The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced it had produced the series 9ZZZ999, the final combination of the license plate format in use since 1980. This format featured one digit at the beginning, three letters in the middle, and three digits at the end.

The new license plate series features a reversed layout, consisting of three digits at the beginning, three letters in the middle, and one digit at the end. The first plate in this new formula is 000AAA1, and combinations can extend to 999ZZZ9, creating over 100 million additional combinations for California.

After 46 years of issuing plates for vehicles statewide, the combinations for the old format have been depleted. The DMV estimates this new format will meet the state's vehicle registration needs for approximately 40 years.

California's new license plate design. Photo: ABC7

The transition began earlier this year but is not occurring simultaneously statewide. New car buyers or those requesting replacement standard license plates will receive the new design once local offices exhaust their stock of old plates.

Over 110,000 old-format license plates are still stored at DMV offices and automobile club service points across California. Therefore, even though 9ZZZ999 has been produced, this specific plate has not yet been issued to a vehicle owner. Issuing locations may continue to distribute the old design for some time, depending on local inventory.

Residents have begun to notice the new-layout license plates on the streets, from Crescent City in the north to Imperial Beach in southern California. One social media user reported spotting a new-format plate on a 1990s Honda Civic Hatchback in the San Francisco Bay Area.

People queue outside a DMV office in downtown Los Angeles on 27/1/2020. Photo: LA Times

California's standard license plates feature blue characters and the word "California" in red script. In addition to the standard design, the state also offers 14 types of specialty license plates.

California also allows vehicle owners to register personalized license plates with two to 7 characters. These plates can consist of letters, numbers, or a combination chosen by the owner, provided they meet state regulations.

All standard California license plates are produced at Folsom State Prison. The manufacturing workshop there has a capacity of approximately 40,000-45,000 plates per day.

Ha Linh (According to Fox 11, NY Post, California Post)