TL;DR: California is on pace to run out of license plate character combinations by the end of the year. Since 1980, the state has used a sequence consisting of one number, followed by three letters, followed by three more numbers. Fortunately, the state already has a solution and it’s relatively simple: they’re just going to reverse the current order.

The current sequence for non-commercial vehicles started with 1AAA000 and will end with 9ZZZ999. Try as I might, I was unable to determine exactly why California went with the one number / three letters / three numbers sequence to begin with. Perhaps it has something to do with regional registrations or sheer consistency?

Why not just allow for each of the seven character slots to be either a number or a letter? If my math is correct, that’d result in more than 78 billion possible combinations – plenty for the foreseeable future and beyond.

Other options could include adding an eighth character or reusing retired sequences, although that would probably get cumbersome from a legal standpoint.

Fortunately, the state already has a solution and it’s relatively simple: they’re just going to reverse the current order. Once 9ZZZ999 has been issued, the next plate will be in the format of three digits, three letters, and one number. So, 000AAA1 or 001AAA1, depending on how they decide to do it. 100AAA1 could also be an option if the “no leading zeroes” rule stands.

License plate collectors will no doubt be keeping an eye on the transition, and it is expected that the last old plate and the first new plate could become quite valuable. Most residents, on the other hand, likely won’t even notice the change.

It’s worth reiterating that this change only applies to standard-issue, non-commercial plates. Like many other states, California also offers special interest license plates for those interested in supporting specific causes or organizations such as breast cancer awareness, environmental causes, pets, or colleges. You’ll usually pay extra for these and depending on what you choose, a portion of the fee could go to support said organization.