District of Columbia timeline
Reconstruction

District of Columbia Script Plate

2018–present

District of Columbia · current

The same plate with the politics taken out. Washington, DC is set in blue italic script at the top and dc.gov runs along the foot where the protest normally goes, and a resident may ask for it at no extra cost. It exists because not everyone wants to argue with the car behind them. The plate shown is a reconstruction carrying an invented serial, so no real registration is depicted.

Still on the road

This is a current issue, first seen in 2018 and still being handed out. Nothing about it is settled history: the serial sequence is still advancing, and the design will only stop where the state decides to replace it.

Source 1

Printed, not stamped

This plate is smooth. The design is printed onto flat reflective sheeting rather than pressed into the metal. It is what makes photographic backgrounds and fine detail possible at all, and it is the reason a modern plate feels like a sign where an older one feels like a stamping.

Source 1

Sources

Reference is the district's own artwork for the plate rather than a photograph of an issued one (CC BY-SA 4.0). Issue date, the serial block reserved for this design, and that it carries no additional fee (CC BY-SA).

Source 1Source 2

Issued
Standard issue
The plate you received by default when you registered a vehicle.
Serial format
AA 9999
Material
Flat aluminium, printed on reflective sheeting
Source license
CC BY-SA 4.0
Reference
View original