One of the realities of life is figuring out that everything is finite, especially numbers. When you get your first ID or your first car, you realize that there are certain numbers associated with it, and you wonder if one day the numbers will run out and what will happen to future people that need those credentials. Well, ID numbers are still rolling, but in California license plate numbers are running out, fast, and something will need to change soon or there will be no way to register a car in the state.
Of course, we objectively know that the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will never let this happen and that they will come up with a solution in time so that this is not a problem, but it is a strange circumstance that even if we know it is going to happen, we do not expect it to happen.
The new California license plates
This will not be the first or last time in history that a place has chosen to or has had to change their license plates. Since cars were invented, multiple systems to register them have been invented and cycled through to ensure that registering them was as easy and unique as possible. The thing is, most of the systems just become obsolete, but sometimes, like now, those who created the system failed to see that one day there would be enough cars that had been made and registered that the numbers and letters of the system would reach the end of the road.
And then, what? Go back to the beginning? Re-check all registered cars and eliminate those that are no longer in use? Recycle numbers? Or just change the system entirely for one that can last longer? California seems to have chosen that last option and now the DMV needs to follow through, hopefully before the numbers really do run out and there is a person in line at the DMV attempting to register a car and with no solution in sight.
In all fairness, the current system was well thought out forty five years ago when it was invented. It began being used in 1980, and with the population of the state, the amount of cars on the road and population prediction models at the time, it is no wonder that no one really thought it would be a problem, after all combinations on numbers and letters are almost infinite, and add to that vanity plates and running out of options does not compute.
The system that is currently in use takes the format of one number, followed by three letters, then three more numbers. The first car that was registered with this format was 1AAA000, and although starting registrations or ending them with 0 at the beginning of the plate number would have extended the lifespan of the system for a few more months, it is clear that we need to change before it is too late.
The new format will not be too different from the previous one, after all, if it is not broken do not fix it, and for those curious to know what the DMV has come up with, DMV public information officer Ronald Ongtoaboc communicated with LAist and explained the change in the system “The formatting of the next sequence will be ‘Numeral Numeral Numeral Alpha Alpha Alpha Numeral’ (e.g., 000AAA0).”
Since the new system will enter into play when the old one runs out of numbers estimates put the timeline for the first car to roll out with a new license plate at the middle of 2026, but the more interesting thing is, who will end up with the last number and will be able to boast 9ZZZ999 on their license plate? We shall have to wait and see.