NEVADA

Cities had the authority to register automobiles prior to the first state law in 1913, and Reno is confirmed to have done so as of 1906.  Neither the 1913 law nor the next one that repealed it, effective in 1916, expressly prohibited local licensing, so it is assumed that cities could continue to register motor vehicles.  Any undated plates or discs, while believed to be from before 1913, could potentially date from later years as well.  Despite this possibility, it appears from period news accounts that local registration was discontinued in 1913, at least in Reno.

Carson City (2,466)

The Daily Appeal published the headline "MUST CARRY NUMBERS" on August 16, 1911, with the following text:  "The City Council passed a resolution Monday night [August 14] that the City Clerk should issue numbers to all auto owners in this City at their request to be placed upon automobiles.  The numbers to be kept on file in the office of the clerk together with the name of the purchaser and the clerk to charge a sum of one dollar for each certificate."  

Ely (2,055)

An undated disc is known with the legends "LICENSED/AUTOMOBILE/NO/42/ELY,NEVADA".

Reno (10,867)

Ordinance #29 was passed August 24, 1904, for automobile regulations and speed limits only.

Ordinance #61, passed on August 31, 1906, amended Ordinance #29 by adding registration and numbering provisions.  Automobile owners were to register with the city clerk and display their assigned number on the rear of each machine in 4-inch-tall numbers in black on white or white on black.

On May 5, 1910, there were 197 automobiles registered.  On April 5, 1912, it was reported that 390 automobiles were now registered, 40 of them having been issued since January 1, 1912.  A Reno Evening Gazette article on September 25, 1912, states that "The automobile registration book in the city clerk's office shows that to date 472 automobiles are registered."

Three undated flat metal plates are known, which include #144 and #265, the latter having a slanted "RENO" at right.

Another article from June 28, 1913, has the headline "STATE AND CITY LICENSE NOW" along with the subheader "Both Licenses Are Required by Law - City Attorney Hands Down Opinion".  The article states that "Statistics obtained from Julius Parry, city clerk, indicate more than 200 automobiles have been purchased by residents of Reno since January 1, last.  These figures are based on the number of licenses issued by the city.  For several months automobile owners did not register their machines with the city, believing the state registration made the municipal requirement void.  Edward Lunsford, city attorney, has filed an opinion that Reno may force automobile owners to register their machines, however, and numbers are being taken out for newly bought cars.  Only about 750 state registrations have been made, but it is estimated there are more than 2,000 automobiles in Nevada.  Of these, 25 per cent are in Reno.  In the last five years about 550 automobiles have been registered in this city, but a number are not in use."

The city license requirement was finally dropped for 1914.