This website showcases the history of license plate issuance for all the State Police and Highway Patrol agencies in the United States of America from the earliest days of motoring to the current century.
Created by hobbyists Norm Ratcliffe and Allan Cooper in March of 2006, this website has grown from an informal idea to the world's largest single repository of police motor vehicle registration plate information anywhere.
The formation of many of America's state law enforcement agencies took place at the same time as the formation of America's car culture. Police patrol went from horseback to horseless carriage in a very short time at the beginning of the 20th Century where many agencies were getting started out of the gate with tackling new motor laws.
State police and highway patrol agencies began to obtain motorcycles and patrol cars and found ways to make them stand apart from the burgeoning number of civilian motor vehicles on the road. To ensure that their vehicles appeared to evoke the same air of authority as their officers, many agencies equipped them with the "uniform" of livery and the "badge" of the license plate.
This website delves as far back as records go and examples exist of these "badges" worn on the bumpers and fenders which carried patrolmen and state troopers in their duties from coast to coast and from decade to decade.
While many of the actual badges and patches of those earliest enforcers of state law have been preserved and showcased, the license plates of their "mechanical partners" were rarely retained or preserved.
This makes this segment of law enforcement collectibles so deeply challenging and interesting. It is a segment of law enforcement collectibles that has been in "low light" for a long time, but has seen a surge of interest lately as many of these agencies celebrate their milestone anniversaries with special and distinctive license plates for their marked patrol vehicles.
We welcome you to browse the information of the agencies that interest you the most and explore those you may not have considered.
The page of each agency is formatted from oldest to newest and where possible, features a period photo of the patrol vehicle of the time.
This website has only been successful as a result of YOU! You the visitor who becomes a contributor of photos and information for which we are missing. We always make sure to provide proper credit to those who have contributed, and if any credit is missing, please notify either one of us to give our contributors their due.
Come on in and Enjoy !
Nick Leary- Darryl Lindsay- Mike Doucette- Russ Penka- Bill Ceravola-Robert Francisco- Jason Duffield- Tony Aleria- Joe Caputo- Bill Golden- Allan Attanasio- Bob Blickensdorf- Ray Bak- Ryan McKittrick- Jim Pilchard- Willie Herald- Jason Stone- Kip Wills- Jack Murphy-Keith Eremea- John Biro- Terry Bible- Tom Breen- Phillip Kidd- Scott Henley- Bill Swank- James Wheeler- Robert Ross- Jack McGee- Ed Larney- Bob Schluben- John Cook- Ron Taylor- James Westover- Charlie Carden- Kyle Helvig- Jerry Cuffe- Anthony Barnes- David Brown- Lewis Sudonick-Bill Johnston- Jeff Peeler- Andrew Cochrane- Jay Clement- Dean Walker- Tom Sheehy- David Chandler- Dean Walker- Jerry Scarborough- Jack McGee- ..sorry if I missed anybody.
2026 ushered-in the Louisiana State Police's 90th Anniversary serving the residents and visitors of the Bayou State.
The agency is marking the occasion with attractive graphic license plates for the marked fleet. The usual red lipstick script for the state name at the top center. A gold and black eagle-top badge on the far left center followed by the Troop designation and number embossed in dark blue. 1936 90th ANNIVERSARY 2026 silkscreened in blue over STATE POLICE screened in red along the bottom center.
It is hoped the the LSP will run these sharp-looking plates beyond the anniversary year.
In 2012, the LSP unveilled a simply grogeous 75th Anniversary license plate, and everyone thought it would be run well into a full decade. Sadly it was only used for 2012 and replaced with the previous 1994 issue.
This past year, trades and sales for state trooper license plates were quite brisk, with people digging pretty deep into their pockets to snag some rare trooper tin.
A private auction conducted in the mid-west this past Fall featured a stunningly-rare 1939 North Dakota Highway Patrol license plate with badge number 223. The plate was resttored/repainted, but it was one of only two surviving specimens known today. (The other is # 215)
Yours truly had seen it featured in the online catalogue and knew it was going to close for a high price, but I had no idea just how deep the winning bidder would go.
When the gavel struck down to signal the end of the auction, all of us were stunned to see that it closed for an astonishing $11,500!
For quite awhile, our Vermont State Police page featured a cropped photo showing the back end of a Vermont Motor Vehicle Department sedan sporting a 1938 Vermont license plate # ST 112 and not much else. The photo was provided by our Green Mountains friend, Gene Cote' several years ago, and was the place-holder for what was used by the State Police predecessors for that year.
Then, one day a few months ago, our great contributor fromm the state of New Jersey, Al Attanasio posted the complete photo on the State Trooper Plates Facebook group page innocently enough.
I was thrilled to see it and told allan just as much, as now this great old photo with good resolution has taken the place on that part of the Vermont State Police Page.
We are still a not-for-profit website dedicated to providing a free and comprehensive reference tool for the hobbyist and historian. We bring to you this website at our cost, solely for the showcasing of historical and hobby interest for this interesting subject and to foster interest in others for the same enjoyment. However if you appreciate the resource and want to help us offset our costs to keep bringing this website free to all, we have a DONATE function available on all pages where your monetary contribution will be gratefully accepted. We also rely on your feedback as well as your contributions of photos and information to make this site even more successful than it already has become. If you see something on the road or anywhere else in your travels that we don't have showcased: Please capture the image and send it to us!
