116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Time Machine: Iowa license plates
They’ve undergone changes from 1904 to today
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
The first Iowa car license plates were circular seals made of aluminum, about 2 inches in diameter, stamped with the words “Registered in the office of the secretary of state for the state of Iowa, under motor vehicle law, No. (registration number).”
The seal was required to be displayed on the vehicle. The number on the seal had to be duplicated and displayed in 3-inch Arabic numbers on the back of the vehicle along with 2-inch letters abbreviating the state’s name.
By Tuesday, July 5, 1904, only 300 people had applied for automobile license numbers at the state Capitol in Des Moines. The secretary of state estimated at least 1,000 automobiles were in Iowa. The deadline to apply for the numbers was July 11.
The Gazette printed a list July 6 of the 183 Cedar Rapids vehicle owners who’d obtained license numbers from the Iowa secretary of state.
By October 22, about 900 licenses had been issued by the secretary of state.
Metal plates
The vehicle licensing law changed July 4, 1911.
Two metal plates were required, one for the front and one for the rear of the vehicle. The plates needed to be 6 inches wide and 15 inches long and carry the initials “IA” with numerals 4 inches high. They were renewed yearly.
In 1922, county numbers were added to the plates. The county appeared first, followed by a hyphen and four digits. That continued until 1979, when the county name was spelled out in small letters at the bottom of the plate.
The state ordered its license plates from a private manufacturer until 1926, when inmates at the Anamosa reformatory began producing the plates.
During World War II, steel for making the license plates was diverted to the war effort. Aluminum was substituted for steel, but the aluminum plates didn’t hold up as well and needed to be replaced more often.
In 1949, the reformatory stamping shop was creating plates for 1950 out of a heavier gauge aluminum than those produced in 1948. The shop also made road signs and metal markers.
Steel shortage
Manufacturing with steel took a long time to recover after the war.
The difficulty in procuring steel led to reduced plate production in 1950. The state decided to issue “revalidation tags” for 1951 – little pieces of metal with “51” imprinted on them that were fixed to the upper right corners of the 1950 plates, saving the state 275 tons of aluminum.
It was hoped steel would make a comeback in 1952. It did, but was still in short supply. Only one black plate with white numerals was issued per car. It was to be placed on the back of the vehicle.
G.W. Knipple, commander of the Marion American Legion post, filled the gap with placards that featured an ear of corn and the words “The Corn State.” Proceeds from the placard sales went to the post’s child welfare fund.
C.R. connection
Cedar Rapids had a connection to license plate production. New Era Industries, started in 1946 at 207 Second Ave. SW, made dies that were mounted on reformatory punch presses to cut license plate blanks from metal sheets.
The Anamosa reformatory metals shop was overhauled in 1955, just in time for the return of steel license plates in 1956. For the first time in history, Iowa’s license plates conformed to the North American norm of standard-sized plates.
“The uniform pattern calls for a plate that is 6 inches deep and 12 inches wide,” The Gazette reported. The uniform size also guaranteed lower postal rates.
Other changes included four digits and/or letters after the county designation. For instance: 57-AA77.
The slogan “The Corn State” was added in 1953 and lasted through 1955.
Plate changes
By 1966, getting new license plates was similar to getting tickets to a rock concert. People brought sleeping bags, thermoses and radios as they camped out at the courthouse for days in hopes of getting a low number on their license plates.
Donald Koutny, who lived on Memorial Drive, walked away with plate No. 1.
While 42,000 plates were issued in 1955, 70,000 were issued for 1966.
An ongoing debate on whether Iowa should have another slogan on its plates was passed unanimously in the Senate in 1967 but was defeated by two House votes in 1967. The slogan under consideration was “Beautiful Land.”
By 1972, license plates were again good for three years. The sturdier, black-on-yellow plates were updated for 1973 and 1974 by adding validation stickers.
New plates in 1975 were issued, for the first time, with three numbers and three letters. That posed a problem for one woman who insisted on exchanging her plates. The letters spelled “DOG.”
“I can’t put a dog license on my Corvette,” she said.
Vanity plates
Vanity plates, already in use in several other states, arrived in Iowa in late June 1975.
Stickers again were used to update 1977 plates.
When new plates for 1979 were issued, it was hoped they would last for six years.
Today’s Iowa license plates, designed to last 10 years, continue the three-letter, three-number configuration. People can choose from a variety of specialty plates as well.
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