RHODE ISLAND

The first state law providing for the registration of motor vehicles was 1904 Chapter 1157, passed April 13, 1904, effective immediately.  The law required owners of all motor vehicles to register with the Secretary of State, pay a one-time fee of $2 (or $10 for Dealers and Manufacturers), and display a pair of undated white-on-black state-issued plates.  Headlight numbers had been considered but were not included in the final version of the act.  Non-residents were exempted from registration.  The mandatory deadline for registration was June 1, 1904, by which date passenger numbers had reached #444.

The first certificates were issued on April 19, 1904, but new license plates were not ready yet.  The first order of plates, bearing the legend "REGISTERED IN R.I.", was manufactured in May 1904, and had still not arrived as of May 28.  Hopefully they came in time for the June 1st deadline!  Rhode Island thus became the second state in the nation to issue license plates.

1904-08 FIRST-ISSUE PLATES

Rhode Island first-issue plates, usually referred to as "Registers" by collectors, were issued for a period of four years, until June 1908.  Numbers began at #1 and the highest known plate is #3233.  Registration numbers of all vehicle types assigned by calendar year (and yearly totals) are listed in Table 1.  Throughout that time, four basic variations of number and legend fonts appeared, which are listed in Table 2.  The lowest and highest known passenger plates of each variation, and the earliest known issue dates, are listed in Table 3, with expected theoretical number ranges listed in ().

      TABLE 1 - FIRST-ISSUE NUMBERS ISSUED BY CALENDAR YEAR

               PASSENGER               DEALER                MOTORCYCLE

       1904      1 -  850  (850)     A.1 -  A.29  (28*)      B.1 - B.149  (149)

       1905    851 - 1407  (557)    A.30 -  A.52  (23)     B.150 - B.262  (113)

       1906   1408 - 2115  (708)    A.53 -  A.79  (27)     B.263 - B.385  (123)

       1907   2116 - 2970  (855)    A.80 -  A.96  (18*)    B.386 - B.483   (99**)

       1908   2971 -(3233) (263)    A.97 -(A.104) (8)      B.484 -(B.503)  (19**)

       *A.13 was not issued until February 1907

       *B.490 issued prematurely in November 1907.

      TABLE 2 - STYLE VARIATIONS OF FIRST-ISSUE PLATES

      Type 1 - Short legend (4 3/4"), thin digits (1 3/8" wide),

               black back with "54", "64" or no marking

      Type 2 - Long legend (7"), wide digits (1 7/8" wide), white

               back with no marking

      Type 3 - As Type 2, but medium digits (1 5/8" wide) with

               slanted ends on numerals 2,3,5,6,9

      Type 4 - As Type 2, but medium digits (1 5/8" wide) with

               straight ends on numerals 2,3,5,6,9

      TABLE 3 - FIRST-ISSUE PASSENGER NUMBERS KNOWN BY STYLE

      Type 1a -  4/19/04      1 -  499      (1 -  500 =   500)

      Type 1b -  6/ 7/04    505 -  609    (501 -  700 =   200)

      Type 1c - 10/12/04    819 -  824    (701 -  850 =   150)

      Type 2  -  3/11/05    872 - 2669    (851 - 2700 = 1,850)

      Type 3  -  7/20/07   2707 - 2950   (2701 - 2950 =   250)

      Type 4  -  1/29/08   2986 - 3233   (2951 - 3250 =   300)

Dealers and manufacturers were issued pairs of plates with an "A" prefix.  Plates of all four variations are known as follows:  Type 1 - #A.30, Type 2 - #A.46, A.88, Type 3 - #A.53, Type 4 - #A.52.  The last two are duplicate plates ordered later by an existing dealer.  #A.88 is the highest known Dealer plate of the Register series, but numbers were listed up to #A.104 in a May 1908 automobile directory also containing passenger numbers up to #3171, confirming #A.104 as a first-issue number.

Motorcycles were issued plates with a "B" prefix, but it is not known if pairs or singles were issued.  Known plates have only been found so far in Types 2 and 3 as follows:  Type 2 - #B.261 - B.289, Type 3 - #B.442.  #B.442 is the highest known Motorcycle plate of the Register series, and, being a Type 3, proves that such plates were still being issued as late as June 1907.  There has been some speculation that state-issued motorcycle plates were discontinued prematurely, as had occurred in Massachusetts in 1904, due to porcelain plates not holding up well on the highly vibration-prone machines.  However, Rhode Island's issue is known to have lasted at least three years, and probably continued until the end of the series in June 1908, when the new law requiring owner-provided motorcycle plates took effect.  The highest motorcycle number documented is #B.503 issued on May 25, 1908, although first-issue numbers may have gone a bit higher.

1908-12 SECOND-ISSUE PLATES

1908 Chapter 1592, later referred to as Chapter 86 of the General Laws of 1908, was passed May 26, 1908, and effective June 1, 1908.  This law required all motor vehicle owners to register annually with the State Board of Public Roads, pay an annual fee, and display license plates, which will be more fully described below.  Operator's licenses were also instituted.  It was decided that the responsibility of motor vehicle registration belonged to the State Board of Public Roads, formed in 1902, rather than the Secretary of State, thus the Automobile Department was created on June 1, 1908.  All registrations were to expire one year from the date of issue.  Fees were $5, $10, $15 or $25 depending upon horsepower, 50c for motorcycles, and $50 for dealers and manufacturers, which included a business license.  Non-residents were allowed "20 days in any one calendar year" before having to register.  Although the law did not specify any enforcement deadline, all motor vehicles were apparently required to be re-registered by September 1, 1908.

Owners of all motor vehicles were allowed to continue using their 1904-08 "Register" plates as long as they renewed them by September 1, 1908.  Therefore, "Registers" could continue to be valid until July 25, 1912, if renewed yearly.  New registrations of all vehicles other than motorcycles (and anyone other than motorcyclists desiring to purchase a new-style plate at extra cost) were issued pairs of undated white-on-black large second-issue porcelain plates with a full-size "RI" suffix, a design undoubtedly inspired by concurrent Connecticut plates with a large "C" prefix.  Motorcycle owners were thrust into Rhode Island's only pre-state era, now being required to display a single owner-provided plate with 1-inch-tall numbers and "RI" abbreviation.  We are not certain if first-issue motorcycle plates continued to be used if renewed, as passenger plates were, or not.

Many paragraphs of the 1908 law were modeled after Connecticut's 1907 law, including this:  Section 3 regarding dealer and manufacturer registration included the requirement that "every person operating a motor vehicle registered under the provisions of this section shall display on such vehicle, in such manner as said board may prescribe, the operator's license number assigned to such person."  The operator's number plate was a smaller-size (4 1/2" x 12") undated white-on-black porcelain plate with only the letter "D" followed by the serial number.  Known numbers range from #D.253 to #D.1380.  Interestingly, this was eventually to be the size of all Rhode Island plates starting in mid-1912, just when operators plates were phased out.

Although collectors have speculated that the "D" may have stood for "Driver", "Dealer" or "Demonstrator", it is more likely that it was merely the next available serial letter in Rhode Island.  "A" and "B" were already assigned to Dealers and Motorcycles, respectively, neither of which remotely match the names of those vehicle types.  Using a "C" prefix would have resulted in instant confusion with Connecticut plates of the same color and general design, so "D" was next.

1909 Chapter 454 was passed on May 7, 1909, amending the 1908 law by raising the motorcycle fee from 50c to $1, setting a separate flat Commercial fee of $2, and making explicit mention that dealers are entitled to as many plates as needed for one $50 fee.  No other changes were made to the 1908 law.

Second-issue plates were used for a period of four years, from approximately June 15, 1908, to July 24, 1912, if renewed yearly.  Each spring (except 1912), the state reissued an unknown quantity of dormant numbers, those which had not been renewed the year before.  This resulted in many Type 3 plates appearing with numbers below #4250.  The only Type 2 plate known from the 1909 dormant number re-issue period is #715.  The lowest newly-issued number known on this issue is #3272.  The highest known plate is #8640.  According to the Evening Herald, Fall River, Mass., of August 29, 1908, "The issue of new registration certificates began with the number 3264."  Tables 4, 5 and 6 list the corresponding data as has been presented above for the 1904-08 period, while Table 7 lists the periods when dormant numbers vs. new numbers were issued.

      TABLE 4 - SECOND-ISSUE NUMBERS ISSUED BY CALENDAR YEAR

               PASSENGER

      1908  (3272)-  4179     (908)

      1909   4180 -  4974     (795*)

      1910   4975 -  6478   (1,504*)

      1911   6479 -  7978   (1,500*)

      1912   7979 - (8640)    (662)

      *not including re-issued dormant numbers

      TABLE 5 - STYLE VARIATIONS OF SECOND-ISSUE PLATES

      Type 1 - Non-serif "I" of "RI", lower right slot centered

               under "R"

      Type 2 - Non-serif "I" of "RI", lower right slot ends

               between "R" and "I"

      Type 3 - Serif "I" of "RI", lower right slot ends between

               "R" and "I"

      TABLE 6 - SECOND-ISSUE PASSENGER NUMBERS KNOWN BY STYLE

      Type 1 - 6/18/08   3272 - 3765   (3251 - 3765 =   515)

      Type 2 - 8/18/08   3845 - 4176   (3766 - 4250 =   485)

      Type 3 - 7/26/09   4315 - 8640   (4251 - 8719 = 4,420)

      TABLE 7 - PASSENGER NUMBERS ISSUED BY REPORTING PERIOD

      6/15/08 - 3/ 5/09   3334 - 4299   (3300 - 4299 = 1,000)

      3/ 8/09 - 7/23/09     (1 - 3299)  (Dormant numbers)

      7/26/09 - 4/ 8/10   4300 - 5297   (4300 - 5299 = 1,000)

      4/11/10 - 6/17/10     (1 - 4299)  (Dormant numbers)

      6/20/10 - 3/17/11   5312 - 6668   (5300 - 6669 = 1,370)

      3/20/11 - 6/16/11     (1 - 5299)  (Dormant numbers)

      6/19/11 - 4/26/12   6670 - 8719   (= 2,050)

Known second-issue Dealer plates began no earlier than at #A105, based on #A.104 being listed in a May 1908 automobile directory representing numbers known to have been assigned on first-issue plates.  (The period after the "A" was omitted on second-issue plates.)  #A108, issued on July 10, 1908, was undoubtedly a second-issue plate.  The highest number reached as of March 1911 is #A134 and the highest known plate is #A132.  As of the end of the second issue, #A134 was still the highest, indicating that dormant Dealer numbers were also probably assigned during this period.  Plates are known only in Types 2 and 3, as follows:  Type 2 - #A109, Type 3 - #A132 and re-issues #A 7 to #A55.

Owner-provided motorcycle numbers may have begun as low as #B513, which is documented to have been issued on June 15, 1908.  Numbers had reached #B557 on July 14, 1908, although #B596 was apparently issued prematurely on July 2.  No data is available after mid-1908 and no motorcycle plates are known from the 1908-12 era.

1912-17 THIRD-ISSUE PLATES

By January 1912, committee members of the State Board of Public Roads had received a substantial number of complaints about the dark color and confusing "RI" abbreviation which looked like the numbers "81".  They also came to the realization that plate numbers, which were at about #8000, were rapidly approaching #9999 and that adding a fifth digit would make plates even harder to decipher.  They knew that waiting until the next legislative session to pass a law requiring a complete new plate re-issue would be too late because #10000 would be long surpassed by then.  They acted quickly to get a law introduced before the current session was over.

1912 Chapter 821, passed on April 26, 1912, and effective immediately, amended the 1908 law by requiring all motor vehicles to display plates of a new design by July 26, 1912.  Motorcycles were not included, continuing unchanged with owner-provided plates.  A new Commercial truck plate category was established with an "X" prefix.  The only other change was the deletion of the clause requiring operator's number plates while driving a dealer or manufacturer vehicle.  Issuance of third-series plates may have begun on April 29, 1912, or as soon after that date as the new plates were produced and delivered.

Ironically, #9999 was reached on July 26, 1912, the same day as the mandatory deadline by which all vehicles were to display their new plates.  After that, about 2,000 dormant numbers were reissued, starting in the #5000 series, lasting the state almost a full year from July 29, 1912, to July 11, 1913.  When new numbers resumed on July 14, 1913, they began at #10001, apparently skipping #10000, and the design was modified slightly.  No more dormant numbers were issued after 1913.  The highest known Passenger plate is #34966 and the highest known Commercial plate is #X5771.  After #X5999 was reached on November 16, 1917, it was too late for the Board to order any more porcelain plates so 97 passenger plates (between #34679 and #35017) were issued to trucks through December 28, 1917.  The flat Commercial fee was also raised from $2 to $7 in 1914.

Table 8 lists Passenger and Commercial numbers issued by calendar year (and yearly totals of each).  Table 9 describes the style variations of third-issue plates and Table 10 presents the known third-issue plate numbers by style variation, the known first-issue dates of each, and the expected theoretical number ranges in ().

      TABLE 8 - THIRD-ISSUE NUMBERS ISSUED BY CALENDAR YEAR

              PASSENGER                   COMMERCIAL

      1912   8720 -  9999  (1,280*)        X1 -  X792    (792)

      1913  10001 - 11206  (1,206*)      X793 - X1323    (531)

      1914  11207 - 14719  (3,513)      X1324 - X1843    (520)

      1915  14720 - 20546  (5,827)      X1844 - X2487    (644)

      1916  20547 - 27201  (6,655)      X2488 - X4089  (1,602)

      1917  27202 - 35017  (7,816)      X4090 - X5999  (1,910**)

      *not including about 2,000 re-issued dormant passenger numbers

       in 1912-13

      **not including 97 passenger plates included under passenger

      TABLE 9 - STYLE VARIATIONS OF THIRD-ISSUE PLATES

      Type 1a - Wide (1 3/4") digits, "R/I" between left slots

      Type 1b - Wide (1 3/4") digits, "R/I" at far left

      Type 2  - Thin (1 1/2") digits, slots shifted slightly

      TABLE 10 - THIRD-ISSUE NUMBERS KNOWN BY STYLE

      PASSENGER

      Type 1a - 4/29/12      14 -   193      (1 -   199 =    199)

      Type 1b - 4/29/12     309 -  9804    (200 -  9999 =  9,800)

      Type 2  - 7/25/13   10112 - 34966  (10001 - 35017 = 25,017)

      COMMERCIAL

      Type 1a - 4/29/12    (none known)     (X1 -   X99 =     99)

      Type 1b - 6/14/12    X198 - X1038   (X100 - X1999 =  1,900)

      Type 2  - 4/30/15   X2701 - X5771  (X2000 - X5999 =  4,000)

It is interesting to note that Commercial plates switched to Type 2 almost two years later than passenger plates.  Later Commercial plates were also issued with an "X" prefix much larger than the numbers starting sometime between December 1916 and April 1917.  The highest known normal "X" plate is #X4032 and the lowest known jumbo "X" plate is #X4521.

Third-issue Dealer plates no longer carried an "A" prefix, but added a small letter suffix which indicated the number of sets assigned to that dealer.  Dealers were not automatically assigned a default number of pairs;  only the actual number of sets requested by each dealer were furnished "at cost".  If a dealer needed more than 26 sets, double letters were issued with repeating-letter combinations only, such as AA, BB, CC, etc.  Starting in March 1915, if more than 52 sets were ordered, triple repeating letters were authorized, using AAA, BBB, CCC, etc., and eight such sets were documented in board meeting minutes.  No double- or triple-letter plates are known to have survived.  Plates with 1-2 digits and a single letter suffix were manufactured as Type 1a.  No numbers above #134 (last reached in March 1911) were issued as of May 1914, according to an automobile directory published then, indicating that dormant numbers were reissued during that period.  The highest known Dealer plate is #204A, issued in 1917.

No motorcycle plates are known from the 1912-17 era.  A 1913 motorcycle listing book has #B1350 as its highest number.  The highest motorcycle number listed as of April 1, 1914, is #B1630.

The new state law providing for new annual plates in 1918 (1916 Chapter 1354) was actually passed March 29, 1916, and contained some clauses that applied to the pre-1918 registration system and which were effective April 9, 1916.  Passenger fees were adjusted slightly and other vehicle fees were changed as follows:  Commercial truck fees were put on a separate schedule based on carrying capacity (weight) ranging from $7 to $40, the motorcycle fee was raised from $1 to $2, and the dealer fee was revised from $50 for unlimited pairs of plates to $25 for 5 pairs of plates, plus $5 for each additional pair, or $10 for 3 motorcycle dealer plates.  It is believed that regular dealer plates were issued for the last category, not special motorcycle dealer plates.  Finally, motorcycles with sidecars were now to be issued passenger plates instead of being registered with owner-provided motorcycle plates, and were charged the minimum passenger rate of $5.

Issuance of passenger plates to motorcycles with sidecars began on April 10, 1916, and 592 such pairs were issued through the end of 1917, ranging from #21386 to #34962.  Based on a late 1917 photograph of such a combination showing #33709 on the front of the sidecar, the pair was to be displayed on the front and back of the sidecar, with no plate on the motorcycle itself!  Just prior to April 10, 1916, there was a large increase in motorcycle registrations, both with and without sidecars, as owners wanted to get in under the old rate of $1 instead of the new fees of $2 or $5.

1916 Chapter 1371, "An Act Relative to Vehicles Trailing After or Propelled by Motor Vehicles", became effective January 1, 1917, requiring owners of vehicle/trailer combinations weighing over two tons to obtain a special trailer permit.  However, in contrast with section 2, section 6 specifies the weight requirement as being over one ton, not two, so we aren't certain which was followed.  The annual fee ranged from $10 to $30 depending upon weight.  Each permit expired on December 31 of the year issued and was prorated by quarter depending on when issued.  Trailer permit plates, issued singly, were to be displayed on the front of the towing vehicle along with its own front registration plate.  This law also provided for trailer permits in 1918-23.

The minutes of the Board's November 15, 1916, meeting state that "The Clerk of the Automobile Department presented design for a trailer plate to be used under the new Trailer Law, which was adopted, and said Clerk was instructed to order a supply of said plates."  It is clear that special plates were made and issued but none are known to exist today.  Only 10 such plates were issued in 1917.  Although the design is unknown, it is assumed that smaller porcelain plates with the prefix letters "TP" were used, based on known 1924 embossed Trailer Permit plates with those letters.

1918 ANNUAL PLATES

1916 Chapter 1354, passed March 29, 1916, and effective April 9, 1916, provided for annual calendar-year registration and annual state-issued dated license plates for all vehicles including motorcycles, starting on January 1, 1918.  The registration year was now to be January 1 to December 31.  New registrations and renewals after January 1, 1917, were to be prorated by the number of quarters remaining in the year from the date of registration, with all assigned a December 31, 1917, expiration date.  For example, vehicles registered after October 1 would only have to pay 1/4 of their normal annual fee.  Although 1918 plates went on sale on December 1, 1917, and renewals desiring to reserve their old number could obtain their plates as early as November 12, 1917, they could not be displayed until January 1, 1918.

All types were issued in pairs except Motorcycle and Trailer.  Motorcycles with sidecars were now issued their own series of plates with an "N" prefix, in motorcycle size but in pairs.  Dealer plates were issued in sets of 5 pairs using suffix letters A, B, C, D and E, so a total of 750 pairs was included in the initial order.  1918 plate statistics by type are shown in Table 11, including the highest plate numbers contained in the initial contract order with the Scioto Sign Company of Kenton, Ohio, on May 2, 1917.

      TABLE 11 - 1918 PLATE STATISTICS BY TYPE

      TYPE                HIGHEST MADE  REGISTERED  HIGHEST KNOWN

      Passenger              #36000       29,333        #29265

      Commercial             #X8000        7,263        #X3624

      Dealer                 #150-E          140        (none)

      Motorcycle             #B2000        1,470         #B886

      Motorcycle w/Sidecar   #N1000            ?         #N541

      Trailer Permit         #TP100           29        (none)