CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

[Bob B.]

Hi all,

I understand that when CA issued a plate that it stayed with the car. If a Blue Plate was issued to a car in 1957, would that car still have the Blue Plate in 1964 or would it have had to change to a Black Plate?

Thanks,

Bob

[Mike E.]

Re: CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

Black plates are older. Blue replaced them.

[Rick G.]

Re: CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

Hi Bob,

The original plates issued to any car in California in 1957 would have been yellow with black letters/numbers. In 1963 there was a complete re-issue of plates which were black with yellow letters/numbers. These plates are still valid and on many cars today. There has not been a complete re-issue of plates since 1963. There are a newer version of black plates with yellow letters available as specialty plates today. They must be ordered as specialty (personalized) plates. The difference in these plates and the original issue of the 1963 blk/yellow plates is the newer plates have reflective letters/numbers.

Rick

[Joe L.]

Re: CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

Hi all,

I understand that when CA issued a plate that it stayed with the car. If a Blue Plate was issued to a car in 1957, would that car still have the Blue Plate in 1964 or would it have had to change to a Black Plate?

Thanks,

Bob

Bob------


Blue background plates were not issued in California until about August, 1969.

[James G.]

Re: CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

Bill is correct. BLACK PLATES 1963-AUGUST 69. From AAA111 to ZZZ999. However, early and late combinations never used.

In August 69, they started the BLUE WITH GOLD LETTERS process all over but with numbers first, letters behind. From 111AAA to 999ZZZ.

In 1983, a 7th digit was added, like 1111AAA to 1999ZZZ.

[Bob B.]

Re: CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

Bill is correct. BLACK PLATES 1963-AUGUST 69. From AAA111 to ZZZ999. However, early and late combinations never used.

In August 69, they started the BLUE WITH GOLD LETTERS process all over but with numbers first, letters behind. From 111AAA to 999ZZZ.

In 1983, a 7th digit was added, like 1111AAA to 1999ZZZ.

Gessner is also correct when they finished up all the blue plates many years ago they went to the current white plate and a year or two ago reissued some black plates. BUT CA has allowed many OLD cars to do what is called a YOM " year of made" I think where
you can take a old original yellow or black plate and put it on a old car that MAY have had a yellow or black plate. The result is you CAN get a original yellow or black plate on a car that NEVER had that plate say a rust bucket east coast car being passed of as a "rust free CALIF CAR" with original black plates !!!!
Its all a game !! Just saying Bob

[Robert R.]

Re: CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

Bill is correct. BLACK PLATES 1963-AUGUST 69. From AAA111 to ZZZ999. However, early and late combinations never used.

In August 69, they started the BLUE WITH GOLD LETTERS process all over but with numbers first, letters behind. From 111AAA to 999ZZZ.

In 1983, a 7th digit was added, like 1111AAA to 1999ZZZ.

Jim,
This plate (000LCB) was on my '74 when I purchased it in 1993 from the original CA owner. I always thought it was interesting and I'm not sure if it conforms to the sequence you mention. Do you think it is a special plate or would the zeros follow the nines in the sequence, ie. 000xxx follows 999xxx.
Bob

[Joe L.]

Re: CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

Jim,
This plate (000LCB) was on my '74 when I purchased it in 1993 from the original CA owner. I always thought it was interesting and I'm not sure if it conforms to the sequence you mention. Do you think it is a special plate or would the zeros follow the nines in the sequence, ie. 000xxx follows 999xxx.
Bob

Bob------


This is an original standard license plate. In fact, it's of an alpha character prefix series that would have been issued about 1974.

By the way, a special plate in California cannot have a sequence of digits and alpha characters that is the same as the sequence used on regular series license plates (e.g. 3 alpha characters followed by 3 digits, 3 digits followed by 3 alpha characters, etc.)

[Joe L.]

Re: CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

Gessner is also correct when they finished up all the blue plates many years ago they went to the current white plate and a year or two ago reissued some black plates. BUT CA has allowed many OLD cars to do what is called a YOM " year of made" I think where
you can take a old original yellow or black plate and put it on a old car that MAY have had a yellow or black plate. The result is you CAN get a original yellow or black plate on a car that NEVER had that plate say a rust bucket east coast car being passed of as a "rust free CALIF CAR" with original black plates !!!!
Its all a game !! Just saying Bob

Bob------


Yes, year-of-manufacture plates can be installed with DMV approval for vehicles that could have originally had those plates and, as far as I know, whether or not they were ever originally registered in California.

I understand where these plates could come from in cases of the yellow background black letter plates because those plates were not required to be returned when plates were re-issued in 1963. However, I don't understand where the black background and blue background plates can legitimately originate from. That's because California law requires that any of these "permanent" plates (i.e. all plates issued in 1963 or later) must be returned to the DMV when, for any reason, they are removed from a vehicle.

[Ed H.]

Re: CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

Bob, When I was completing the restoration of my 57, I found a person in San Jose Ca. that was selling original 56 (yellow/black) plates and it included the small red 57 sticker. Are you looking for original plates, if so let me know and I will look for the sellers info. The plates came in a brown colored paper envelope, and the red 57 sticker was housed in an original cardboard package. The plate package indicated it was from California and indicated the name of Edmund G. (Pat) Brown Governor, Of The Great State of California. Boy have things changed here. When I received the plates I went to DMV and they verified the plates had never been registered with them. They registered the car with Year Of Make plates. I believe they (DMV) will still honor the YOM plates.

[Bob B.]

Re: CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

Jim,
This plate (000LCB) was on my '74 when I purchased it in 1993 from the original CA owner. I always thought it was interesting and I'm not sure if it conforms to the sequence you mention. Do you think it is a special plate or would the zeros follow the nines in the sequence, ie. 000xxx follows 999xxx.
Bob

Yeah, sure looks original front no yr tabs, Gessner is probably better at proper letter/usage on those blue plates knows his stuff Bob

[Bob B.]

Re: CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

Bob------


Yes, year-of-manufacture plates can be installed with DMV approval for vehicles that could have originally had those plates and, as far as I know, whether or not they were ever originally registered in California.

I understand where these plates could come from in cases of the yellow background black letter plates because those plates were not required to be returned when plates were re-issued in 1963. However, I don't understand where the black background and blue background plates can legitimately originate from. That's because California law requires that any of these "permanent" plates (i.e. all plates issued in 1963 or later) must be returned to the DMV when, for any reason, they are removed from a vehicle.

Go to any swap meet in CA or on line, MANY guys are going to junk yards scavenging old plates AND STICKERS, you can get whatever you want, and a couple old dogs that had a hard time finding the old plates when it was time to return them to the CA DMV garage decorations.

[Joe L.]

Re: CA Blue & Black Plate Usage

Go to any swap meet in CA or on line, MANY guys are going to junk yards scavenging old plates AND STICKERS, you can get whatever you want, and a couple old dogs that had a hard time finding the old plates when it was time to return them to the CA DMV garage decorations.

Bob------


I can easily understand how folks obtain the old plates. However, as far as I know such harvesting is illegal as when plates are removed from a vehicle they are supposed to be returned to the DMV (all license plates in California are property of the state and not the property of the person who happens to own the car they're assigned to). So, my question is not how folks get the plates; I know that. My question is how do they get the DMV to assign them to another vehicle when the possessor of the plates possesses them illegally?