Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1940

Vehicle registration plates of the United States by year
Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1939	Events of 1940	Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1941

Each of the 48 states of the United States of America plus several of its territories and the District of Columbia issued individual passenger license plates for 1940.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Passenger baseplates[edit]

Passenger Car Plates
Region	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
Alabama
Alaska
American Samoa
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Canal Zone
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Guam
Hawai'i
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas	Embossed white serial with border line on black plate ; "KANSAS '40" centered at bottom	none	1-1234 12-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 12)
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska	Orange on turquoise with State Capitol graphic; "NEBRASKA 40" at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota	Embossed yellow serial on black plate with border line; vertical "ND" and "1940" at left and right respectively	none	123-456	1 to approximately 147-000
Northern Mariana Islands
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming					Sample plate shown.

Non-passenger plates[edit]

Non-passenger Plates
Region	Type	Design & Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
Wisconsin	City Bus	Embossed red serial on white plate; "CITY" over "BUS" at left, "WISCONSIN 1940" at top, "AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" at bottom	1 A	Coded by weight class
	City Bus	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate with border line; "CITY" over "BUS" at left, "WISCONSIN 1940" at top, "EXP. 3-31-40" at bottom	1 A	Coded by weight class	It is unknown what this plate was used for, other than it is a city bus plate type.
	Dealer	Embossed red serial on white plate; "WIS DEALER 1940" at top, "AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" at bottom	1234A	Dealer number and plate number	Number is the dealer number, letter is the plate number for that dealer
	Farm	Embossed blue serial on yellow plate; "39 FARM TR'K 40" at top, vertical "WIS" at left	12-345	1 to approximately 58-000
	Interurban bus	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "INT" over "BUS" at left, "WISCONSIN 1940" at top, "EXP. 3-31-40" at bottom	12 A	Coded by weight class
	Motorcycle	Embossed red serial on white plate; "1940 WIS" at top	1234	1 to approximately 3200
	Municipal	Embossed white serial on red plate; "WISCONSIN 1940" at top, "AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" at bottom; embossed hollow star at right.	1234	1 to approximately 8800	Identifiable with a hollow star
	Trailer	Embossed blue serial on yellow plate; "39 WIS TRAILER 40" at top	1234 A	Coded by weight class	Weight classes are same as truck. It is unknown if heavy trailers received green plates like heavy trucks did.
	Trailer	Embossed yellow serial on blue plate; "WIS TRAILER" at top, "EXP. 3-31-40" at bottom	12 A	Coded by weight class	Weight classes are F, G, H, J, K, L, M, and N. It is unknown what this plate was used for, other than it was used on trailers.
	Truck	Embossed blue serial on yellow plate; "39 WIS TRUCK 40" at top	12-345 A	Coded by weight class	Weight classes are A, B, C, and D
		Embossed white serial on green plate; "39 WIS TRUCK 40" at top	12-345 A		Weight classes are E, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, and N.
		Embossed yellow serial on blue plate; "WIS TRUCK" at top, "EXP. 3-31-40" at bottom	12 A		Weight classes are F, G, H, J, K, L, M, and N. It is unknown what this plate was used for, other than it was a truck plate type.

References[edit]

^ Fox, Jams K. (1997). License Plates of the United States: A Pictorial History 1903-To the Present. Jerico, New York: Interstate Directory Publishing Company. ISBN 9781886777002.
^ Minard, Jeff; Stentiford, Tim (2004). A Moving History, 50 Years Of ALPCA. 100 Years Of License Plates. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company. p. 58. ISBN 1-56311-975-7.
^ Crisler, Bob; Crisler, Chuck, eds. (2007). License Plate Values (7th ed.). King Publishing Company.
^ Martells, Jack (1980). Antique Automotive Collectibles. Chicago: Contemporary Books, Inc. pp. 128–145. ISBN 0-8092-7205-9.

External links[edit]

[1] Fox, Jams K. (1997). License Plates of the United States: A Pictorial History 1903-To the Present. Jerico, New York: Interstate Directory Publishing Company. ISBN 9781886777002.

[2] Minard, Jeff; Stentiford, Tim (2004). A Moving History, 50 Years Of ALPCA. 100 Years Of License Plates. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company. p. 58. ISBN 1-56311-975-7.

[3] Crisler, Bob; Crisler, Chuck, eds. (2007). License Plate Values (7th ed.). King Publishing Company.

[4] Martells, Jack (1980). Antique Automotive Collectibles. Chicago: Contemporary Books, Inc. pp. 128–145. ISBN 0-8092-7205-9.

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[2]

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v t e Vehicle license plates of the United States
States	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Federal district	Washington, D.C.
Insular areas	American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands
Other registration plates	Canal Zone Native American tribes Designs and serial formats
By year	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

v t e Vehicle registration plates of North America
Sovereign states	Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States
Dependencies and other territories	Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands

Passenger baseplates[edit]

Non-passenger plates[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]