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South Carolina: Passenger

SOUTH CAROLINA

1917   5002  - 40289    (35,288 S)
1918   5002  - 60316    (55,315 S)
1919   5-565 - 72-900   (67,336 S)
1920   5-370 - 97-571   (92,202 S)
 
1921-71 FORMATS            A 1 - G999999        Weight classes listed below.
1964-71 added          AA 1001 - GZ 9999        Truck began 1921.
 
All years:  All series begin at #1 except 1934-36 APRIL at #50-001.
1929:       125,000 "A" class ordered.
1937-45:    #100-000 - 199-999 issued after #C99-999 (except 1938).
1938:       #1 - 199-999 without letter is C weight class.
1964-71:    #AA 1 - GZ 999 only issued upon request to safe drivers.
 
The State (Columbia), 10/11/1937:  "Incidentally, Class C licenses this year bear only
numerals, the classification letter being omitted.  This elimination is made because the
number of tags issued in Class C exceeds 100,000 and there is not space enough on the
standard size plates for both the class letter and six numerals.  The class designation was
eliminated from the 1937 Class C plates for licenses issued in numbers 100,000 and greater."
 
 
YEAR       1-2000  2001-2500  2501-3000  3001-3500  3501-4000  4001-4500  4501-5000    TOTAL
1921       A40471     B13396     C12441     D 3065      E 542                         (69,915 S)
1922      A51-867    B 8-177    C 9-841     D-3438      E1043                         (74,366 S)
1923      A79-840     B 5752    C14-901      D 708      E 484      F1168             (102,853 S)
1924     A112-495    B14-953    C17-997    D 7-149    E   121    F    92             (152,807*S)
1925     A125-102    B14-876    C18-317    D 6-881    E   117                        (165,293*S)
1926     A125-102    B12-041    C19-999    D 1-883    E 2-794    F   430    G    67  (162,316 S)
1927     A129-206    B23-696    C13-752    D 8-406    E 3-537    F 1-443    G   113  (180,153*S)
1928     A129-974   B-38-656   C-15-863   D-10-057    E-5-140      F-404      G-331  (200,425*S)
1929    A-111-997   B-55-615   C-23-844   D-11-579    E-5-177       F-45             (208,257*S)
1930     A-89-405   B-69-979   C-24-678   D-10-604    E-3-227    F-1-687             (199,580*P)
1931     A-57-590   B-71-558   C-32-107    D-9-240    E-1-015    F-1-533      G-201  (173,244 P)
1932     A-38-851   B-65-988   C-32-471    D-6-827    E-4-886      F-666      G-536  (150,225 P)
ORDER'32 A-40-000   B-75-000   C-30-000   D-10-000    E-6-000    F-1-750      G-600  (163,350*P)
1933     A-13-460   B-62-151   C-39-272    D-6-479    E-5-340    F-1-651      G-599  (128,952 P)
APR.34   A-68-101   B-91-135   C-72-636   D-51-015   E-51-242   F-50-346              (84,475 P)
APR.35   A-69-573   B-90-216   C-81-104   D-53-105              F-50-715              (94,713 P)
APR.36   A-63-905   B-99-357   C-95-758   D-54-066   E-50-788                        (113,874 P)
OCT.34   A-24-627   B-58-630   C-55-243    D-9-907    E-1-148      F-863      G-100  (150,518 P)
OCT.35   A-29-799   B-67-000   C-73-975    D-7-254    E-1-721       F-79       G-18  (179,846 P)
OCT.36   A-27-648   B-62-562   C-83-941   D-16-459    E-3-044       F-29       G-13  (193,696 P)
1937     A-18-914   B-68-381    113-000   D-27-117    E-4-735      F-720      G-749  (233,616 P)
1938     A-19-221   B-69-365    111-538   D-30-221    E-2-181               G-1-020  (233,546 P)
1939      A-8-483   B-65-765    130-141   D-32-039    E-5-739      F-116    G-1-167  (243,450 P)
1940      A-7-182   B-74-596    139-483   D-47-913    E-7-264      F-929             (277,367*P)
1941      A-2-922   B-58-047    152-069   D-78-756    E-1-360      F-998             (294,152 P)
1942        A-596   B-46-756    138-471   D-81-911   E-10-827    F-1-205      G-667  (280,433 P)
1943      A-2-210   B-48-772    149-401   D-93-034   E-12-125    F-1-697      G-837  (308,076 S)
1944 TAB A- 1-377  B- 39-172  C-124-220  D- 80-057  E-  4-518             G-    586  (249,930 S)
1945      A-1-659   B-37-333    129-661   D-84-618   E-10-237      F-910      G-660  (265,078 S)
1946      A-1-730   B-30-084  C-134-727   D-95-980   E-11-907                 G-620  (275,048 S)
1947        A-808   B-30-147  C-128-029  D-127-289   E-15-549    F-2-645      G-528  (304,995 P)
1948      A-1-606   B-26-060  C-132-095  D-148-040   E-19-634    F-4-533             (331,968 P)
1949      A-1-091   B-27-806  C-140-154  D-190-450   E-25-252    F-5-423             (390,176 P)
1950      A-2-146   B-25-656  C-135-954  D-229-687   E-35-814    F-3-323             (432,580 P)
1951      A-1-621   B-27-868  C-120-539  D-272-894   E-42-104    F-7-266             (472,292 P)
1952      A-2-031   B-19-092  C-100-779  D-314-587   E-53-976    F-7-200             (497,665 P)
1953      A-2-186   B-12-607   C-98-828  D-351-085   E-61-834   F-13-325    G-1-075  (540,940 P)
1954      A-1-552   B-12-281   C-75-249  D-376-763   E-73-375   F-15-969             (555,189 P)
1955      A-2-832   B-11-481   C-68-742  D 408 591   E-92-488   F-16-541    G-1-553  (602,228 P)
1956      A-2-381    B-9-454   C-61-224  D 441 376  E 106 420   F-19-558    G-1-925  (642,338*P)
1957      A-3-068    B-7-006   C-46-501  D 458 180  E 114 864   F-26-029    G-2-415  (658,063 P)
1958      A-9-241    B-8-956   C-39-142  D 454 706  E 130 107   F-32-290    G-5-021  (679,463*P)
1959     A-10-728    B-9-943   C-34-150  D 448 842  E 148 731   F 40-250    G-5-531  (698,175 P)
1960     A-14-782   B-15-128   C-35-163  D 428 583  E 173 098   F-50 200    G-7-744  (724,698 P)
1961     A-19-254   B-25-972   C-29-435   D385894    E186974    F-52-393   G-10-662  (710,584 P)
1962     A-23-059   B-30-653   C-46-500   D365300    E202215    F-56-224   G-12-450  (736,401 P)
1963     A-24-337   B-39-602   C-60-504   D347015    E217828    F-65-372   G-12-360  (766,928 P)
 

1-LETTER SERIES  (Possibly issued from central office for mail order?, except 1968)

YEAR       1-2000   2001-2500  2501-3000  3001-3500  3501-4000  4001-4500  4501-5000
1964      A-9-712   B-23-779   C-34-916    D109825   E-99-904   F-42-578    G-6-632
1965       A-7968   B-22-955    C-41779   D-99-998   E-99-999   F-44-248     G-9517
1966       A 8836    B 24025    C 41191    D 87411    E 94909    F 40006     G 8736
1967       A 6799    B 22222    C 38837    D 86695    E 95278    F 46984    G 10023
1968      A 46657    B 66600    C141308    D294667    E312022    F103876    G 18804
1969       A 9133    B 19197    C 33982    D 85869    E104135    F 39815     G 7784
1970       A 9792    B 19776    C 33049    D 83338    E129113    F 44444     G 9671
1971       A 9246    B 19525    C 35000    D 79189    E138054    F 43775     G 8613

2-LETTER 1001-9999 SERIES  (Known to have been issued from branch offices)

YEAR       1-2000   2001-2500  2501-3000  3001-3500  3501-4000  4001-4500  4501-5000
1964      AC-3330    BC-6482    CF-7077   DZ-9-361+   ES-5863+   FC-8527    GA-9777

1965      AC-5200    BD-4698    CH-6629    DZ-8970+   ET-9050    FD-9764    GA-7211

1966      AC 8365    BD 9348    CK 7113    DZ 4380+   EW 9627    FE 5657    GA 6569
1967      AD 6812    BE 3616    CM 7693    DZ 9997    EX 9391    FE 9419    GA 6876
1969      AE 9953    BE 8621    CS 1601    DZ 9413    EZ 9933+   FH 9087    GB 3814
1970      AF 4047    BF 1950    CS 8759    DZ 9832    EZ 8654    FK 1325    GB 5401
1971      AG 3282    BF 5419    CS 6546    DZ 9733    EZ 9940    FL 8324    GB 9531

No I,Q used.+  (CG, HA-HH, MG, SG = Non-Pass., DV = Disabled Veteran 1964 only)
+1964 DI,DQ,EI used, 1965 DI-9660, 1966 DI 3916, 1969 EI 9251
 
2-LETTER 1-1000 SERIES  (Low numbers issued to safe-driving-record registrants)
                        (1965 FA-1000 also seen)
YEAR       1-2000   2001-2500  2501-3000  3001-3500  3501-4000  4001-4500  4501-5000
1964                                                   EA-730
1965                                        DA-213     EA-730      FA-96     GA-160
1966                                        DA 630     EC 992
1967                                        DB 472     EC 933     FB 422
1968                             CA 512     DB 472     ED 431     FB 422      GA 30
1969                             CB 946     DA 630      EA 24     FC 210     GA 130
1970                                        DC 958     ED 238     FC 210     GA 266
1971                             CA 202     DD 624     EB 982     FE 952     GB 637

TOTALS OF ALL 1-LETTER AND 2-LETTER SERIES   (Assuming no CG, unverified I,Q used)

          A        B        C         D         E         F         G       TOTAL
1964   30,040   47,259    85,988   334,162   249,481    68,103   15,409    (830,442*P)
1965   30,166   53,650   101,402   323,818   261,762    80,105   15,888    (866,791*P)
1966   34,199   59,370   119,296   301,314   286,508    80,659   14,305    (895,651 P)
1967   39,608   60,834   135,520   304,141   295,344    93,821   15,899    (945,167*P)
1968   46,657   66,600   141,820   296,139   315,453   106,298   18,834    (991,801*P)
1969   54,082   62,814   171,514   309,453   328,320   113,105   19,727  (1,059,015*P)
1970   57,834   65,721   175,793   302,105   346,982   127,970   23,337  (1,099,742*P)
1971   65,522   68,939   175,733   298,523   355,953   146,041   27,780  (1,138,491*P)


1972-75 FORMATS       AAA 101 - WZZ 250        (CAPACITY 1,690,500)

       ALLOTTED                             OBSERVED
1972                                        TOW 228   (1,382,978*P)
1973   UNZ 250   (1,469,700*P)              VEP 178   (1,526,928*P)
1974                                        WJC 248   (1,632,298*P)
1975   WRZ 250   (1,662,900*S)              WRC 117   (1,659,767*S)

Numbers 101 - 250 only used.
No I,O,Q used in 1st or 3rd positions.  No P used in 1st position.
2nd position letter not seen:  1974-75  Q
Non-Pass. Prefixes:  CGA-CGZ, HWA-HWZ, MGA-MGZ, SGA-SGZ.
1972:  Trucks up to 4,000 lbs. (H) now registered as passenger.

1976-80 BICENTENNIAL BASE                     No I,O,P,Q,U,Y used.*
1976      "76"    Type 1       AAA 101 - WZZ 400      (2,160,000 S)
1978      "78"    Type 1a      AAA 401 - MJV 410        (457,610 S)
Feb.79  "FEB 80"  Type 2       MNS 491 -
Mar.79  "MAR 80"  Type 1b      NCB 438 - RXN 498         (73,161 S)
Sep.79  "SEP 80"  Type 3       VCB 456 - WZZ 500         (75,845 S)
Dec.79  "DEC 80"  Type 3a      UAA 101 - UBS 218         (10,318 S)
                                                (TOTAL 2,890,318 S)

Description of Types:  Type 1 - Aluminum, unpainted back
                       Type 2 - Aluminum, tan back
                       Type 3 - Steel, unpainted back

Numbers 101 - 400 only used on Types 1, 3a.
Numbers 401 - 500 only used on Types 1a, 2, 1b, 3.
*U used only in 1st position on Type 3a.
Replaced during 1980.

1981-85 STATE SEAL MAP BASE                  No I,O,P,Q,U,Y used.*
1-1-80  "JAN"(81) Type 1: Alum.   AAA 101 - TMM 278   (2,492,578 S)
Jun.82  "JUN 83"  Type 2: Steel   TNA 184 - WZZ 500     (383,917 S)
Aug.83  "AUG 84"  Type 2a         UAA 101 - UZZ 500     (160,000 S)
Apr.84  "APR 85"  Type 2b         YAA 101 - YZZ 500     (160,000 S)
Sep.84  "SEP 85"  Type 2c         PAA 101 - PZZ 500     (160,000 S)
Oct.84  "OCT 85"  Type 2d         OAA 101 - OGM 311      (52,611 S)
Dec.84  "DEC 85"  Type 2e?        OHO 233 - OHO 456         (224 S)
                                                (TOTAL 3,412,835 S)

Numbers 101 - 500 only used.
*O,P,U,Y used only in 1st position on Types 2a-2d.
Replaced during 1985.

1986-90 PALMETTO TREE BASE                          No I,Q,U used.*
1-2-85  "1 86"  Type 1        AAA 501 - OVL 844       (2,920,744 S)
Jan.86  "1 87"  Type 2        OVV 807 - PGG 817          (96,411 S)
Mar.86  "3 87"  Type 1a       PNY 533 - WWZ 950       (1,146,168 S)
Jun.88  "6 89"  Type 2a       WYF 719 -
Aug.88  "8 89"  Type 3        YAA 501 - YSK 838         (169,988 S)
Feb.89  "2 90"  Type 4        YXV 868 - YXX 638             (671 S)
Sep.88  "9 89"  Type 5        UDX 879 - UZZ 999         (219,182 S)
Jun.89  "6 90"  Type 5a       ZAA 501 - ZZZ 999         (263,971 S)
 (Not issued)   Type 5b       IAA 501 - IDE 852          (36,779 S)
                                                (TOTAL 5,061,221 S)

Description of Types:
Type 1 - New steel, no image
Type 2 - Aluminum, no image
Type 3 - New steel, "87" image
Type 4 - Old steel, "87" image
Type 5 - New steel, coded image "BNN4", etc.

Numbers 501 - 900 only used.
Numbers 501 - 950 assumed WAA-YZZ. (WBM 938, WWZ 950 seen)
Numbers 501 - 999 assumed UAA-on.  (UGT 929, UNV 969, UYF 959,
*I,U used only in 1st position on Types 5, 5b.        ZKX 938 seen)
Special series:  USC 167 (Type 1), not counted in total.
Replaced during 1990.

1991-98 CAROLINA WREN BASE                    No I,O,P,Q,U,Y used.*
Jan.90  "1 91"  Type 1        AAA 101 - YZZ 500       (3,200,000 S)
Aug.91  "8 92"  Type 1a       AAA 501 - YZZ 900       (3,453,200 S)
Aug.97  "8 98"  Type 1b       IAA 501 - IWX 812         (150,312 S)
                                                (TOTAL 6,803,512 S)

Numbers 101 - 500 only used on Type 1.
Numbers 501 - 900 only used on Types 1a-1b.
*P,Y used only in 1st position.  No X used in 1st position.
*Y added by ECY, FYA on Type 1a, Jan.93 "1 94".
*I used only in 1st position on Type 1b.
Special series:  USA 482, USC 392, not counted in total.
Replaced during 1998.

1999-2009 SMILING FACES BASE        Aluminum.  No I,O,Q,U used.*
1-2-98  "1 99" Type 1: Embossed  101 AAA - 589 XBJ (8,050,089 S)
10-9-07"10 08" Type 2: Flat      568 XBK - 305 XXM   (394,399 S)
                                             (TOTAL 8,445,216 S)

Numbers 101 - 900 only used, up to XBJ.
Numbers 101 - 999 used from XBK on.
*U added at NKU, in January 2002.
Special suffixes available with numbers 101 - 999:
TAG, TGR, UGA, UNC, USA, USC, all counted in total.
Replaced July 2008 through June 2009.  2002 law ordered plates
to be replaced after 7 years.
 
2009-17 TRAVEL 2 SC BASE                              No O used.
7-1-08  "7 09"                   AAA 101 - LZD 799 (6,715,942 S)
 
Number 666 omitted on all but perhaps the AAA-AZZ series.
Special prefixes available again; not counted in total.
Single month/year sticker began approximately 12/5/2015.
LYE 667 still has month sticker box.
Last issued March 2016, therefore should be replaced by 3/31/2026.
 
2017-25 WHILE I BREATHE BASE                     No O, 666 used.
2-1-16  "FEB 17"  Old font       LZD 800 - XAC 404 (5,633,583 S)
2022    "OCT 24"  New font       YAQ 745 - YBO 810  (O now used)
2023    "JUL 25"  New font       605 AAA - 562 AAM  (O now used)
 
Numbers begin at 101 in each series.
Some expirations as early as March 2016 issued for replacements.
Sheeting changed December 2016 from 3M (threads down center) to
3M "High Definition" (threads down penultimate digit), between
NBW 844 and NBX 828.
Two-year registration began 7/1/2018, and law changed to require
plate replacement every 10 years.