A vanity plate or personalized plate ; prestige plate, private number plate, cherished plate or personalised registration ; personalised plate or custom plate is a special type of vehicle registration plate on an automobile or other vehicle. The owner of the vehicle pays extra money to have their own choice of numbers or letters, usually portraying a recognizable phrase, slogan, or abbreviation, on their plate. Sales of vanity plates are often a significant source of revenue for North American provincial and state licensing agencies. In some jurisdictions, such as British Columbia, vanity plates have a different color scheme and design.
A vanity plate in Amarillo, Texas, referencing the Star Wars character Chewbacca.
Massachusetts vanity plate on a motorcycle in Boston.
A Jaguar Mark IV car, registered under A1, parked in Cathedral Close, Exeter, May 1948. This registration was issued in 1903 and has since been used on many different vehicles
A custom plate from Victoria, Australia.
Vehicle registration plate
A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or license plate or licence plate, is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. All countries require registration plates for road vehicles such as cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Whether they are required for other vehicles, such as bicycles, boats, or tractors, may vary by jurisdiction. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the vehicle or vehicle owner within the issuing region's vehicle register. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, while in others it is unique within a state or province. Whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. There are also electronic license plates.
Some jurisdictions license non-traditional vehicles, such as golf carts, particularly on-road vehicles, such as this one in Put-in-Bay, Ohio.
Two Swedish snowmobiles with license plates attached to the side of the vehicles
The damage to the enamel on this Wyoming license plate from 1916 exposed the iron, causing it to rust.
In 1944, Wyoming license plates were made of soybean-based fiberboard due to metal conservation for World War II.