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The U.S. state of Connecticut began requiring its residents to display license plates on their motor vehicles in 1905. Since then, Connecticut has used a variety of license plate designs, and has issued different designs for passenger, non-passenger, and, more recently, optional plate types that often require an additional fee.
Contents
- Passenger plates 1905 to 1956
- Passenger plates 1957 to present
- Political types
- State agency plates
- References
Plates are issued in pairs, one each for the rear and front of the vehicle, for most classes of vehicles. For most classes of vehicles, plate validation stickers, or metal date tabs in earlier decades, were discontinued in favor of windshield stickers beginning in September 2006. (Windshield stickers were no longer required beginning in 2010.) Vehicles that do not have a windshield, or are part of fleets that frequently rotate plates among vehicles, continue to receive plate stickers.
Until 2013 Connecticut, as a rule, skipped the number 0 as the leading digit in its plates, with the exception of dealer plates. Between July 2013 and August 2015, temporary 1ABCD2 and 1AB-CD2 serial formats were used, both of which allowed 0 to be used as the leading digit. In August 2015, a permanent AB-12345 serial format was introduced, and the number 0 could be used as the first of the five digits in the serial.
Passenger plates 1905 to 1956
1905-1936: Annual dated plates.
1937-early 1948: First multi-year base: black on natural aluminum with "CONN" embossed at lower right. Validated annually with metal tabs.
late 1948-1956: Black on reflective off-white with "CT" embossed at lower right. Validated annually with metal tabs.
Passenger plates 1957 to present
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. The 1956 (dated 1957) issue was the first Connecticut license plate that complied with these standards.
1957-1974: White on blue with "CONNECTICUT" embossed at bottom left, the first time the full state name has appeared on plates. Validated annually with metal tabs from 1957 through 1963 and with stickers from 1964 through 2001, although issuance of this base ceased in 1974.
1974-1976: Blue on reflective white. The slogan "Constitution State" made its debut on this base, but the plates did not hold up well and were recalled in 1990. Validated with stickers.
1976-1987: Reflective white on blue with "CONNECTICUT" at bottom and "Constitution State" at top. These plates were retired during the period September 2000 through August 2002. Validated with stickers.
1987-2000: Reflective white on blue with "CONNECTICUT" at top, slogan at bottom, and a silhouette of Connecticut in the top left. These were retired during the same period as their predecessors. Validated with stickers.
2000–present: Navy on screened blue, white, and navy with "CONNECTICUT" at top, slogan at bottom, and a silhouette in the top left. Validation stickers issued through August 2006 for expiration dates through August 2008. Windshield stickers were issued beginning September 2006. The stickers were discontinued in September 2010 after the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles began allowing police agencies to use license plate scanners to verify registrations. The current Connecticut base plate was issued beginning in January 2000 to new registrants. In September 2000, motorists with existing white-on-blue plates were issued new plates bearing their plate permutation, meaning that permutations issued 1957 can be seen on the current base plates.
From 1980 through 1987, all passenger plates were issued as a rear-only plate. Since then, all passenger plates have been issued in pairs. Motorists are legally required to mount both plates on their cars.
Notes
Political types
On both flat blue on white and Preserve the Sound bases:
State agency plates
Most state agencies in Connecticut register their vehicles with state plates. The plate starts with a number to represent the agency that owns the vehicle. Some agencies, such as the Connecticut State Police, register some vehicles using regular passenger or combination plates.