Add The California Post on Google California is going backwards.
Home to nearly 40 million people, it was only a matter of time before the Golden State ran out of license plate numbers.
Since 1980, the Department of Motor Vehicles has relied on a seven-character sequence — one number, three letters, three numbers.
California is running out of license plate combinations for the first time in 46 years, with drivers already spotting the brand-new ‘mirrored’ replacements on the road. Reddit/@bamnfs But that ended this year — with the production of the 9ZZZ999 plate, the agency stated.
Now, the state has switched over to a “mirrored” sequence for new plates — three numbers, three letters, and one number.
“Each configuration has over 100 million plate combinations. The new configuration is expected to last 40 years based on historical data,” a spokesperson for the DMV told the California Post.
In recent months, eagle-eyed Californians have been reporting spottings of the new sequence on roads from Crescent City to Imperial Beach.
“Finally saw my first new series plate here in the Bay Area! Didn’t expect it on a 90s Civic hatchback, but still cool!” one Redditor wrote.
People attend their appointments at the Lincoln Park DMV on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Los Angeles, CA. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images “First new plate I’ve seen, spotted in Auburn, CA — I’ve been searching for months! I live in Sacramento and haven’t seen one down there yet,” another commenter said.
“I’ve seen 5 or 6 new plates in the SF area . This is the earliest…AB… the others are AE..AF..AG,” a third commenter shared.
The DMV first announced that they were running out of room in the old plate format three years ago — estimating the switchover would take place late this year or early next.
Interestingly, the landmark, end-of-an-era 9ZZZ999 plate has not yet been issued.
According to the agency spokesperson, there are still more than 110,000 plates with the old format remaining to be issued — stored across the state at DMV and auto club offices.
California’s license plates are made at Folsom State Prison — where inmates bang out approximately 45,000 plates per day.
Along with the standard plate, with has a blue license number and “California” written in red script, the state also has 14 special interest license plates.
California also allows personalized plates with two to seven characters.
Last year, the state made headlines for trying to wrestle back a controversial personalized plate it issued three years prior.
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Isis Wharton, 26, was told to hand over her “IAMISIS” plate — over fears it could be misunderstood as an acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
“I was named after the Egyptian goddess, and she’s like the goddess of healing and motherhood, and so it’s much more peaceful than they’re putting it out to be,” Wharton said at the time.
