TYPE |
INFORMATION |
FLORIDA
The earliest known Florida city ordinance providing for automobile registration and plates was passed in 1904 in the state's largest city, Jacksonville. Other cities also joined with local registrations in the years up through 1917.
1905 Chapter 5437 (Act 66), passed on May 11, 1905, and effective July 11, 1905, required all motor vehicles to register with the Secretary of State, pay a one-time fee of $2, and display an owner-provided rear plate with 3-inch-tall numbers. There was no specific provision for dealer registration or plates. Non-residents were exempted for 30 days before having to register their vehicles in Florida. Cities continued to have the authority to license vehicles since there was no mention of them being prohibited from doing so.
State registration began in July 1905. We aren't certain precisely when #1000 was reached, but #1135 was issued on October 23, 1909, over four years later. For unknown reasons, #6100 - 6999 were skipped after #6099 was reached on December 21, 1912, but a few of the missing numbers were issued later. #6230 - 6232 and #6333 - 6339 were assigned on January 15 and 16, 1914, but these ten numbers are not counted in our totals. #10000 was reached on June 16, 1914, and numbers had advanced to #16049 as of October 20, 1917, the latest record we have. The highest known pre-state plate is #14191. Numbers issued by calendar year and the yearly totals in () are presented in the table below:
1905 1 - 130 (130)
1906 131 - 296 (166)
1907 297 - 485 (189)
1908 486 - 733 (248)
1909 734 - 1295 (562)
1910 1296 - 2394 (1,099)
1911 2395 - 4210 (1,816)
1912 4211 - 6099,
7000 - 7075 (1,965)
1913 7076 - 9118 (2,043)
1914 9119 - 11366 (2,248)
1915 11367 - 12967 (1,601)
1916 12968 - 14187 (1,220)
1917 14188 - 16049 (1,862) (As of October 20, 1917)
The rate of number issuance did not climb as fast as normally expected in 1912-14, and actually declined in 1915-16. These pattern shifts resulted from changes in state laws in 1911 and 1915 which will be described more fully below.
1911 Chapter 6212 (Act 93), passed on June 5, 1911, and effective October 1, 1911, required all owners of motor vehicles to pay an annual license tax to the Tax Collector of the county of residence and display a single annual county-issued license plate on either the front or rear of the machine. Fees ranged from $3 to $50 for private vehicles, depending on horsepower, and from $5 to $100 for vehicles used for hire, depending upon horsepower. This law did not change any of the requirements of the 1905 law, which remained in effect. Therefore, vehicles were required to have two license plates (state and county), plus a third (city) tag if the owner was from a city that also required registration. The slow, almost level, growth of state registrations during the 1912-14 period indicates that there may have been a significant drop in the compliance rate of the 1905 law. Many owners may have concluded that having the county license plate was enough.
Florida county plates are discussed here because, although issued by each individual county, the law requiring them was a state law. County plates came in three distinct types: Private, For Hire and Motorcycle. Not all counties issued all types every year, and sometimes the types were not marked in any identifiable way. Private plates were issued to anyone using their own car, generally started at #1 and if they had any type marking, were usually marked as follows:
AUTO, AUTOMOBILE, FOR OWNER'S USE, FOR PRIVATE USE,
LICENSE TAG, OWNER, OWNERS USE, PRIVATE, PRIVATE AUTO,
PRIVATE AUTOMOBILE, PRIVATE USE
For Hire plates were issued to taxis, limousines, delivery trucks, buses and commercially used vehicles. In some cases, higher number blocks were reserved for Hire plates, and the plates sometimes had different or reversed colors. They were most often marked as follows:
FOR HIRE, FOR HIRE AUTOMOBILE, FOR HIRE TAXICAB, HIRE, TAXI
Motorcycle plates generally matched the colors of Private plates but usually had no type marking except for an occasional use of the words "MOTORCYCLE" or "MOTOR CYCLE". The shape was often the only clue - small square, round, vertical or fender-shaped were common.
Many of the county plates had the name "FLORIDA" or abbreviation "FLA", but not all. The manner in which county plates were dated was highly inconsistent from county to county and even within a county for different years. All plates were issued for a single 12-month period, which was October 1 to September 30 of each year. For example, plates issued starting on October 1, 1911, were dated "1911-12", "1911/12", "1911 1912", "1911-1912", "1911 & 1912" or simply "1912", and the same applied to later years. However, there is no plate dated just "1911", nor do "1917-18" or "1918" plates exist.
Florida only had 48 counties when the 1911 county license law took effect. Six more counties were formed during the period when county plates were being issued (1911-17), and are listed in the table below. Holmes County underwent a slight boundary change in 1915 with Jackson and Washington but this is not expected to have had a significant impact on registration totals. Keep in mind that whenever a new county was formed, registrations would have decreased accordingly in the old counties the new one was formed from. For example, when Broward County started issuing plates in October 1915, both Dade and Palm Beach counties would have experienced a drop.
COUNTY DATE FORMED ORIGINATION FIRST PLATE
Bay April 24, 1913 Calhoun, Washington 1914
Seminole April 25, 1913 Orange 1913/14
Broward April 30, 1915 Dade, Palm Beach 1916
Okaloosa June 13, 1915 Santa Rosa, Walton 1916
Flagler April 28, 1917 St. Johns, Volusia ?
Okeechobee May 8, 1917 Osceola, Palm Beach, St. Lucie 1917?
The remaining 13 counties were formed in 1921-25, bringing the state's total to the current 67 counties.
Since each county was responsible for designing and ordering its own plates, there was an almost infinite variety of colors and styles used. The vast majority were porcelain but sometimes embossed steel, brass or aluminum were used. According to a Manatee River Journal article on September 30, 1915, Manatee County ordered 500 new (1916) plates, an increase of 100 over the year before. Volusia County ordered 1,000 Owner tags and 300 Hire tags for 1914-15. For the six year period, there was a total of 300 county/year combinations, not including another 172 Hire combinations and 38 Motorcycle combinations. Full statistics on all county plates can be found in the separate Florida table below.
From October 1 to December 31, 1917, various temporary plates or revalidation devices were issued by the counties, such as cardboard tags, windshield stickers, etc. The new state law allowed counties to collect one-fourth of the regular fee for this three-month period but not to issue new license plates.
The 1911 county plate law was amended by 1915 Chapter 6881 (Act 75), passed on June 4, 1915, and effective October 1, 1915. All of the fees were adjusted, the new rates being as follows:
Private automobiles $3 to $25 depending on seating capacity
Hire automobiles $10 to $60 depending on seating capacity
Private trucks $10 to $50 depending on weight and load capacity
Hire trucks $15 to $60 depending on weight and load capacity
But far more significant was the addition of the two words "or State" in the first sentence of the last paragraph of Section 1, which exempted all county-tax payers from having to also pay the $2 state registration fee. This resulted in a decline in state registrations but they did not dwindle down to zero. Apparently they were issued only under certain circumstances. The Miami News reported on January 12, 1917, that "According to the state law a license issued by one county is good for all other counties in the state. An automobile may remain in a county two weeks before the owner can be required to carry a state license."
A new state law, 1917 Chapter 7275 (Act 17), passed on May 28, 1917, and effective January 1, 1918, amended all previous laws. It required all motor vehicle owners statewide to register with the Comptroller of the State, pay an annual fee listed in the table below, and display a pair of annual state-issued plates. The registration year was to be January 1 to December 31, and half rates were in effect starting July 1 of each year. Dealer plates were issued in sets of five, beyond which additional plates could be ordered as needed. Non-residents were allowed 30 days before having to register. All local registration by cities and counties was prohibited except in the case of vehicles for hire. Since For-Hire plate categories were added by the state in 1922, it appears that local hire registration only lasted from 1918 to 1921. 1917 Chapter 7276 (Act 18), passed on June 5, 1917, and effective July 1, 1918, corrected some minor errors and inconsistencies in the previous act.
The following table lists the plate letter classifications, the fees, the registration totals and the highest plate numbers known for 1918. The "A", "M" and "W" series were in reversed colors, as were probably the "X", "Y" and "Z" plates.
1918 VEHICLE CATEGORY FEE REGISTERED KNOWN #
A = M/C $2 1,629 327-A
B = Passenger 1 - 25 H.P. $5 32,735 32986-B
C = Passenger 26 - 40 H.P. $12 7,858 7275-C
D = Passenger 41 - 60 H.P. $15 408 367-D
E = Passenger >60 H.P. $30 0
F = Bus $100 72
M = Dealer $15 314 171-M
W = Truck & Tlr. $10 4,421 4389-W
X = Truck & Tlr. 1 - 2 Tons $25 389
Y = Truck & Tlr. 2 - 4 Tons $35 113
Z = Truck & Tlr. >4 Tons $100 27
TOTAL 47,966
Note that no "E" plates were issued, making this the most rare type of first-issue plate, unless any of the original unissued stock has survived (a possibility since higher-than-issue "B" plates are known). The horsepower limits were significantly adjusted for 1919 to more evenly distribute automobiles among the classes, resulting in a more substantial number of "E" plates being issued in 1919-21.
FLORIDA COUNTY-ISSUED PLATES 1912-17
Highest number known by vehicle type, county and year.
Counties not listed in Private were formed after 1917.
Only known counties are listed in For Hire and Motorcycle.
P R I V A T E
COUNTY 1910 POP. RANK 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917
Alachua (34,305) (5) 225 124 225 598 787
Baker (4,805) (44) 10 32 22 29 6
Bay ----- -- ---- ---- 40
Bradford (14,090) (22) 7 15 31 56 230
Brevard (4,717) (46) 76 33 37 33 247 137
Broward ----- -- ---- ---- ---- ---- 100 300
Calhoun (7,465) (33) 6 60
Citrus (6,731) (35) 42 67 120 132
Clay (6,116) (39) 529* 86 86
544*
Columbia (17,689) (14) 108 239
Dade (11,933) (25) 800 1106 1024 2670
De Soto (14,200) (21) 124 213 443 291
Duval (75,163) (1) 1410 1849 1370 1554 1880
Escambia (38,029) (4) 100 904 223 387 807
Flagler ----- -- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Franklin (5,201) (42) 52
Gadsden (22,198) (9) 126 258
Hamilton (11,825) (26) 12 48 156
Hernando (4,997) (43) 37 21 60
Hillsborough (78,374+) (2) 805 1237 1454 2349 2709
Holmes (11,557) (27) 68
Jackson (29,821) (6) 193
Jefferson (17,210) (15) 160 271 24
Lafayette (6,710) (36) 16 97
Lake (9,509) (31) 99 383 580 675
Lee (6,294) (38) 20 451 100 236
Leon (19,427) (11) 35 7 175 293
Levy (10,361) (29) 15
Liberty (4,700) (47) 5
Madison (16,919) (16) 104
Manatee (9,550) (30) 108 45 74 352 498 732
Marion (26,941) (7) 291 156 216 539 358
Monroe (21,563) (10) 34
Nassau (10,525) (28) 17 44 70 152
Okaloosa ----- -- ---- ---- ---- ---- 18
Okeechobee ----- -- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Orange (19,107) (12) 118 643 934 936
Osceola (5,507) (41) 1 71 58 40 223 215
Palm Beach (5,577) (40) 126 56 441 771
Pasco (7,502) (32) 20 33 55 3 23
Pinellas -----+ (3) 327 422 635 513 1500
Polk (24,148) (8) 519 203 557 1085 1409
Putnam (13,096) (24) 57 113 229 302
St. Johns (13,208) (23) 321 390 1191* 326
1271*
St. Lucie (4,075) (48) 141 285 125 375 471
Santa Rosa (14,897) (20) 12 181
Seminole ----- -- ---- ---- 186 185 356 149
528*
Sumter (6,696) (37) 44 100
Suwannee (18,603) (13) 9 60 269 298
Taylor (7,103) (34) 148
Volusia (16,510) (17) 443 576 789 959 1063 1673
Wakulla (4,802) (45)
Walton (16,460) (18) 71 94 73
Washington (16,403) (19) 19
TOTAL (752,619) (48) 2,089 3,463 8,286 10,442 15,353 21,830
171/300 county/year combinations known (56.7%) (ALL 61,463)
*number block system likely used.
+Hillsborough County included population of Pinellas County
F O R H I R E
COUNTY 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917
Alachua 31 45 360* 74
Bradford 4
Citrus 8
Clay 114*
Dade 51 26 42 83
De Soto 81 79 33
Duval 192
Escambia 1 36 19
Hamilton 2
Hernando 56
Jackson 719*
Jefferson 26?
Lake 128
Leon 142
Levy 13
Madison 102*
Marion 3 413* 603*
Nassau 2
Orange 85 759*
Osceola 20 35
Pinellas 101 67
Polk 73 81
Putnam 41 59
St. Lucie 537*
Seminole ---- ---- 233* 332* 416*
335* 436*
Sumter 14 29 413* 592*
594*
Volusia 40 130 149 250 270 236
Wakulla 4
Walton 23
Washington 3
TOTAL 276 239 246 932 664 669
(ALL 3,026)
54/172 county/year combinations known (31.4%)
M O T O R C Y C L E
COUNTY 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917
Alachua 24 17 23
Broward ---- ---- ---- ---- 13
Hillsborough 233 125 54
Lake 24
Palm Beach 37 14
St. Johns 49
St. Lucie 9
TOTAL 0 0 233 186 117 86
(ALL 622)
12/38 county/year combinations known (32%)
GRAND TOTAL 2,365 3,688 8,765 11,560 15,129 22,567 (ALL 64,074)
COUNTIES FORMED 1912-17 (6)
4/24/1913 - Bay formed from Calhoun and Washington
4/25/1913 - Seminole formed from Orange
4/30/1915 - Broward formed from Dade and Palm Beach
6/13/1915 - Okaloosa formed from Santa Rosa and Walton
4/28/1917 - Flagler formed from St. Johns and Volusia
5/ 8/1917 - Okeechobee formed from Osceola, Palm Beach and St. Lucie
(1915 - Holmes underwent slight boundary change with Jackson and Washington)
COUNTIES FORMED AFTER 1917 (13)
Charlotte, Collier, Dixie, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hardee, Hendry,
Highlands, Indian River, Martin, Sarasota, Union