The Sconi

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation's Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is set to introduce a new series of license plates beginning with the letter 'B'. This change comes after nearly eight years and 4.7 million combinations of plates starting with 'A' have been issued.

“Wisconsin DMV is proud to provide Wisconsin drivers the credentials they need to safely get from point A to point B and now we’re moving from A to B,” stated DMV Administrator Tommy Winkler. He also noted, “Drivers can ‘B’ on the lookout for the new license plates when they begin rolling out statewide this month.”

The initial batch of 'B' plates will start with BAA and continue through millions of combinations until all possibilities starting with 'B' are exhausted. The DMV anticipates that this process will take around seven years, involving both issuing new plates and replacing older ones.

Since April 2017, Wisconsin license plates have featured seven characters, a format which provides approximately 100 million possible combinations. Before this change, six-character plates were used, offering about 20 million combinations. The letters ‘I,’ ‘O,’ and ‘Q’ are excluded due to their similarity to numbers.

Each year, over 600,000 new license plates are issued by the Wisconsin DMV. Approximately 3.5 million vehicles currently bear standard Wisconsin plates. Vehicle owners interested in replacing their older plates can order the new "B" series online at wisconsindmv.gov/Vreplace.

Historically, since 1986, Wisconsin license plates had a six-character format which transitioned from letters to numbers in 2000. The state was also a pioneer in staggering plate expiration months across the entire year, a system implemented in 1946.

Additionally, those who enroll in DMV’s eNotify receive renewal notifications via email or text message, complete with direct links for online renewal convenience.