Delaware
Current series
Size12 in × 6 in
30 cm × 15 cm
MaterialAluminum
Serial format123456
Introduced2008 (2008)
Availability
Issued byDelaware Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles
Manufactured byWaldale Manufacturing Limited, Amherst, Nova Scotia
History
First issuedMay 1, 1909 (1909-05-01)
(pre-state plates from 1905 through April 30, 1909)

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.[1] Beginning in 1910, plates were issued in sequential order from the number 1 upwards.[2]

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,[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[5] 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.[6]

Marketplaces have spun up 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.[7] Single-digit plates are particularly valuable. Plate number 9 was traded for $185,000 in 1994, (equivalent to $365,000 in 2022). In 2008, number 6 went for $675,000, ($917,000 in 2022).[5]

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.

Image 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
As above, but with "DEL 13" at right 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.[8]
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.[8]
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

Image 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♦0001 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 2000001 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 2000001 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 2000001 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 2130001-2 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 2620001-2 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 9999991-2 Several variations of the font used for the serial exist. Some replacement plates have riveted numbers.
2008 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.

Image 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 XC123456; XP123456 Delaware started issuing temporary tags with an all-numeric format, then moved to the letter X as a prefix, then XA, XB, XC, XD, then XP as of April 16, 2015
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.

ImageTypeSerial formatNotes
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.[9] 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.[10]
Disabled American Veterans 123DAV
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[11] and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.[12] These funds are used to improve the health of Delaware's coastal waterways and bays, or "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[11] and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.[12] 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[11] and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.[12] 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.[13]
Telephone Pioneers TP1234
University of Delaware UD1234
Volunteer Firefighter V/F1234

References

  1. ↑ "Old Delaware License Plates". LeatherLicensePlates.com. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  2. ↑ "DMV History - Division of Motor Vehicles". Delaware DMV. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  3. ↑ http://www.dehistoricplate.com/ Delaware Historic Plate Company
  4. ↑ Garrish, Christopher (October 2016). "Reconsidering the Standard Plate Size". Plates. Vol. 62, no. 5. Automobile License Plate Collectors Association.
  5. 1 2 3 Crockett, Zachary. "Delaware License Plates - Freakonomics" (Podcast). Freakonomics. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  6. ↑ Liu, Boyang (Fall 2014). "POSITIONAL COMPETITION: FROM LOW-NUMBER LICENSE PLATES TO McMANSIONS" (Thesis). University of Delaware. pp. 1–2. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Numbers Only - Delaware's Marketplace for Low Digit Black Tags". lowdigittags.com. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Tanner, Eric N. "Delaware Passenger License Plates". allaboutlicenseplates.com. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Centennial License Plate". Delaware Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on November 7, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. 1 2 3 "Home". inlandbays.org.
  12. 1 2 3 "Home". delawareestuary.org.
  13. ↑ "DMV Support Pollinators plate wins national collectors' award". Cape Gazette. Lewes, DE. June 5, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
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