The U.S. state of Alabama has issued license plates for motorized vehicles operated on state highways since 1911. Some Alabama municipalities issued their own license plates for horse-drawn vehicles as well as motorcars prior to that date, with the earliest known/surviving example being a bronze plate, "No. 1", issued by the city of Bessemer in 1901 for a two-horse dray. The earliest known surviving automobile plate is a 1906 dash plate issued by the city of Birmingham originally assigned to a 1904 6-cylinder Ford.
Contents
- Passenger plates 1955 to present
- Non passenger and specialty plates
- Non passenger types
- County coding
- References
The law establishing state-issued plates that began to be issued in 1911 for the year 1912 provided that they would be 4 and one half inches wide by no more than 12 inches long, with the letters "ALA" running vertically on the left and 3" tall numerals with 1/2" strokes. Plate #1 was issued to the Leak Funeral Home in Montgomery.
In 1916 Alabama switched from porcelain to stamped tin plates. Beginning in 1917 the issue year was stamped onto the plate, and in 1919 the size of the plates was increased to 6" x 15". In 1922 a code for the vehicles weight class was added to the plates and Kilby Prison near Montgomery took charge of all manufacture in 1928.
In 1942 Alabama began using a code for each county, assigning numbers 1, 2, and 3 to the most populous Jefferson, Mobile, and Montgomery counties, respectively and numbering the rest in alphabetical order. Due to metal shortages during World War II, the state issued window decals only in 1943. A 1951 law added a heart shape and the phrase "Heart of Dixie" to the state's license plates, adopting a slogan created by the Alabama Chamber of Commerce. The law has never been repealed, and the motif still appears (although usually very small) on all standard-issue plates.
Until 1952, vehicle license fees were calculated by weight, with the letters A, B, C, or D corresponding to different weight classifications.
In 1956, the U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that standardized the size for license plates for vehicles, except those for motorcycles, at six inches in height by twelve inches in width, with standardized mounting holes.
Since 1980, Alabama has used a staggered registration system based on the first letter of the registrant's last name. Registrations expire January through November, with fleet, leased, and commercial vehicles expiring in November.
Passenger plates 1955 to present
In 1956, the U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that fixed the size for all their passenger vehicle plates at six inches in height by twelve inches in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first Alabama license plate that complied with these standards.
From 1955 to 1975, with the exception of 1974, the standard plate design did not change except for colors. All plates had embossed serial numbers, state name, two-digit registration year, heart logo and HEART OF DIXIE, and border in one color, with the base of the plate in another color. On all plates except 1973 and 1975, the heart was in the bottom left corner, with the registration year in the bottom right; 1973 and 1975 switched these two positions. HEART OF DIXIE was always above the numbers, and ALABAMA was always below, in slightly larger print than HEART OF DIXIE. Eight different color combinations in fifteen different variations were used; of those, only three combinations (1964, 1966, and 1971) were used only once. The colors of the University of Alabama and Auburn University, the state's two biggest schools and rivals, were used in back-to-back years, 1963 and 1964.
Non-passenger and specialty plates
Alabama offers a variety of optional plates that motorists may display upon the payment of an additional fee as well as non-passenger plate types that are displayed on vehicles for specialized uses.
Non-passenger types
Many non-passenger types are both county-coded and weight-coded. Where noted, the county code is the first one or two regularly sized number of the serial, while the weight code is a small number beneath the letter that indicates the vehicle type.
County coding
Alabama license plates first featured county codes in 1941. As of 2013, these codes continue to be used on passenger and some non-passenger types.