It was bound to happen eventually; California is about to run out of license plate numbers.
That’s according to reporting from nonprofit newsroom LAist, which spoke to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The DMV told the outlet that the current license plate format will be exhausted at some point of next year.
That format — one number, followed by three letters, then three more numbers — has been in use since 1980 beginning with 1AAA000. So after about 45 years, a new format is needed.
As a DMV spokesperson told LAist that the new format will essentially be a mirror format of the previous sequence. So, instead of 1AAA000 being a possible combination, it would be 000AAA1.
Those new plates will be rolled out at some point in 2026, according to estimates.
Now, the question is who will be the lucky person to receive 9ZZZ999, the final plate with the current sequence?
