OHIO

State laws did not include motorcycle registration from 1908 to 1913, leaving motorcycles to be licensed on a local basis.  Cities which had included motorcycles in their automobile ordinances prior to 1909 continued to license motorcycles from 1909 to 1913, while other cities passed new ordinances during this time period to license these increasingly popular machines.  1914 motorcycle tags were also issued by some cities.

The earliest known motorcycle ordinance is from Columbus in 1904, although unique cycle plates did not start until after 1909.  Complete details on all known city motorcycle ordinances and plates can be found on the Ohio Pre-state Local page.  The following is an overview of known issues and references in alphabetical order by city:

Akron required licensing and numbering of motorcycles as early as December 2, 1907, issuing aluminum letters and numbers to be mounted on an owner-provided background.  Cincinnati issued a 1913 plate with #326 known.  Cleveland issued an undated flat plate #1222.  Columbus' ordinance of 1904 included motorcycles, and 7 were registered from August 13, 1906, through November 8, 1906, but they were issued automobile tags as of 1907-09.  1911-14 Columbus motorcycle plates were issued.  Dayton issued porcelain motorcycle plates in 1910, 1912 and 1913.  Elyria passed an ordinance on September 20, 1910, requiring city-issued aluminum numbers to be placed on an owner-provided background on the rear of each motorcycle.  Lima had city-issued motorcycle plates in 1911, 1912 and 1913.  Lorain issued a 1911 dated plate.  A Newark Daily Advocate news article on March 14, 1913, mentions that 113 motorcycle plates had been issued in Newark in 1912.  Embossed 1912 and 1913 motorcycle plates are known from Springfield.  Toledo's automobile ordinance of 1907 included motorcycles, which were issued silver alphabetic letters to be mounted on an owner's background, while numbers were assigned to automobiles.  Youngstown added motorcycles to the existing automobile license ordinance in 1908.

1913 House Bill #549, passed on April 28, 1913, and effective January 1, 1914, made several amendments to the previous law, among them the introduction of a registration provision for motorcycles.  Litigation arose from significant fee increases on other motor vehicles, resulting in parts of this law being declared unconstitutional by the Court of Appeals on November 11, 1913.  Therefore, some cities continued issuing motorcycle plates in early 1914.  Ultimately, state registration of motorcycles was delayed until March 1914.

1914 House Bill #55 was passed on February 16, 1914, and effective March 9, 1914, rectifying the fee situation, and allowing registration to continue under the remaining valid sections of the 1913 law.  State-issued motorcycle plates in pairs began in 1914.  There were 20,654 motorcycles registered in 1914, and the highest known 1914 motorcycle plate is #19781.