Old ny state license plates

Is it okay to keep my New York plates? No Comments. Insurance Quote Request. First Last. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Join our newsletter. Enter your email to receive our occasional email. Join Now. Clickable Coverage. February 16, Call, email or stop by.

Join Our Newsletter. Although New York City was the largest American city in , the local government did not issue automobile licenses at any time. Instead, the state assumed that authority in — becoming the first in the nation to do so. From thru mid, New York State required automobile owners to file an application with the state, and upon receipt of a certificate in return, motorists placed their initials on the rear of their machines. By the middle of , it had become apparent to state authorities that too many owners were displaying fictitious initials, or using their own without first registering.

To counter this trend, New York State cancelled every initial license plate, all of which had been provided by the owner, and issued numbers to those same individuals who were then obliged to make new license plates. As proof that the number displayed was legal, the state issued registration seals featuring the serial which owners were to use in making their license plates. New York was the only state in America to authorize this color scheme, which was reverse of the dark colored materials generally used at the time.

Before the advent of official state license plates late in , over , registrations were issued, making New York tags among the easiest to collect today from the pre-state era.