, Syria and Libya, plus $26, to receive a plate which may be used only on a passenger car or truck with a gross weight of not more than 14,000 pounds. Senate Bill 916 authorizes a Pennsylvania Sportsman plate. This appears to be a Special Fund plate, which means that proceeds from the sale of the plate support a state trust fund - in this case, it supports the Youth Hunting and Fishing Restricted Account. This bill was presented to the Governor on July 3 and he is expected to sign the bill into law very soon. The law will be effective in 120 days from the signing of the bill. You can see any plate-related legislation news at the Legislation page, linked here.

John Clark shares this perfect image of a fairly uncommon specialty type: Delaware County Fallen Firefighter & EMS Memorial Committee. this type started in 2013, which means that about 3.5 plates are issued every year. Not only does it have one of the longest plate legends of any PA plate, it's also a new high! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's another new high, this one from Steve Miller for the Pennsylvania Hunting Heritage plate type. According to ABC27 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ranked 4th nationwide in antlered deer harvest and 3rd in the antlered harvest per-square mile according to a 2023 National Deer Association report.

Clayton Moore shares this picture of a 1920 Motorbike plate, a first for this site. This plate type started in 1920 and ended after 1949, and was resurrected in 1977 as Moped.

Last up this week we have a new high for the Honoring Our Women Veterans plate type from Richard Than. This type started in 2019 and the first 100 were reserved (not all have been issued yet) which means that about 40 plates are issued per year.

When validation stickers stopped being required starting in 2017, PennDOT decided to add a graphic of the outline of the Commonwealth in place of the sticker well. Some low-issuance types (mostly special organization plates) had plates where there was no sticker well but also no map outline. The reason for this is unknown, but it's likely that PennDOT over-produced certain plates and they are still sitting in their inventory, waiting to be issued. High-issuance types did not experience this and went from sticker wells to map outlines. These two East Allen Township Volunteer Fire Department plates are examples of the sticker well-less, map outline-less plates. It is expected that this type will receive a map outline soon. Thanks to John Clark for the picture on the left, and to Greg Brutshea for the picture on the right.

Here's a picture of a plate with the aforementioned map outline, and a new high for the Pittsburgh Central Catholic plate type. Thank you to John Clark for the picture. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Brayden Harnish shares this picture of a Moped Dealer plate. This particular base was used from 1979 through 1999 and revalidated with stickers. The "PA0000" on the sticker indicates that this number was first issued in the year printed on the sticker - in this case, 1979. This is also a new high for this base, see the link for more information!

Moravian College is now Moravian University, and their plates have been updated accordingly. In addition to the name change, the star logo has also been revised - see the picture on the right for comparison. Thanks to John McDevitt for the information and prototype picture, and thanks to John Clark for the picture on the right.

Brandon Sowers shares these pictures of a 1912 Passenger plate on a beautiful 1912 Auburn 30L. Pennsylvania allows "YOM" ("Year of Manufacture") plates, where you can use plates from the year the car was manufactured, available for cars/plates from 1906 to 1976. To apply to do this, fill out and submit a Form MV-11V. Click the pictures for larger versions!

The Plate of the Week award goes to our own John McDevitt for his spot of this "first-of" LVHN MedEvac plate. This site reported on May 12, 2024 that this was a new type, and about five weeks later the first live one was spotted. Thanks John!

Here's a type that is seldom spotted in the wild: Motorcycle Dealer. About nine months ago, PennDOT redesigned all of the Dealer types (including a new serial format for each plate type), issued the new plates to dealers, and recalled the old plates. This is the second sighting of this type submitted to this site on the redesigned base. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Bill Koneski shares this high-quality picture of an Official Use (Non-Commercial) plate. These plates are issued to passenger vehicles owned by the Commonwealth. As the name implies, there is also a Commercial variant - see more on that type here.

Tim Gierschick sends in this picture of quite an interesting sight... a trio of 1915 Passenger plates. Back in these days, plates were issued in pairs. Our best guess is that a replacement plate was requested for some unknown reason.

Lastly, here's a great picture of the redesigned Mansfield University plate from John Clark. According to this site, this type received a refreshed logo back in 2021. Great spot, John!

The Plate of the Week award goes definitively to Jaska Börner for his spot of this Lung Cancer Alliance plate. This site has a picture of a personalized version of this plate type, but this is the first numbered plate. It's also a new high for this type. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page! Thanks Jaska!

Here's a neat sample or test plate for the Antique Motorcycle plate type sent in by Clayton Moore. This type started around 1969 and transitioned to the "Family of Plates" base in 2013, starting at number 01000.

Avery Merz shares this picture of a personalized Support Your Zoo plate. This is this site's first entry for a personalized version of this plate without the sticker well. This plate type's previous design is hailed as one of the most beautiful plate designs of all time, but sadly it fell victim to PennDOT's "Family of Plates" design language in 2013.

Julian Marrero sends in this picture of a personalized Disabled Veteran (Severe Disability) plate. In addition to paperwork you need to get one of these plates, the plate costs $13.00 and another $64.00 if you want to personalize it.

Last but not last, Avery Merz sends in this picture of what appears to be a PA Passenger number on a European-sized plate. "A" for effort? Click the pictures to the left to see larger versions.

Starting this week off with a new high for the Antique Vehicle plate type. This type came out in 1956 on the white-on-purple base. Cars that get Antique plates must be 25 years or older and are thereafter exempt from both safety and emissions inspections. Thanks to Jerry McCoy for the picture. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's another high, this one for the Circus-Carnival Truck from Jaska Börner. Finding a new high for this plate type has proven to be very difficult over the years. This plate type came out in 1990.

Brayden Harnish sends in this picture of a personalized Presidential Service Badge plate. As you can imagine, this plate type is seldom spotted, and is the second personalized PSB plate known to this site.

One of the goals of this site is to document serial changeover points between formats and bases. This picture (right) of Knights of Columbus plate number K/C 02505 (from Brayden Harnish) has the map outline and the picture on the left (from Tom Perri) is two numbers lower but with no sticker well. According to this site, plates K/C 02498 - K/C 02503 have no sticker well, while K/C 02505 has a map outline and is the lowest number observed with a map outline. It's good to have data like this so we can be as specific as possible for viewers!

John Anshant submits this picture (left) of a 1977 yellow base Representative (State) plate. This is the first Representative plate observed without the "HR" being inside a large keystone (see picture on right, from unknown). Neat find!

The Plate of the Week Award goes to Brandon Sowers for this picture-perfect shot of a blue base Wilkes University Alumni. Up until now, this site did not have any such picture, so we are most grateful to Brandon for this excellent picture. This type came out in 1997 on the blue base and is still being issued (although it's still on the "www" base and has not transitioned to the "Family of Plates" design).

Here's another blue base plate, this one being Gettysburg College from John Clark. This plate type came out in 1999, transitioned to the "www" base in 2001, and then to the "Family of Plates" base in 2019, and has always had the rare 4-number format.

Here's an oddball sighting: a Pre-Owned Dealer plate way out of sequence. The current high is P/R 24206 so this is likely a personalized/vanity Pre-Owned Dealer plate.

John McDevitt shares that the existing PA Association of Realtors plate is transitioning to the "Family of Plates" style. This type started in 1995 on the blue base, transitioned to the "www" base in 2001, and has been on the "www" base ever since. This is not a high-volume type but the transition to the "Family of Plates" style likely means the supply of "www"-style plates is nearly exhausted.

Last but not least this week, we have an awesome trio of early Motorcycle plates from John Willard (pictures from John McDevitt). Motorcycle plates always have a fascinating history since they usually date as far back (or close) as Passenger plates, but way fewer motorcycles were on the road than passenger cars, plus Motorcycle plates were issued in singles whereas Passenger plates were generally issued in pairs in the early days, so early Motorcycle plates in collections are very difficult to get.

Brayden Harnish shares these images of three different Legislative plate types in PA: Representative (State), Senator (State), and Retired Legislator. The first two types use the district number as the plate number, whereas the third type is issued in sequence. Check out the Legislative & Judicial page to see more!

Here's another one from Brayden Harnish, this one a new high for the recently-redesigned Support Your Zoo plate type. This plate type started in 1996 as a full-size graphic background and transitioned to the "Family of Plates" style in 2013. The original design is widely considered one of the best plate designs of all time. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

According to a posting shared by Eric Conner, State Representative Russ Diamond has fond memories of the 1976 Bicentennial and is looking forward to the upcoming America 250 celebration in 2026. He is a proud Pennsylvanian, but is not enamored with the current PA plate design. As such, he has introduced House Bill 2271 to create a throwback America 250 plate which borrows design elements from the past. Twenty-five dollars of the plate fee will help fund the America 250 celebration in Pennsylvania. The last action on this bill was that it was referred to the House Transportation Committee on May 7. The legislation, if passed, would authorize a plate like the one shown. Note there is already a Let Freedom Ring - 250 Years semiquincentennial registration plate with only a few hundred plates sold.

Gavin Gross shares this neat picture of a #1 plate for the Official Use - PA Turnpike (Commercial) type. Starting in 2017, the Official Use plate type started to break out into separate types. So far, there is PA Turnpike (Non-Commercial & Commercial), PennDOT (Non-Commercial & Commercial), and State Police (Car/SUV & Motorcycle). As with most Official Use plates, if the letter is in the beginning of the serial, it's Non-Commercial; if it's at the end, it's Commercial.

Last up this week, we have a nice 2-character 1934 Passenger plate from Tim Jumper. Back in these days, not all low numbers were reserved for VIPs. See the Passenger page for more info on the serial ranges.

NEW PLATES: PennDOT has been more proactive about publishing bulletins announcing new special organization plate types. Here are two recent bulletins: Bulletin 24-11 and Bulletin 24-12, both dated May 2024. These two bulletins collectively announce 16 new plate types but 13 have already been covered by this website. The three remaining are Down Syndrome Association of Pittsburgh, Elle’s Angels Foundation, and Angel Flight East. As of this weekly update, none of these three types have active plates. Thanks to John McDevitt for the heads-up on both bulletins!

Bruce Bufalini shares this new high for the Vietnam War Veteran plate type. This plate type started in 1999 on the white base and transitioned to the "Family of Plates" style in 2014. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Next up, we have a 4-digit 1908 Passenger plate from Jeff Lesher that's printed on the size that a 5-digit number normally would be printed on. It's thought that these were mostly for replacement plates. These plates are very uncommon to find but not impossible. The 5-digit plate, for comparison, comes from Don Bucchi.

Here's another new high, this time from John Sutliff, for the Preserve Our Heritage type. This is the only plate that's still being issued with a full graphic background, and it's expected that this type will transition to the "Family of Plates" style after R/R 9Z99 is reached.

Finally we have a low-number vanity plate, #40. Vanity plates can be found on the Passenger page under their respective years. Thanks to Joshua Lutz for the picture!

LEGISLATION UPDATE: Senate Bill 916 proposes the creation of a Sportsman license plate. If this plate comes to fruition, it will likely fall under the Special Fund category, which means a portion of each purchase is put towards a special state trust fund for the benefit of whatever the plate type is supporting. You can see any plate-related legislation news at the Legislation page, linked here. Click here to read more about Senate Bill 916.

John McDevitt reports that two new plates are on the way: Fairfield Hose Company and LVHN MedEvac. Stay tuned for more infomation on these plates as they begin to be spotted in the wild.

Brendan Sherry shares this picture of a West Chester University plate, the first image on this website of this type with the map outline graphic in place of the sticker well. This type came out in 2005, starting at W/C 20001, which means that about 26 plates are issued per year.

Here's (left, from Devan Ciemiewicz) what appears to be a test or prototype plate for the various plates that had a white backgound. What is interesting is that all of the white-background plate types that made it to production had "PENNSYLVANIA" on the bottom, not the top, which this test/prototype shows. The picture on the right (from Tom Perri) is one such plate type that used a white background.

Last but not least, we have a new high for the National Constitution Center plate type, compliments of John Clark. This type came out 17 years ago, and number 17 is the current high so you can see how rare these are! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Brayden Harnish sends in this fantastic picture of the "new" Conserve Wild Resources plate. The "new" is in quotes because this type goes back to 1993 with the Saw Whet Owl, then transitioned to the Otter in 1999, and now to the Eastern Hellbender in 2023. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's what appears to be a sample 1943 tab. These tabs were used in place of a new annual plate in 1943 in order to conserve steel for the war effort. These tabs were issued in late 1942 to be affixed to the 1942 annual plate and used for the duration of 1943. Annual plates resumed in 1944. See the Passenger page for more info, and thanks to Mike Alfonse for the picture!

Ian Emmett shares this picture of a Pennsylvania Auctioneers Association plate. This is the first image of this type with the map outline graphic. This type came out in 2013, which means that a little over 2 plates are issued per year.

Here's a rare one: Hearing Impaired. This plate type is very seldom spotted, but wait, there's more... it's also a new high!

Bruce Bufalini sends in this picture of an Expeditionary Forces Veteran plate which appears to be a number from a previous format on the current format. These remakes are being spotted more and more and will make it tough to track changeover points from format to format. Click the type link to see all formats for this type!

The Plate of the Week award this week goes to Bill Southwick for a "first-of" shot of the new Air Medal plate. This was one of four plates authorized by Acts 112 and 113 of 2023: Pollinator Habitat, Afghanistan & Iraq Veteran, Blue Star Family, and Air Medal. This is the first such plate spotted since the Acts were signed into law in March 2023. Thanks Bill!

Here's a new high for the In God We Trust plate type from Jonathan Ortmann. As you can see, this plate has a sticker well, which implies that many of these plates were made since we don't see the map outline yet. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Ross Clinchy shares this picture of what appears to be a low-number Press Photographer plate, but what is actually a personalized plate of the same type. It is very rare to spot a personalized PP plate so we are grateful to Ross for sharing this!

Speaking of Press Photographer plates, the Pew Charitable Trusts account on Instagram shared this awesome picture of a PP plate in the late 1970s. The left photo will open full-size for your viewing pleasure. The photo originally comes from the Library of Congress.

Chris Wentzel sends in this picture of a Ringing Hill Fire Company plate without a sticker well. Whenever a plate has neither a sticker well nor a map outline, that means it was made in the short span of time after the requirement for registration stickers was dropped and PennDOT decided to use a map outline of the state in place of the now-unused sticker well. This is the first spot of such a plate.

The Plate of the Week award again goes to John Clark for a "first-of" shot of the new Dealer - Multipurpose plate. All Dealer plate types were redesigned in October 2022 and eventually made their way to dealerships. One thing to note: the legend of the sample plate for the redesign reads "MULTIPURPOSE DEALER", but "DEALER" was dropped on the final design. Click the link to see the same plate and more history about this type.

Believe it or not, this is a new high for the Friendship Hook, Ladder, Hose, & Ambulance plate type from Mike Alfonse. This type began in 2009 so not even one plate per year is issued, on average. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Nick Tsilakis shares this new high for the U.S. Navy (Active Duty) plate type. These Active Duty types came out in 2017 and were offered for all five branches of the U.S. Military, as well as a redesigned PA National Guard type. All six types have the "A/D" suffix and each type has a numeric block reserved. Head to the "Military & Veteran" page, then type "Active Duty" in the search bar to see all of the number blocks.

Clayton Moore submits this picture of a 1924 Passenger plate. Back in those days, plate length varied by how many characters were printed on the plate. For Passenger plates, 1 - 9999 measured 6" x 10", 10000 - 99999 and A-1 - A-999 measured 6" x 12", and 100-000 - 999-999 and A-1000 - A-99999 measured 6" x 15". The "A" series started after number 999-999 was reached. This is the first image of an "A"-series plate under A-1000.

Mike Alfonse sends in this picture of a personalized Emergency Vehicle plate. This is the first spotting of a personalized EV plate with the map outline - thanks Mike!

The Plate of the Week award goes to John Clark for this "first-of" shot of the new Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine plate. This plate was announced in 2022 but the first plate was observed in 2024. This college is located in Erie. Great shot, John!

Then and now. These two Classic Car/Vehicle plates represent the first plate issued dating back to 1977 from Clayton Moore, and the most recent plate spotted by Richard Than, a new high. The "C" prefix was added in 2004 after the series hit 99999. Then the graphic base was added in 2013. All variations of this plate are still in use today. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Mike Alfonse spotted this personalized New Car Dealer plate. Starting in October 2022, all Dealer plates were redesigned and replaced; businesses which had any of the various Dealer types were required to hand in their existing plates once the new ones were sent to them. This is a "first-of" image for this site.

This quartet of pictures comes from John Clark, all schools and all new highs!
Cathedral Preparatory School
Ohio State Alumni
Ridley School District
Villanova University

Lastly, we have a new high for the Apportioned plate type, spotted by John McDevitt. Apportioned plates started in 1982 at AA-00000 on the yellow base, using AA thru now AH across four bases (AC was skipped).

The Plate of the Week award goes to Mike Alfonse for this "first-of" shot of the new National Guard plate. Active Duty plates came out in 2017, all with the "A/D" suffix and the 90000 block being reserved for National Guard, but it's thought that the National Guard type wasn't issued immediately since there were still plates from the N/G 0000 series in PennDOT's inventory to be distributed. Naturally, this is also a new high too! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Koby Vinokor sends this incredible 1909 Pittsburgh plate. The city of Pittsburgh issued plates in 1908 and 1909 and both years had two varities: one-seat cars and two-seat cars! For 1909, white-on-brown plates were for one-seaters and white-on-pale green plates were for two-seaters. Pittsburgh plates are incredibly scarce in collectors' hands. Thank you to Eric Taylor's PorcelainPlates.net website for the info!

Here's another "first-of", a personalized Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue plate with the map outline. Yours truly spotted this one.

Here's another high from Mike Alfonse, this one for the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. plate type. This type came out in 2006, which means that about 17 plates are issued each year, on average.

Last this week we have yet another variation of a D.A.R.E. sample, sent in by Devan Ciemiewicz. Check out the link to see the others!

John Clark sends in this picture of a William Penn Charter School plate. It's a new plate but NOT a new high. As you will read in the History page (click the link above or click "(history)" under the type name in the All Plates & Highs page), this type originally issued numbers by 10 instead of 1. This type started in 2006 but it's likely that this is the first time that number 20003 was issued.

John Clark also sends in this picture of a Albright College plate, which IS a new high! This type started in 2005 which means that about 8 plates are issued per year, on average. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's another high, this one for the Official Use - Pennsylvania State Police plate type. Starting in 2017, PennDOT started breaking out Official Use plates into specific agencies, starting with a type specifically for PennDOT vehicles, then Turnpike Commission (2018), and then PA State Police (2022).

John Clark shares this image of a blue base Circus-Carnival Truck plate, which surprisingly is a high for this format! This type started in 1990 on the blue base and fees are half of a Truck registration since these plates are only valid for half the year!

Rounding out this week, we have a personalized National Police Defense Foundation plate. This is a "first-of" for this site (personalized on the map outline format). Thanks to Ryan Duffy for the picture.

LEGISLATION UPDATE: Senate Bill 915, which would waive replacement fees for veteran license plates, passed in the Senate on March 19, 2024. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration and is expected to pass and eventually become law. You can see any plate-related legislation news at the Legislation page, linked here. Click here to read more about Senate Bill 915.

Bruce Bufalini sends in this picture of a Washington & Jefferson College plate. This type has historically been a tough one to find in the wild, so any picture of one is a welcome addition to this site! It's also the first one observed with the map outline AND it's also a new high! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's another high, this one for the Ohio State Alumni plate type. Like the Washington & Jefferson plate above, it's also the first one observed with a map outline. Thanks to Ben Vaughn for the picture!

John McDevitt found this awesome picture (left) of a 1920 Motorcycle plate. Back in this era, plate length varied by the number of characters in the serial. In 1920, Motorcycle plates were 4 1/2" x 6" for numbers 1-999, and 4 1/2" x 8" for numbers 1000 and above. Plate number 2008 is shown to illustrate the difference in size. Both pictures are from Worthpoint.com.

Finally this week, we have a personalized Commonwealth Constables Association plate, yet another "first" for this site, both because it's personalized and it has a map outline. Thanks to the anonymous contributor!

The NASCAR page is finally done! Click the link to check it out, and you can always access it in the All Plates page. N.B. Some NASCAR plate types were issued in low quantities and have never been photographed. Any help with the "NO IMAGES KNOWN" would be appreciated.

The Plate of the Week award goes to John Clark for this "first-of" image of the new The Colebrookdale Railroad plate type. This type was announced in 2023 with the first plates observed in early 2024. It's also a new high! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's another high from John Clark, this one for the Steel Worker type. This type came out on the blue base in 1997, with an observed high of S/W 00624 on that base. When this type transitioned to the "www" base in 2001, numbering restarted at S/W 05000, so although it appears that over 5,600 Steel Worker plates have been issued, in reality it's only about 1,230 to-date. Remember that you can always click the "(history)" link below each type on the All Plates page to see detailed information for each type.

Bruce Bufalini spotted this personalized In God We Trust plate. This is the first plate (personalized or not) that has been observed without the sticker well. As a refresher, some plates had no sticker well and no map outline when the state was transitioning from a sticker well to the map outline. It was likely a temporary arrangement used between the time they ordered the prisons to stop stamping a sticker well into plates and when they finalized the design of the map graphic.

Last but certainly not least this week, we have a rare U.S. Navy Reserve plate, which is even rarer than it appears! Numbers 0001 - 0010 from the blue base were allowed to be reprinted on the "www" base, so this is likely someone who had connections. Thanks to Nick Tsilakis for the picture, and see link for more info!

John Clark sends in this pair of new highs: one for East Stroudsburg University and one for Grove City College. Notice something unusual? That's right, they're both still on the "www" base, the base that was introduced in 1999 and replaced in late 2004. They are still on this base for two main reasons: (1) PennDOT overestimated demand on these plates, resulting in a pile of plates waiting to be sold, and (2) the school had no updates that would affect the plate (name, logo, etc.) For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

John McDevitt found this picture of a 1947 Commercial Motorcycle plate while browsing Worthpoint.com, and it's a "first-of" for this year and type for this site! This type only existed from 1938 - 1949 and it's thought that these plates were issued to motorcycles used for business purposes. This type, and other defunct types, can be found on the "Defunct Types, Special Event Plates, Etc." page, which is also a selection on the All Plate Types & Highs page.

Here's an interesting one: a Personalized Pre-Owned Dealer plate, spotted by Fred Gardner. PennDOT charges $128 to personalize a Dealer plate.

Clayton Moore sends in this picture of a beautiful PA Association of Realtors plate, which is a nice upgrade for the picture previously on this site. This type started in 1995 and transitioned to the "www" base in 2001.

Finally we have a new high for the Person with Disability plate type from Richard Than. This type recently restarted at A0000 after it hit 97999 PD (98000 PD - 99999 PD is reserved for double plate for scooter hitches, etc.) See link for more info!

The Plate of the Week award goes to Tim Gierschick for his latest acquisition: a low-number 1921 Tractor plate. Most non-passenger plates from 1920 - 1923 measured 6" x 16", regardless of how many characters appeared in the serial. This particular plate has been repainted to the correct colors for 1921 (black on orange). Color, size, serial, and other data on this site comes from a variety of sources, but Eric Tanner's "All About License Plates" website is a major piece of that pie. Check it out!

Clayton Moore sends in this picture of what appears to be the first plate of the Otter variety of the Conserve Wild Resources plate type, but it's actually the second - numbering began at R/C 0000 for this type. Pennsylvania begins some types with the final number being 0 and some with the final number being 1. In general, special organization types begin at xxxx1 and non-passenger types begin with xxx0 / xxxx0. For example, Eddington Fire Company began numbering at E/D 00001, whereas Trailer always resets to 0000 each time the next letter in the series begins. There are some exceptions to this but you may not have expected this type to start at 0000!

Avery Merz spotted this plate which, at first glance, looks like a Passenger plate, but it's actually a vanity/personalized plate. It's safe to assume that this serial will be skipped when the number comes up in the regular Passenger run.

John Fedorchak spotted this personalized Pittsburgh Central Catholic plate, a "first of" for this website. It's also the first PCC plate that's been spotted with the map outline.

The last entry for the week is a new high for the Ducks Unlimited plate type from John Clark. This type started in 1990 on the blue base. It's surprising to your editor that less than 2,000 of these plates have been issued in a state with such a rich hunting heritage. Click here to order one, you must be a DU member to qualify. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

The Plate of the Week award goes to John Clark for spotting this RARE Mayflower Descendant plate. In order to quality for one of these plates, you must have your lineage verified, so I don't expect a ton of these to be issued.

John Clark also sends in this new high for the Waynesburg University type. This college is located in the southwest part of the state - shockingly enough in Waynesburg, PA. Their plate program started in 2012 so about 8 plates are issued per year, on average. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's another high for the week, this time from Bruce Sakson for the McDonald Volunteer Fire Company plate type. This fire company is located in the southwest suburbs of Pittsburgh and their plate program has been around since 2012, meaning about 5 plates are issued every year.

John Kerestes spotted this blue base Emergency Medical Services plate. According to a 2004 bulletin from the PA Department of Health, one must be "associated with EMS organizations such as a quick response servive (QRS), licensed ambulance service, or emergency department." This type started in 1985.

Last but not least, we have this beautiful low-number 1919 Passenger plate from Jeff Lesher. The highest number observed for 1919 is 449444 - click the link for more information!

LEGISLATION UPDATE: House Bill 73, which would authorize new "Operation Inherent Resolve" license plates, is now in the Senate. Most recently, the bill received final passage in the House on October 30, 2023, and is now in the Senate where it received first consideration on February 7, 2024. You can see any plate-related legislation news at the Legislation page, linked here.

John McDevitt sends in this prototype image of what appears to be a State Police Motorcycle plate. This represents the first time in the history of the PA State Police that such tags have been issued. More to come on these!

Matt Ciecka shares his latest collecting find with us, an Antique Motorcycle plate in very nice condition. As of this post, the current high for this type is 053A0, which means that 00000 - 09999 were issued, then 000A0 - 053A0 (and counting).

Here's a personalized Autism Society of America plate, spotted by Avery Merz. This is a "first-of" image for this site. This plate costs $50, plus another $104 to personalize. Click here to order one!

Instagram user "mg64" snapped this picture of letter "I". Single letters are tough to spot in the wild but it's always fun when you do see one. These are technically vanity plates and follow the same rules and pricing as other vanity plates. Thanks to Instagram user "pl8thry" for sending to me. To see if a vanity plate is available, check out PennDOT's "Personalized Registration Plate Availability" tool, linked here.

In January 2023, Jordan Irazabal took over the reigns of the website with John McDevitt maintaining creative control and being the primary media editor. At the time the reigns were handed over, the goal was to convert the entire website to a new design, but to also bring the underlying code into the current generation. We are pleased to announce that the website conversion is now complete. Please take a look around and enjoy the new look and features, including clicking "(history)" under any type name to see the entire history for each type. As always, please submit pictures to our email address (listed on the Contact page) and/or on the Keystone State Plates page on Facebook.

Allen Minch sends in this "first-of" picture of the new The Colebrookdale Railroad plate type. This type was announced in July 2023 but it appears that the first plate was issued in January 2024. This organization is located in Boyertown. This plate costs $42, plus an additional $128 to personalize, as seen in this picture. Message them through their Facebook page to order one!

Brayden Harnish shares this picture of this hot-off-the-press Organ Donors Save Lives plate, which is also a new high! This type started in 2004, which means 111 plates are ordered per year, on average. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's a personalized U.S. Military Airborne Units plate, spotted by Fred Gardner. Nick Tsilakis previously spotted this one as well. This type started in 2013 and is available to veterans or active duty members of this unit. Click here to order one, cost is $26 for a numbered plate, plus an additional $128 to personalize.

The last post for this week is a fun one: a 1955 YOM plate! YOM stands for "Year of Manufacture" and the term is used when the vinage of the plate matches the vintage of the car. In other words, this is a 1955 plate on a 1955 car. YOM plates are authorized in Pennsylvania from 1906 - 1976, any plate type may be used, and registration is required (click here to learn more). This was spotted in Greenwood, Delaware by Noah Foster.

Here's a type that is seldom spotted: Hearing Impaired. In order to qualify for this plate, your doctor must certify that you are indeed hearing impaired, but you do not get any special parking privileges! If you want to order one of these plates for your car, here is the link to the PennDOT form. Thanks to John McDevitt for the picture.

Avery Merz spotted this picture of a new Truck high. There has been some speculation on what the next serial format will be once ZZZ-9999 is reached. Some people think, 0000-YBA, others think YBA-000A. Head to Keystone State Plates on Facebook to chat about this and other PA plate-related topics! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's a personalized University of Pittsburgh plate, courtesy of Mike Natale. This type started in 1988 on the blue base.

Here's another high, this time from Bruce Bufalini for the Permanent Trailer plate type. This type started in 1997 on the blue base and is typically issued to semi trailers.

Mike Sells shares this awesome pair of pictures of a 1911 Passenger plate. The highest number known for 1911 is 44272, and plates were made with a beveled edge starting at 31000. Some numbers under 31000 are known with beveled edges; those are believed to be replacement plates. Click the link for more info!

Two more special organization types will soon be available to order: The Edward Francis Cancer Foundation and Fairfield Hose Company! We have a picture of the former type (thanks to John Clark) and will post a picture of the latter type when one becomes available. Thanks to John McDevitt for the news of the latter.

Our own John McDevitt snapped this picture of a personalized Distracted Driving Awareness plate. Since personalization became available back in 2014, lots of plates that looked like "Number 1", when in reality they are just a personalized version of a special org plate. In this case, their registration is "DA1."

Bruce Bufalini shares this picture of what is likely a personalized Fire Fighter plate. It's possible that this is a remake of the first Fire Fighter plate issued back in 1983, but the general consensus is that this is personalized to appear that it's the first one issued.

Here's an oldie: a 1931 Department of Highways plate. This was the first year for this plate type and it was only issued for 5 years, through 1935. Click the link to read more about this type. Picture from an eBay listing (seller is rimeice62).

Last but not least we have this new high from Sebastian DiSclafani for Muhlenberg Alumni. This type has been out since 1996 on the blue base, starting at M/C 10001, and then restarting at M/C 11500 on the "www" base in 2001 (white with faded blue and yellow bars at the top and bottom). Since 2001, only 99 have been issued, which means about 4.5 are issued per year (or one per quarter)! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

We heard back from Stat MedEvac since last week's post but the person who responded to us was not aware of a plate. A few days after their response, a prototype image appears on PennDOT's website! Along with two other new special organization types (Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. & Alliance Fire and Rescue Services, Inc.)!

The Plate of the Week award goes to John Fedorchak for this shot of a Municipal Motorcycle plate, a "first-of" shot since that type has transitioned to the "Family of Plates" design language. Numbering on the Family of Plates design started at M/G 00G ("F" was skipped for some unknown reason). Click the picture for a larger version (it's set to open in a new window, not a Lightbox like the other pictures).

Avery Merz submits this picture of a new high for the All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) plate type. This type is split into two classes: Class 1 is a motorized off-highway vehicle, which travels on three or more inflatable tires and has a maximum width of 50 inches and a maximum dry weight of 1,000 pounds. The letters X, Y and Z are skipped in the serial because they are used exclusively in the ATV-2 serial. Class 2 is a motorized off-highway vehicle, which travels on three or more inflatable tires and has a width which exceeds 50 inches or a dry weight which exceeds 1,000 pounds. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Here's another high for the week, this time from Matt Ciecka for the Transporter plate type. This type is one of the Dealer types that was redesigned to adhere to the "Family of Plates" design language. The replating of these Dealer types began in October 2022. The only plate type that has not (yet) switched is the Preserve Our Heritage (Railroad) plate, but it is expected to be redesigned eventually.

Last but certainly not least, we have this shot of a Marshall University Alumni plate from Mike Alfonse. This is a very elusive type to spot in the wild! Their plate program began in 2015 and the current high is only at 00030 M/U, which means a little more than 3 plates are issued every year. Not only is it a rare spot, but also a #1 for the type!

The vanity plate availability tool on PennDOT's website shows Stat MedEvac as a new specialty plate, but no further information is available at this time. We have reached out to the organzation for more information and are awaiting a response.

Jason Cook shares this vintage photograph of a 1947 Motor Boat License plate in use! Check out the "Historic Photographs of License Plates In Use" page to see more! Click the picture for a larger version.

The Plate of the Week award goes to John Clark for this "first-of" picture of a Spay/Neuter Saves Lives plate. This plate is offered through the organization "Spay/Neuter Assistance Program" out of Harrisburg. The plate costs $68 and personalized plates are not being offered at this time. Click here to order one!

Richard Than sends in this picture of a personalized Eagle Scout plate. The plate costs $84 for a standard plate and $212 for a personalized plate. Fun fact: when this plate type came out in 2019, number 00001 was auctioned off and received a high bid of $2,075!

Richard Than also sends in this picture of a U.S. Navy Veteran plate. It helps to narrow down the changeover point between plates with a sticker well and plates with a map outline in place of a sticker well. Thanks Richard!

The Plate of the Week award goes to Chris Van Zandt for this awesome low-number 1917 Passenger plate. Chris reports that the plate belonged to his grandfather, a big collector of automobilia. This plate measures 6" x 11". Check out the link to learn more!

John Clark sends in this picture of a Pennsylvanians for Nebraska Alumni Chapter plate, which happens to be the first picture of this type with the map outline image. It also happens to be a new high! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!

Bruce Sakson shares this sighting of a Juniata College plate. This type has been around since 2001 and the current high is J/C 00666, which means about 29 plates have been issued per year (a little over 2 per month).

Continuing on the trend of College plates, here's a personalized Rutgers University plate. This is the first image of the personalied version of this plate type. A standard Rutgers U plate costs $88; add $128 to personalize. Thanks to Joe Kobel for the picture!

Clayton Moore shares these two "State Constable" booster plates. In addition to these booster plates, PA offers two specialty plates related to constables: Commonwealth Constables Association and Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Constables. A page dedicated to known booster plates is coming soon!