History of Texas License Plates

Ever Wonder How It All Started?

Arthur became interested in collecting license plates in the 60s because they were cheap and easy to come by. Turns out that they also had a rich and interesting history that he then taught to his granddaughter, Kelsey.

Pre-State Plates

Texas began requiring drivers label their cars with license plates in 1907. Vehicle owners got creative and made plates from old shingles, bits of leather and house numbers, or, for a little more money, they could buy porcelain numbers that slid into a metal frame. The first state issued plates weren't introduced until 1917.

Radiator Seals

In 1917, the first license plates issued by the state of Texas were base pairs of license plates with no date. These plates, 16" x 5" with white letters on a dark navy blue background, were used between 1917 and 1922. During this time, smaller plates that were meant to be affixed to the radiator of the vehicle were issued with a separate serial number and the year. 1917-1919 Radiator Seals were 4" round (1918 had a smaller 3" seal issued for motorcycles as well), while 1920-1922 seals were 6" x 3" rectangular. New base plates were issued in 1923, 14" x 5" with white letters on a black background, and a radiator seal was used in 1924. Starting in 1925, a dated pair of plates were issued every year and radiator seals were no longer used.

1920s & 30s

The first state issued plates had white letters on a dark navy blue background and were used between 1917 and 1922. Seals with the year attached to a vehicle's radiator were used to mark registration. In 1923 the issued plate was changed to a black background with white letters and a star in the center of the plate. These lasted until 1924. 1925 marked the first year that Texas stamped the date on the plates and radiator seals were no longer used.

The Great Depression caused dramatic change in the United States. It was in 1931 when Texas saw the first combination of letters and numbers in Texas license plates. In 1932, Arthur was born and in 1933 the Texas Legislature passed a law allowing the Prison System in Huntsville to manufacture plates. The first plates produced by the inmates of the Huntsville prison were issued in 1935.

1940s

World War II broke out in Europe in 1939 and with America's inclusion after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in '41, the Great Depression officially ended with the economic boom of war. Scrap metal was needed for the war effort and so a lot of pre-1941 plates were collected and scrapped. The need to conserve metal for the war was felt in the manufacture of license plates as well and in '43 and '44 tabs were issued to drivers that were only 4 sq. in. and attached to the '42 plates lower right bolt hole. '45 and '46 saw single plates that were to be attached to the rear of vehicles and finally in '47 pairs of plates were once again issued to drivers.

1950s

The 50s were the time to get a car and drive the miles and miles of Texas highways! A few interesting things happened in the 50s that are still in effect today. In '51 was when the Texas State Legislator required drivers to have liability insurance on their vehicles and late in '55, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administration adopted a national standard size plate that was 6"x12". Because this happened later in the year, a large number of 6"x10" plates had already been manufactured and only a handful of 6"x12" plates were made in 1955.

1960s

In 1968, the word "Hemisfair" was added to the bottom of Texas license plates to promote the World's Fair located in San Antonio from April 6-October 6 1968. And in 1969, the use of reflective paint became standard on all Texas license plates and has been since.

1970s

A major shift happened in the mid-70s. With the rising number of motorists and cost of producing license plates, in 1975 Texas issued license plates that were to be used for a number of years and stickers on the plates indicated whether a driver had inspected and registered their vehicle. This changed once again when the inspection and registration stickers were required to be displayed in the front windshield and in March 2015, the Two Steps, One Sticker program was put into place.