NEVADA

Cities were the only authorities to register automobiles prior to the first Nevada state automobile law of 1913.  Reno is confirmed as having registration in 1906.  An undated disc is known from Ely but, since the 1913 and 1915 laws don't specifically prohibit local licensing, it could be from after 1913.  A Reno Evening Gazette article on April 12, 1913, has the headline "New Law Requiring State Automobile License" and the sub-head "No Longer Will the City or County License Suffice; Nevada Follows Example of Sister States".  There are no known examples of county licensing but the reference is intriguing.

1913 Chapter 206, passed March 24, 1913, and effective April 23, 1913, required automobile owners to register with the Secretary of State, pay an annual fee of 12 1/2 cents per horsepower, with a minimum fee of $2.50, and display an annual state-issued disc.  The owner was also required to display an owner-provided rear plate in a light color on a dark background with 3-inch-tall numbers and a 1-inch-tall "abbreviated name of the state."  Known plates carry the abbreviation "NEV".  The registration year was January 1 to December 31, and the 1913 fees were prorated by full quarters due to the late passage of the law.  Newly-registered vehicles in 1913 and beyond were also prorated by full quarters.

Dealers were to register in the same manner as regular automobiles, but could obtain additional discs for $1 each.  Non-residents were allowed 30 days in the state, and motorcycles were specifically excluded from the law. (Since 1916 motorcycle plates started at #501, following the method of passenger plate number assignment, which also started above where 1913-15 numbers ended, this methodology inplies that motorcycle numbers may somehow have been issued with numbers below #500 in the pre-1916 period.  Otherwise, why wouldn't 1916 motorcycles start at #1?  However, there is clearly no law before 1916 that provides for motorcycle registration or plates.  Such a scenario could only be explained by the state's possible decision to issue motorcycle registrations anyway, despite a lack of any provision for them in the law.)

New discs were issued annually in 1913, 1914 and 1915.  For renewals, the new disc was issued only upon return of the old one, which explains the rarity of 1913 and 1914 discs today.  Upon renewal, the same number was issued, so owners would not need to have a new plate made each year.  The following table lists the total new registrations issued (not renewals), according to the original records of the Secretary of State, for each month and year:

     MONTH      1913                    1914                    1915

      JAN                           1111 - 1174   (64)      1703 - 1753   (51)

      FEB                           1175 - 1217   (43)      1754 - 1790   (37)

      MAR                           1218 - 1293   (76)      1791 - 1869   (79)

      APR      1 -  177  (177)      1294 - 1398  (105)      1870 - 1952   (83)

      MAY    178 -  541  (364)      1399 - 1483   (85)      1953 - 1954    (2)

      JUN    542 -  747  (206)      1484 - 1576   (93)      1955 - 2000   (46)

      JUL    748 -  880  (132)      1577 - 1595   (19)       (reissues)

      AUG    881 -  969   (89)      1596 - 1641   (46)       (reissues)

      SEP    970 - 1064   (95)      1642 - 1669   (28)       (reissues)

      OCT   1065 - 1093   (29)      1670 - 1683   (14)       (reissues)

      NOV   1094 - 1096    (3)      1684 - 1695   (12)       (reissues)

      DEC   1097 - 1110   (14)      1696 - 1702    (7)       (reissues)

                 (TOTAL 1,110)             (TOTAL 592)             (TOTAL 298)

By June 1915, the new law for state-issued plates in 1916 had been passed, and new plates undoubtedly ordered, with the starting number of #2001 having been chosen.  Therefore, when #2000 was reached, the state began reassigning old numbers which had become dormant, to avoid any overlap between the old series and the new one.  Known discs include 1913 #69 to 304, 1914 #151 to 850 and 1915 #154 to 1931.

There are several surviving examples of professionally-embossed plates manufactured by Grimm, the same maker of 1913 plates from Montana and Wyoming.  1913-dated plates, in white on black, are known in two subtle variations:  #23, 38, 124, 208, 254, 315, 321, 324, 328, 358 and 464 have the upper right slot over the "V" of "NEV", while #562 and 568 have the slot over the "NE" of "NEV".  1913 plate #778 is also known.  Undated plates, in white on red, are known with numbers 324, 476, 670, 729, 1123, 1427 and 1484; #324, 670, 1123, 1427 and 1484 have the upper right slot over the "NE" of "NEV".  These are thought to date from the 1914-15 period.

Although the uniformity in appearance of the above known plates might suggest the possibility of an optional state-issued plate series, this was not the case in Nevada.  A postcard postmarked April 16, 1914, was sent to the owner of newly-registered automobile #1338 by the Carson City News quoting the clause of the 1913 law regarding display of numbers and offering a painted metal plate for 75 cents.

There is no language in the 1913 or 1915 laws prohibiting cities from registering motor vehicles, charging fees or issuing plates.  We therefore have to assume that local ordinances could have continued beyond passage of the first state law in early 1913, and that any undated city plates or discs could just as easily be from after 1913 as before that date.  However, we know of no actual instance of local registration after 1913, and newspaper accounts of the time suggest that local registration was done away with, at least in Reno.

The pre-state era came to an end in 1916.  A new state law, 1915 Chapter 230, passed March 24, 1915, and effective January 1, 1916, required annual state-issued plates.  A rear plate only was specified, but pairs were actually issued, at least for passenger and dealer.  Most other aspects of registration were unchanged from 1913, but discs were discontinued and motorcycles were now included.  Fees were now $3, $5.50 or $8 depending on horsepower, and motorcycles were also $3.  Quarterly proration was replaced by half rates, in effect starting July 1 of each year.  Dealers were charged a $10 fee for 4 "plates" and $1 for each additional "plate".  The term "plate" in these instances is believed to mean a pair of plates.  County assessors were now to report to the Secretary of State names of all automobile owners in their county, in order to help combat the low (10%) compliance rate with the 1913 law bemoaned in a Reno Evening Gazette article on October 23, 1915.

The 1916 plates were undated, and colors were to change annually "so as to make a certain color represent a certain year," but all subsequent years were dated starting in 1917.  The lowest numbers issued in 1916 were as follows:  Passenger #2001, Motorcycle #501.  Numbers ending in "50" or "00" were typically reserved for and issued to dealers, but the 1916 dealer plates had no identifying mark or legend.  A "D" prefix was added in 1917.  The highest known 1916 plate is #6653, and the final number issued was #6655.

Nevada had only 16 counties in 1916.  Pershing County was formed in 1919 from part of Humboldt County, bringing the total to today's 17 counties.  The registration totals by county as of April 12, 1916, are as follows:

COUNTY       PASSENGER   MOTORCYCLE

Churchill       152          12

Clark           184           2

Douglas         137          13

Elko            293           6

Esmeralda       164           4

Eureka           34           1

Humboldt        281          10

Lander           62           0

Lincoln          34           0

Lyon            134           6

Mineral          66           0

Nye             227           1

Ormsby           72           3

Storey           29           8

Washoe          798          59

White Pine      128           3

TOTAL         2,795         128