Automobile License Plate Collectors Association
An international membership association dedicated to collecting, researching, exchanging, and documenting vehicle license plates.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Automobile License Plate Collectors Association (ALPCA) is an international membership organization devoted to the collection and study of license plates and related vehicle-registration materials. Founded in Rumney Depot, New Hampshire, in 1954, it held its first convention in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, in 1955. The organization has become the largest association of its kind and provides a structured community for collectors interested in the design, manufacture, history, geography, numbering systems, and cultural significance of plates. ALPCA functions as both a social club and an information institution. Members buy, sell, trade, and barter plates; exchange specialist knowledge; publish research; attend organized meets; and contribute to historical documentation. Although its name refers to automobile plates, the collecting scope is much broader. Members collect plates issued for motorcycles, trucks, buses, trailers, campers, farm equipment, military vehicles, antique vehicles, and other categories. Collections may be organized by jurisdiction, date, material, serial number, color, slogan, manufacturing technique, or unusual format. The association serves members across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, as well as numerous countries overseas. Most members are based in the United States, with Canada, Germany, and Australia among the other countries frequently represented. The organization has reported approximately 3,900 current members and more than 15,000 membership numbers issued over its history. Membership numbers are an important part of ALPCA culture, with collectors often identifying themselves by the approximate period in which they joined. Members receive Plates magazine, a full-color periodical covering plate history, new issues, collecting practices, meetings, individual collections, and related ephemera. They also receive access to online archives containing photographs and research data on plates from jurisdictions around the world. The archives support research into issue dates, serial ranges, colors, materials, slogans, validation tabs, and other identifying characteristics. ALPCA also distributes educational material intended to help the public distinguish genuine plates from deceptive or misleading reproductions. The association's principal events are its annual international convention and a changing schedule of regional meets. Annual conventions generally include a large trading floor, auctions, member displays, awards, educational and business meetings, and social activities. Regional meets provide smaller-scale opportunities for trading and fellowship, while independent meets may be open to the broader public even when they are not sponsored by ALPCA. The association's annual Best Plate Award, presented since 1972, allows members to recognize an attractive and legible plate issued by a U.S. state or Canadian province. ALPCA is governed by a seven-member Executive Board consisting of a president, vice-president, and five directors. Officers and directors serve staggered terms, while administrative and project functions are assigned by the board. The organization also maintains historical and educational initiatives, including its Hall of Fame, an archive, its publications, and anniversary histories. Its work preserves information about a form of official graphic design and public administration that is often discarded when registration systems change.
History
ALPCA was established in 1954 in Rumney Depot, New Hampshire, during the formative period of organized license-plate collecting in North America. Its first convention took place the following year in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. The earliest conventions were held in members' homes, reflecting the small and informal nature of the hobby. By 1959, attendance and trading activity had grown sufficiently for the association to use larger private or public venues. Since 1984, annual conventions have generally been held in convention centers or comparable public facilities. From its beginning, ALPCA provided a mechanism for collectors to exchange plates and circulate information that was otherwise difficult to obtain. The association's periodical began as an informal newsletter, with the title ALPCA Newsletter becoming established during the early 1970s. In February 2000 it was renamed the ALPCA Register, and in December 2004 it adopted the name Plates magazine. The publication developed into a substantial research and community resource, carrying historical articles, jurisdictional surveys, reports on new issues, collecting advice, meeting information, and profiles of collectors and collections. The association's membership system created a durable institutional identity. Each new member receives a numbered membership record, beginning with number 1 in 1954. More than 15,000 numbers have been issued over the organization's history, although the number of current members is considerably lower because many earlier members have died or allowed their memberships to lapse. Collectors commonly refer to their ALPCA number and may use it as an informal marker of seniority within the hobby. ALPCA's activities expanded beyond physical trading. Its archives developed from relatively static reference material into a searchable online resource containing photographs and information about issue dates, serial-number ranges, colors, materials, slogans, and other plate characteristics. The association also made back issues of its publications available online to active members. These resources support both casual identification and more formal research into transportation history, government administration, manufacturing, graphic design, and regional identity. Annual conventions became the central event in the association's calendar. A typical convention includes several days of plate buying and trading, auctions of material donated by members or vehicle-registration authorities, judged displays, committee and membership meetings, and social events. Regional meets provide additional opportunities for exchange and fellowship, while independent meets offer similar collecting opportunities outside the association's formal sponsorship. The organization's activities are primarily member-oriented, although independent events and media coverage can introduce the hobby to the public. In 1972, ALPCA introduced its Best Plate Award, allowing members to recognize a U.S. state or Canadian provincial design issued during the preceding year. The program has occasionally recognized separate standard and optional designs or shared winners. Its first recipient was Pennsylvania's early Bicentennial plate, while a notable board-selected recognition went to the 1970 Northwest Territories polar-bear-shaped plate. Award presentations have sometimes involved state or provincial officials and local media, although ceremonies have also been declined or affected by copyright and public-health concerns. The association formalized its Hall of Fame in the early 2000s. The board approved the concept in 2002, and the first inductions occurred in 2004. The program recognizes members who have served the club or the hobby, encouraged membership, shared expertise, and promoted collecting without placing personal reward at the center of their work. Nominations may be made by members in good standing, with review and voting handled through the association's established committee and former-presidents process. ALPCA's governance has evolved over time. Presidential terms were two years from 1955 to 1961, one year from 1961 to 2004, and two years again from 2004 onward. The current constitutional structure described in reference material uses a seven-member Executive Board with staggered two-year terms. Appointed administrative and project staff support publications, archives, conventions, regional meetings, legal matters, awards, and other functions. For its fiftieth anniversary, members Jeff Minard and Tim Stentiford prepared A Moving History, 50 Years of ALPCA, 100 Years of License Plates. The book combined an institutional history with a broader account of license-plate development and profiles of collectors. Through its publications, archives, awards, events, and educational guidance, ALPCA has helped turn a niche collecting interest into an organized international field of historical and material-culture study.
- 2020
Annual convention cancelled
[1]The Tulsa convention scheduled for July was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2004
Hall of Fame inductions begin
[1]The association made its first Hall of Fame inductions and restored the presidential term to two years.
- 2004
Publication becomes Plates
[1]The member magazine adopted the name Plates, which remains its commonly used title.
- 2002
Hall of Fame approved
[1]The Executive Board approved the creation of an ALPCA Hall of Fame.
- 2000
Newsletter renamed ALPCA Register
[1]The association's principal member publication changed its name from ALPCA Newsletter to ALPCA Register.
- 1984
Convention-scale expansion
[1]Annual conventions held from this period onward used convention centers or similarly large public venues.
- 1972
Best Plate Award established
[1]ALPCA began its annual recognition of outstanding U.S. and Canadian plate designs.
- 1959
Conventions move to larger venues
[1]Annual conventions began using larger private or public venues rather than being limited to members' homes.
- 1955
First annual convention
[1]The association held its first convention in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, beginning its continuing annual convention tradition.
- 1954
Association founded
[1]ALPCA was founded in Rumney Depot, New Hampshire, United States.
Products and positioning
A specialist, member-supported international organization combining collecting, trading, historical research, preservation, and community activities around license plates.
Publication · 2004
Plates magazine
ALPCA's full-color member magazine covers the history of individual jurisdictions, newly issued plates, convention and regional-meet information, validation tabs and related ephemera, special-purpose and personalized plates, collector profiles, and annual base-plate information for North American jurisdictions. It developed from the association's earlier newsletter and register publications and is distributed as a core membership benefit.
Research database
Online license plate archives
The online archives provide members with searchable historical information and photographs covering license plates from jurisdictions around the world. Data may include issue years, serial-number ranges, colors, materials, slogans, dates of use, and other identifying characteristics. The archives have expanded from an earlier static reference collection into a more accessible research database.
Book · 2004
A Moving History, 50 Years of ALPCA, 100 Years of License Plates
Published for the association's fiftieth anniversary, this historical volume combines an account of ALPCA's development with a broader history of license plates and profiles of more than 275 collectors. It was written by Jeff Minard and Tim Stentiford and serves as an institutional and hobby reference.
Educational guide
Guide to Deceptive and Misleading Plates
This free educational resource helps the public and collectors identify plates that may be reproductions, altered items, or otherwise presented in a deceptive or misleading manner. It supports the association's broader role in preserving reliable information about genuine license plates.
Brand decisions
2020
Cancelation of the 2020 annual conventionOtherBackground
The association's annual convention was scheduled for Tulsa, Oklahoma, in July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Action taken
ALPCA cancelled the event and identified Covington, Kentucky, as the planned location for the following convention in August 2021.
Aftermath
The cancellation interrupted the association's annual in-person convention cycle, while regional and future convention activity was planned to resume subject to public-health conditions.
2004
Return to two-year presidential termsStrategyBackground
Presidential terms had been reduced to one year between 1961 and 2004.
Action taken
The association restored two-year presidential terms beginning in 2004.
Aftermath
The change aligned the presidency with the association's longer-term board-governance structure.
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