After 45 years, California has nearly run out of license plate numbers. Later this year, the state will adopt a new formula for issuing numbers.
Since 1980, California plates have followed a formula consisting of one number, three letters, and then three numbers for passenger cars. The state uses a different system for commercial vehicles and motorcycles.
The Sacramento Bee reports, “The state is currently in the 9EWZ000-9EWZ999 series, and the final plate in the current sequence — 9ZZZ999 — is expected to be issued in late 2025.”
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The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) had projected that the code would last two more years. However, sales of new cars have accelerated since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and picked up speed again recently as Americans raced to get ahead of new car tariffs.
When the DMV issues the final plate in this sequence, the state will reverse the formula.