Which states allow duplicate license plates?

September 26, 2024 1:28 PM

I recently learned that in at least two states -- Rhode Island and Kansas -- the string of numbers & letters printed on the license plates are not unique. It's actually the combination of plate number and specialty plate type (e.g.: the ones with logos from local colleges or sports teams or firefighters or whatever) that is the unique identifier. In other words, two people with different specialty plate types could share the same license plate numbers. What other states also do (or did) this? And for bonus points: Why did any state think this was a good idea?

Here are two news articles that allude to this phenomenon:

From NBC10 WJAR in Rhode Island, Duplicate license plate problems persist:

Different drivers with different vehicles that have the same license plate number.

In Rhode Island, it’s not a mistake, but an outdated state policy that continues to cause headaches for drivers.

Fran DiSpirito, of Warwick, recently got a bright orange toll violation in the mail, saying she failed to pay the toll on the Pell Bridge in Newport. The problem? It was another vehicle with the same license plate combination. Photos enclosed with the ticket show what appears to be a firefighter license plate on a passenger car, while DiSpirito had a combination plate on her pickup truck. Both plates have the same combination of characters.

From KAKE in Kansas City, Duplicate license plate numbers lead to dangerous situations for some Kansas drivers:

KAKE News has brought you stories before of automatic license plate readers getting mixed up because they can't tell the difference in specialty plates. This is a problem for Kansans because the state duplicates numbers. For example, a city of Wichita plate will have the same alphanumeric combination as a KU alumni plate and Kansas has more than a hundred different plate designs, about half of them specialty plates.

posted by mhum to Law & Government (4 answers total)

It's actually the combination of plate number and specialty plate type (e.g.: the ones with logos from local colleges or sports teams or firefighters or whatever)

After reading the link, I don't think this is the case. In this context, specialty plates in Rhode Island are more like "Trailer" "Camper" "Apportioned" "Commercial" "Farm". And if you look at examples of those plates, they do have distinguishing letters arranged vertically on the left hand side to denote that this is a different kind of plate and that these numbers are all in different namespaces.

Why did any state think this was a good idea?

Rhode Island's only mistake seems to be that they're implementing different plate namespaces in a non-standard way that either automated plate readers aren't picking up or third-party databases aren't capable of storing. Maybe they implemented their system before camera-friendly standards arose? Situations like Rhode Island are probably why it became standard practice not to duplicate the actual number.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 2:18 PM on September 26

Rhodey's license plate shenanigans go waaaay past this. Check it out: https://www.reddit.com/r/RhodeIsland/s/xCdGlpIcTl

In what other place does someone asking about an heirloom license plate get corrected that its assignment is the governor's prerogative?!
posted by wenestvedt at 4:05 PM on September 26 [1 favorite]

I recall growing up, my relatives in NJ all had the same plate with a subscript after the last character that indicated which version of the plate they had. For example, if they had plate ABC123, The second one would get ABC123-2 and so forth. I think my cousin had ABC123-11 I do not know if NJ still does that.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:52 PM on September 26

Are there letters on the sides of the plates? Illinois does this with specialty plates, but there are identifying letters at the edge.

If you have 1234 on University of Illinois plates, your license plate number is 1234AA. If you have 1234 on Chicago Cubs plates. your number is 1234CC.

I love it, because some of the letter combos help finish words you’re trying to spell on the plate. Environmental plates end in EN, that’s a gold mine.
posted by Huggiesbear at 5:22 PM on September 27