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!