Vehicle registration plates of Delaware

Delaware vehicle license plates

Delaware
Current series

Size	12 in × 6 in 30 cm × 15 cm
Material	Aluminum
Serial format	123456
Introduced	2008 (2008)
Availability
Issued by	Delaware Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles
Manufactured by	Waldale Manufacturing Limited, Amherst, Nova Scotia
History
First issued	May 1, 1909 (1909-05-01) (pre-state plates from 1905 through April 30, 1909)
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The U.S. state of Delaware first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1905. Registrants provided their own license plates for display until 1909, when the state began to issue plates. Beginning in 1910, plates were issued in sequential order from the number 1 upwards.

As of 2022, plates are issued by the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) through its Division of Motor Vehicles. Only rear plates have been required on standard passenger vehicles since 1945. All plates issued since 1942 can still be used with current stickers. Authorized reproductions of porcelain enamel plates can be obtained through a private vendor, provided they fall within the state's guidelines.

In 1956, the United States, Canada, and Mexico came to an agreement with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the Automobile Manufacturers Association and the National Safety Council that standardized the size for license plates for vehicles (except those for motorcycles) at 6 inches (15 cm) in height by 12 inches (30 cm) in width, with standardized mounting holes. The first Delaware license plate that complied with these standards was issued in 1958.

Delaware allows plate-owners to transfer the rights to display a particular number on their vehicle. The inherent scarcity of low-digit plates has spawned a vibrant secondary market for low numbers.

Secondary market

In Delaware, plate number 1 is reserved for the governor, 2 for the lieutenant governor, and 3 for the secretary of state. But all other numbers 4 and higher are allowed to be traded. Additionally, plates up to 87,000 are allowed to display replica porcelain enamel plates. These factors have caused low plate-numbers to become positional goods and status symbols.

Marketplaces have been created to facilitate exchanges. As of August 2023, one such market, Low Digit Plates, has priced five-digit plates in the low-thousands of dollars, and three-digit plates approaching $70,000. Single-digit plates are particularly valuable. Plate number 9 was traded for $185,000 in 1994 (equivalent to $380,000 in 2023). In 2008, number 6 went for $675,000 ($955,000 in 2023).

Passenger baseplates

This is a list of the plate templates used by Delaware.

1909 to 1942

No slogans were used on passenger plates during the period covered by this subsection.

First issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
1909	White on black porcelain; "DEL. 1909" at top	1234	1001 to approximately 1500	Serials followed on from those on pre-state-issued plates.
1910	Black on white porcelain; "DEL. 1910" at top	123	1 to approximately 900
1911	White on dark blue porcelain; "DEL. 1911" at top	1234	1 to approximately 1300
1912	White on maroon porcelain; "DEL. 1912" at top	1234	1 to approximately 1800
1913	White on black porcelain; vertical "DEL" and "1913" at left and right respectively	1234	1 to approximately 2000
1913	As above, but with "DEL 13" at right	1234	2001 to approximately 2500
1914	Yellow on black porcelain; "DEL 14" at right	1234	1 to approximately 3200
1915	Blue on white porcelain; "DEL 15" at right	1234	1 to approximately 4700
1916	White on dark green; "DEL 16" at right	1234	1 to approximately 7000
1917	White on black; "DEL 17" at right	1234	1 to approximately 10700
1918	White on brown; "DEL 18" at right	12345	1 to approximately 13000
1919	White on dark blue with border line; "DEL 19" at right	12345	1 to approximately 13100
1920	Black on light green with border line; "DEL 20" at right	12345	1 to approximately 18100
1921	Red on white with border line; "DEL 21" at right	12345	1 to approximately 20800
1922	Blue on white with border line; "DEL 22" at right	12-345	1 to approximately 23-300
1923	White on black with border line; "DEL 23" at right	12-345	1 to approximately 25-000
1924	Brown on white with border line; "DEL 24" at right	12-345	1 to 20-000; 30-001 to approximately 39-000	Serials 20-001 through 30-000 reserved for commercial vehicles.
1925	Black on orange with border line; "DEL 25" at right	12-345	1 to 30-000; 45-001 to approximately 48-000	Serials 30-001 through 45-000 reserved for commercial vehicles and tractor units.
1926	Yellow on blue with border line; "DEL 26" at right	12-345	1 to approximately 37-000
1927	Red on gray with border line; "DEL 27" at right	12-345	1 to approximately 40-000
1928	Black on white with border line; "DEL 28" at right	12-345	1 to approximately 50-000
1929	Blue on golden yellow with border line; diamond at left and "DEL 29" at right	12-345	1 to approximately 47-000
1930	Golden yellow on blue with border line; diamond at left and "DEL 30" at right	12-345	1 to approximately 45-000
1931	As 1929 base, but with "DEL 31" at right	12-345	1 to approximately 48-000
1932	As 1930 base, but with "DEL '32" at right	12-345	1 to approximately 47-000
1933	As 1929 base, but with "DEL '33" at right	12-345	1 to approximately 48-000
1934	As 1930 base, but with "DEL '34" at right	12-345	1 to approximately 47-000
1935	As 1929 base, but with "DEL '35" at right	12-345	1 to approximately 48-000
1936	Golden yellow on blue with border line; "DELAWARE – 36" at bottom	12♦345	1 to approximately 51♦000	First use of the full state name.
1937	Blue on golden yellow with border line; "DELAWARE – 37" at bottom	12♦345	1 to approximately 53♦000
1938	Red on silver with border line; "DELAWARE – 38" at bottom	12♦345	1 to approximately 55♦000
1939	Silver on maroon with border line; "DELAWARE – 39" at bottom	12♦345	1 to approximately 58♦000
1940	Blue on golden yellow; "DEL. EX. 3-31-41" at bottom	12♦345	1 to approximately 60♦000
1941	Golden yellow on blue; "DELAWARE 3-31-42" at top	12♦345	1 to approximately 59♦000

1942 to present

First issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
1942	White on black porcelain; "DEL." at top with tab slots to left and right	none	12♦345	1 to approximately 87♦000	Measures 5.5" x 9.5". Month/day tab (3/31 in black on white, 6/30 in white on green, 9/30 in white on red, or 12/31 in white on brown) fitted at top left and year tab (even-numbered years in blue on gold and odd-numbered years in gold on blue) at top right until 1963, when sticker revalidation commenced. Issued in pairs until 1945; only rear plates have been required ever since. Authorized modern reproductions allowed.
1947	Riveted polished stainless steel serial on black painted stainless steel base plate. Base embossed with Delaware on top. Insert space at bottom. Insert format continued as original.	none	123456	1 to 200000	Plates varied in size: 5-digit 9.5 x 5.5 in 6 digit 11 x 5.5 in. Renewed with metal tabs.
1951	Riveted reflective white scotchlite painted stainless steel serial on black painted stainless steel base plate. Base plate embossed with Delaware on top. Insert spaces at bottom. Insert format continued as original.	none	123456	1 to 200000	Plates were smaller than the 6 digit plates if they were 5 digits or lower. Renewed with metal tabs.
1954	Riveted reflective-coated steel serial on black painted stainless steel base plate. Base plate embossed with Delaware on top. Insert spaces at bottom. Insert format continued as original.	none	123456	1 to 200000	Plates with or less 5 digits were smaller than 6 digit plates. Renewed with metal tabs.
1958	Riveted gold serial on reflective dark blue plate; "DELAWARE" centered at top; tab slots at bottom	none	123456	4 to approximately 213000	First 6" x 12" plate. Validated with tabs until 1963, and with stickers thereafter.
1962	Riveted gold serial on reflective dark blue plate; "DELAWARE" centered at bottom	"THE FIRST STATE" centered at top	123456	4 to approximately 262000	Validated with stickers.
1969	Screened gold serial on reflective dark blue plate with gold border; "DELAWARE" centered at bottom	"THE FIRST STATE" centered at top	123456	4 to 999999	Several variations of the font used for the serial exist. Some replacement plates have riveted numbers.
2008		"THE FIRST STATE" centered at top	123456	4 to 999999	Plates have a beveled edge around the plate as opposed to the previous all-flat plates.

Notes:
1 The state recycles serials, so they can be found on any base.
2 Serials 1, 2 and 3 reserved for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State respectively. Plates with these serials are blue on gold with the state's coat of arms at the left.

Non-passenger plates

Delaware does not use leading zeros on its plates, so serials are composed of a variable number of digits.

Type	Slogan	Serial format	Notes
Commercial	The First State	C123456 C/L123456
Dealer	The First State	D12345
Farm Truck	The First State	FT1234
Handicapped	The First State	HP12345	International Symbol of Access at left.
Limousine	The First State	LX1234
Motorcycle	none	12345	"M/C" at bottom left.
Pleasure Commercial	The First State	P/C123456	Issued to station wagons and sport utility vehicles.
Recreational Trailer	The First State	RT1234
Recreational Vehicle	The First State	RV12345
State-Owned	The First State	S1234
Street Rod	The First State	SR123
Taxi	The First State	TX1234
Temporary Registration	The First State	XA123456	Delaware started issuing temporary tags with an all-numeric format, then moved to the letter X as a prefix, then XA, XB, XC, XD, XP then XQ as of June 19, 2021
Trailer	The First State	T123456

Optional plates

Delaware does not use leading zeros on its plates, so serials are composed of a variable number of digits.

Type	Serial format	Notes
Centennial of Delaware License Plates	Remakes of passenger serials: 123456 Remakes of pleasure commercial serials: P/C123456	Issued from October 1, 2008, through December 31, 2009. Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 2008 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first time Delaware was so honored.
Disabled American Veterans	_DAV
Duck	Remakes of passenger serials: 123456	A portion of the proceeds from this license plate's sales benefit Delaware's two National Estuary Programs: the Center for the Inland Bays and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. These funds are used to improve the health of Delaware's coastal waterways, bays, and estuaries.
Lighthouse	Remakes of passenger serials: 123456 Remakes of pleasure commercial serials: P/C123456	A portion of the proceeds from this license plate's sales benefit Delaware's two National Estuary Programs: the Center for the Inland Bays and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. These funds are used to improve the health of Delaware's coastal waterways and bays, or "estuaries."
Lighthouse—Personalized	various	A portion of the proceeds from this license plate's sales benefit Delaware's two National Estuary Program's: the Center for the Inland Bays and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. These funds are used to improve the health of Delaware's coastal waterways and bays, or "estuaries."
Passenger—Personalized	various
Purple Heart	P/H1234
State Legislators	Legislators' initials: A. B. C.
Support Pollinators	Remakes of passenger serials: 123456	First issued June 2021. Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 2021 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the second time Delaware was so honored.
Telephone Pioneers	TP1234
University of Delaware	UD1234
Volunteer Firefighter	V/F1234

References

"Old Delaware License Plates". LeatherLicensePlates.com. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
"DMV History - Division of Motor Vehicles". Delaware DMV. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
http://www.dehistoricplate.com/ Delaware Historic Plate Company
Garrish, Christopher (October 2016). "Reconsidering the Standard Plate Size". Plates. Vol. 62, no. 5. Automobile License Plate Collectors Association.
^ Crockett, Zachary. "Delaware License Plates - Freakonomics" (Podcast). Freakonomics. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
Liu, Boyang (Fall 2014). Positional Competition: From Low-Number License Plates to McMansions (M.Sc.). University of Delaware. pp. 1–2. UMI Number 1585159. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
"Numbers Only - Delaware's Marketplace for Low Digit Black Tags". lowdigittags.com. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
^ Tanner, Eric N. "Delaware Passenger License Plates". allaboutlicenseplates.com. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
"Centennial License Plate". Delaware Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on November 7, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
"State Receives "Best Plate of the Year" Award Honors For Limited Edition Centennial Plate". Delaware.gov. May 20, 2009. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
^ "Home". inlandbays.org.
^ "Home". delawareestuary.org.
"DMV Support Pollinators plate wins national collectors' award". Cape Gazette. Lewes, DE. June 5, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.

External links

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