These plates were issued for temporary registrations - often to replace lost plates. They were issued beginning in the 1920s, usually with the letter "T" appearing somewhere as a prefix or suffix. Over the years, many of the non-passenger types have had a temporary plate or two issued at some point in time. Passenger temporary metal plates were also issued.

After expiration, these plates were intended to be returned to the DMV for reuse.

Below is a sampling of a few of these plates.

Passenger temporary used from the 1970s through 1986.	1996. It is rare to have a metal temporary plate issued at this point - paper plates were the norm. However, this one was acutally used- I have both plates of the pair as well as the registration paperwork. These were valid for 40 days.

1961 Dealer Temporary	1965 Dealer Temporary
1966	1976
1984	1986

1970s Motorcycle Temporary

 

1931 Omnibus Temporary. Temporary plates go all the way back to at least the 1920s.

Repair

1942/1948 Repairer Temporary
Uncommon Repair Temporary from the late 1950s. Blue on natural aluminum.	1965
Late 1980s	Mid/Late 1980s used until 2001
Mid/Late 1980s?