MISSISSIPPI

Motorcycles were not included in Mississippi's first state law in 1912.  Prior to the first state motorcycle registration in May 1914, the only known city motorcycle ordinance was in Biloxi.  In various Daily Herald news articles, the progress of license plate issuance is reported.  On February 12, 1914, it was announced that motorcycle owners must secure numbered tags from the tax collector for a $1 fee.  A March 11, 1914, article mentions that "Clerk Hagan was instructed to buy number plates for automobiles and motorcycles."  On May 7, 1914, it was reported that city tax collector "Mr. Meaut has sold...4 motorcycle tags at $1 a piece."  In a June 3, 1914, article, "H. J. Meaut, tax collector, reported selling...23 motorcycle tags...during the month."  On July 24, 1914, it was reported that the original order of automobile plates had already been exhausted and a new supply ordered.  In the original order, "Seventy five numbers for automobiles and twenty-five for motorcycles were ordered at the time.  This supply would be sufficient, it was believed, to supply the city for a year..."  From a final article on January 19, 1915:  "City Clerk Hagan reported that fifty auto plates and twenty-five motorcycle were needed.  Alderman Moore moved that the clerk be authorized to make the purchase."

State-issued motorcycle plates began in May 1914 at the same time as the undated series of passenger plates.  They were undated, 3" x 6", black-on-white and issued in pairs.  An unusual stipulation was that the front plate was to be a double-sided plate displayed sideways so as to be visible from each side of the vehicle.  None are known, so we are not certain exactly how they were constructed.  The only other North American jurisdiction we can compare it to is Ontario, Canada, which issued two-sided motorcycle front plates from 1917 to 1966 except during the World War II years.  1917-20 plates were literally painted on both sides, while the 1921-66 issues were merely a pair of separately stamped plates riveted or bolted together back-to-back.

The State Auditor initially ordered 500 motorcycle tags in 1914.  They were allocated to each of the state's counties alphabetically, starting with #1 in Adams County.  By 1917, #999 had been assigned, so by the final year of the undated series in 1918, we expect that numbers had reached the low 1,000s.

The earliest known motorcycle plate is a 1919 rear plate #196.  According to the law, the double-sided front plates continued, but none are known.  It is not clear how long this requirement lasted, but we believe it had been dropped by 1939.  In 1919, Jackson County was assigned motorcycle numbers 1 - 40, and the highest motorcycle number allocated was #549.