The Stovebolt Site Forums The Side Lot Midwest Bolters Association MO Year-of-Manufacture (YOM) Plates

I recently put Year-of-Manufacture license plates on two of my vehicles, including my '61 Apache 'Mater Jr.'. I thought that I would share some information, to save others some aggravation, or make them aware of this option in Missouri. If you're in a different state, you'll have to see if your state has a similar program. I'll include a link below to the DOR web page that explains the program.

Until now, I've kept regular license plates on all of my old cars. People would ask me why I didn't use Missouri Historic plates, and save the hassle of a state safety inspection every two years. My usual reply was that I didn't mind someone looking over my handiwork, making sure my brakes, steering, etc. were all good.

Lately, the auto shop I use has gotten more and more sketchy. When I had them inspect my Alfa Romeo earlier this year, they failed it because of the rear brake pads. When I went to replace the pads, I discovered they had TRIPLE the minimum depth required by regulation. As few miles as I put on the Alfa in a year, those brakes should have passed at least two more inspections! More recently, I took my '76 Super Beetle to get inspected, and they were going to fail it because the power steering was leaking. It doesn't have power steering. We had to have an Entmoot of auto mechanics under the lift, to determine that in fact, it is manual steering. When my '60 Impala and '61 Apache came due for renewal, I decided it was time for a change.

In Missouri, our Department of Revenue (DOR) handles vehicle registration and licensing. They have a historic license plate program for vehicles 25 years or older. There are three types of historic plates: Historic License Plate, Personalized Historic License Plate, and Year of Manufacture License Plate. A MO Historic License Plate looks like a standard license plate, with the words HISTORIC VEHICLE (or HIST VEH, depending on the style of the year you get them) at the bottom. Personalized Historic License Plates look the same, but you can request a particular letter/number combination. A Year of Manufacture (YOM) License Plate has to match the model year of the vehicle it's affixed to.

The advantages of a Historic License Plate are:
- It's a permanent registration, and doesn't have to be renewed every two years (personalized historic plates do need renewal)
- You don't have to have a motor vehicle safety inspection
- You save money by not having to get the vehicle inspected and renewed every two years, and due to the lack of renewal, many people do not claim the vehicles on their personal property taxes. (I don't know if that's a good idea or not...I'm just saying)

There are restrictions:
- Drive to and from exhibitions and educational events with no mileage restrictions
- Drive to repair facilities within 100 miles
- Up to 1,000 miles per calendar year for personal use (you're supposed to keep a log in the vehicle when it's driven on any state road. I've talked to numerous law enforcement people, and they don't know / don't care about the log; I put a little notebook and pencil in the glovebox, just to be safe)

One thing that kept me from YOM plates, is that it's often difficult to find a matched pair of plates at a swap meet. However I read the state regulation, and discovered that with YOM, you only need one plate on the rear of the vehicle! There is one more catch with YOM plates. It cost me $100 to learn this lesson, so I want to share it with you. The DOR web page refers obliquely about making sure the license plate number you want is available...but there's more to it! The YOM plate you want to use has to conform to certain Letter/Number (L/#) conventions, in order for the computer to accept it. This causes a problem when you're wanting to buy YOM plates at a swap meet or online!

I bought a plate for my '60 Impala online that had a number combo that I liked. The pattern was LNN-NNN, ending in 666...pretty cool for a hot rod, right? There are 3 ways to check the validity of the plate you want to use: submit a web form (they're supposed to email you back in 3-4 weeks; I never heard back at all), phone call (I was stuck in phone hell, and never got a live person), or personally go to the DOR office on the 3rd floor of the Truman building in Jeff City. I finally did the 3rd, and found that the $100 plate wasn't a valid pattern. There is nowhere the pattern info is public-facing...it's a little green piece of paper they pull out of a folder and check against your plate. I can tell you that LNN-NNN is no good. NNN-NNN works, as well as NN-NNN (which was the pattern for my '61). If memory serves, LLL-NNN and LLN-LLN both are acceptable. The reason I share this is that on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and other online sites selling license plates, LNN-NNN is a very common combo, and it is INVALID and will not be accepted by the DOR!

I've attached a photo of my YOM plate on my '61 Apache. I bought a different plate, and now have one on my '60 Impala too!

I hope this helps.

DOR Historic Plate Page

-Kevin


RUNNING EDIT:
I have compiled a list of known good letter/number patterns, where L=letter and N=number:

NN-NNN
NNN-NNN
LLN-LNL
NLL-LNN
LNL-NNN
LLL-NNN

Just a reminder: For the love of God, do not buy any LNN-NNN plates! These are very common online, and are NOT able to be registered with the DoR.

That’s really cool, and thanks for sharing your experience. I got YOM for our ‘52 in NY, and it was a very similar experience obtaining the licensing to install them. You would think, in this age of super computers, that you could at least check if a tag number is acceptable on line before purchasing. Apparently not in MO and not in NY either.

Here is information about using year-of-manufacture plate(s) in New York State.

I used YOM plates in NYS on a few of my 1954/55 vehicles.

I have a YOM plate on that same truck in NC.
I only need one 1954 YOM plate in NC - because only one plate was used in 1954.

In NC, I have to carry the "modern" plate in the truck. If I am stopped by police/trooper, I have to show him/her my modern NC plates, and, my registration has to match those plates and the VID Plate on the truck.

The VID plate that is legal in NC is another convoluted story.

Good info Kevin and Tim. Thanks for posting it!
Wonder if we can get other states as well?

Don

As you can see, my pickup's plate is stamped with "61", the year of manufacture of the plate. MO used the same plate for passenger cars from 55-61. If you use such a plate for YOM, it also has to have the correct tag displayed on it. Attached is an image of the plate for my '60 Impala.

If you buy a 'tagged' plate for YOM, make sure it's correct!

-Kevin

Code of Iowa
321.115 Antique vehicles – model year plates permitted.

That’s good info. I run MO historic plates but keep an eye out for a YOM plate for my truck. I had assumed when reading the regs, that all it took was a check to make sure your plate didn’t match another registration in the state.

I had no clue they were picky about numbering convention on 75 year of plates. That’s dumb.

My thoughts exactly! That was part of my reasoning for starting this thread.

-Kevin

Florida also allows YOM plates. The plate must not be a duplicate of what's currently in the system. The plate can be restored but must look original and match the colors for the year. It's not necessary to match the county or weight designation.
The plate must be sent or hand delivered to the DMV in Tallahassee. I hand delivered and walked out 30 minutes later with my plate and registration.

Kevin (or anyone that may know),

Would a Missouri 1951 YOM plate been different between car and truck, or was that year plate (and metal year tag) covering any/all vehicles???

I tried to do a search but came up with nothing that clearly shows if there were different plates or not for cars and trucks for 1951.

May have not been able to pick out the tree because of the forest of info.

The attached image of the maroon plate, is a vehicle '49-'54. They used a metal tab for the specific year until September '53, when they went to stickers.

From what my research indicates, those years used the same plate for trucks and cars, but a different tag. The white tag is for a passenger car, the yellow tag is for a truck.

-Kevin

Thanks Kevin

Been on the hunt for a potentially suitable YOM plate for my '51. This will help in the process and get the right stuff hopefully 1st time around.

Here's a quick illustration of why I started this thread: I pulled the photo of the license plate from a site that sells them. That guy wants $100 for the plate, and it's NO GOOD. The DOR will not allow a pattern of LNN-NNN. That's the pattern I first tried for my '60 Impala, and it was rejected.

-Kevin

That is definitely MONEY saving (not to mention angst reducing) info which is greatly appreciated.

Many thanks for sharing your experience and resources.

Happy New Year too!

I got a plate with a form saying it is legal to use and the paperwork for DOR to make it assigned to my vehicle. After getting it I found pictures of 1954 truck plates that are maroon with white letters, but mine is white with red letters. I hope it is legal.

From what I can tell, truck and trailer plates in '54 were red letters on white background. The plates with white letters on maroon background were for passenger cars. From '49-'53, they used the white/maroon colors for both cars and trucks, with different colored tags to differentiate between the two. In '54, the passenger plates stayed the same, but trucks went to red/white. '54 was also a transition (mid-year) from metal tags to vinyl stickers. In '55 the passenger colors changed to yellow/black until '61.

Your colors seem correct; you'll also need to have either the metal tag or vinyl sticker that says "54" on it, since the color scheme was used for multiple years.

-Kevin

I have the “54” tag with a “6” beneath it and another little plate with a “6” on it. The little plate is green with white 6 and the 54 plate is yellow numbers but is rusted where I can’t tell the background color. I seem to think I saw one somewhere that was green background.

Today I went to the DoR at the Truman Building in Jefferson City, to transfer the title and register my YOM plates for 'Ole Blue', my '67 C-20. As anticipated, I didn't have any problems with the '67 plates, since it has six numerals.

While there, I had them check some plates I bought at the Sedalia swap meet this past Friday. They're for my '72 and '76 VWs, which will come up for renewal next year; I plan on switching them to YOM plates. Both sets of plates came back good. I was uncertain about them, since they have a different letter/number pattern (LNL-NNN) from what I've seen before. Once again, they referred to the secret green sheet of paper when checking the plates.

I have compiled a list of known good letter/number patterns, where L=letter and N=number:

NN-NNN
NNN-NNN
LLN-LNL
NLL-LNN
LNL-NNN

Just a reminder: For the love of God, do not buy any LNN-NNN plates! These are very common online, and are NOT able to be registered with the DoR.

If anyone gains reliable information of another acceptable pattern, PM me, and I'll update this post.

-Kevin

I have another DoR-approved pattern to add to the list:

LLL-NNN

I just ran this one down about a week ago.

-Kevin

There was a guy at the Cape Swap meet that had a huge, by-year, collection of antique plates for MO and IL. He even had a 51 for me, but I was unwilling to pay the price.

If I had my head on straight, I could have asked if anyone had a request. Maybe next year. I’d assume he attends other meets as well

That's a good idea! If folks want to post what sort of YOM plate they're looking for, I'll continually re-edit the original message in this thread, so it can be easily tracked.

The limitation I don't like about Iowa is that I don't see how it allows someone to just drive it for fun, to work, the store, etc. That rules it out for anyone who actually wants to enjoy their vehicle.
I have some old plates that match up with my vehicles, but i'll just put them on at a car show, then switch back the rest of the time.

Farmdog, it seems that Iowa has some strange vehicle laws. For example, the rules regarding 50cc scooters!

I'm looking for Missouri YOM plates for a '64 pickup. Any leads would be appreciated.

Kevin

This reference shows the exact combination you say is not allowed was used 1958, 1960 and 1961. I'm assuming they didn't just make up those pictures, although the 60 and 61 plates show the same number but with different stickers, which may have been pasted up.
But the problem is you're up against the bureaucracy, and convincing them otherwise is like beating your head against the wall.

That site has info for every state.

That's the exact reason I started this thread.

I initially purchased a 1960 plate for my Impala. When I went to the DoR to register it, the plate was denied due to the number/letter pattern. It was LNN-NNN.

Although it was legit in 1960, the computer rejected it because that pattern is now reserved for Dealer's plates in MO. There are several other patterns that are now reserved. So, just because a plate was ONCE-UPON-A-TIME legit doesn't mean is is CURRENTLY legit. That was a $100 lesson that I didn't want to see others repeat.

If I need to further clarify my initial post, please let me know.

-Kevin