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License Plate Gallery

The Wisconsin Pages:

Special-Issue Passenger

A variety of specialty license plates have been introduced in recent years to support various entities and causes; starting with the "University" series of plates, first issued in 1990. Many of the newer issues feature a serial format of numerics bookended by a constant suffix (or, less commonly, prefix) character. The Sesquicentennial issue of 1997 was so popular in its two years of issue that its format quickly overflowed into a number of alpha-serial configurations; specifically A1234T and AB123T.

At the 2009 ALPCA convention in Erie, PA, Michael Maske of Marinette showcased an interesting presentation display of Wisconsin collegiate license plate designs; both old and new.

Occupational and Military Passenger

Predating the most recent trend of special-interest graphics are a selection of occupational- and military-related license plate issues; the first of which was the Guard Member plate of 1984 (exp. 1985); a graphic design predating the 1986 general issue. A distinctive series of "military group" and "civilian group" plates followed in 1988, with designs marked by broad gradients along the top and bottom edges of the plate. Both are modular designs designed to be customized for specific occupations, military branches, and so forth by the application of various decals on the blank emblem space at left and along the top edge.

In 2007, earlier "military" and "civilian" plates were replaced by new (and considerably plainer) designs, which were met with a fair amount of consternation from motorists. As a result, another new "military group" issue debuted in July 2008; looking like a rather awkward cross between the previous two designs.

A series of veteran plates has also been available for motorcycles since 2002. It's a bit interesting to note that these plates foreshadowed the basic design of the full-sized 2007 "military group" plates by five years.

Disabled Veteran

Disabled Veteran license plates date back literally decades, and classicly resembled passenger plates (and, later on, Disabled plates) in colors and format. Disabled Veteran Truck plates were also available in the 1980s. All prior plates were replaced by a distinctive design in 1991, and the newest plates closely resemble other military-related issues in appearance.

Ex-Prisoner of War

Distinctive license plates were first issued to former prisoners of war in 1980. As with similar programs in other states, the desire for Ex-Prisoner of War license plates in Wisconsin likely stemmed from public awareness over the plight of POWs in the latter stages of the Vietnam War. The fundamental composition of this rare plate design has remained unchanged since its introduction, although variations exist.

Antique

Antique license plates were first issued in 1957, and have been reissued only once since. Originally available for any unmodified vehicle more than 40 years old, the qualifying criteria was "frozen" at the specificity of pre-1946 (i.e., prewar) vehicles in the mid 1980s. Such plates are permanent, and carry severe usage restrictions.

Antique Motorcycle

An extremely rare type.

Collector

Collector plates were introduced in 1975 and are available for unmodified vehicles more than 20 years old. These follow a rather unique numbering system where motorists with two or more collector vehicles registered in their name receive plates emblazoned with their original "collector number" followed by an incremental letter suffix. Since the usage restrictions are more permissive than those of Antique plates, Collector plates are much more common sights; even on vehicles old enough to qualify for Antique plates.

Collector Motorcycle

Historic Military Vehicle

Wisconsin's newest collector-oriented license plate is the Historic Military Vehicle type. These plates were introduced in 2010 to alleviate problems collectors were having in titling and registering vehicles of this type.

Hobbyist

Hobbyist plates are available for over-20-year-old vehicles that have been reconstructed or modified from original specifications. Homemade kit vehicles also qualify for these plates, which carry usage restrictions and registration schematics similar to those of Collector plates.

Hobbyist Motorcycle