W. Yoder Auction
Insert Bus plates have been issued since at least the 1950's. They are issued to charter coach buses. The most common weight classes are N and J (1950 to 1978 and 1978 to present, respectively).
| 60 | N 189 N 442 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | N1089 N1113 |
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| 66 | N 925 N1116 |
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| 68 | J 10 | N 423 N 1332 |
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| 72 | K 24 | N 242 |
In 1978, weight classes shifted.
| Base Weight |
Variation | F 20,000 |
G 26,000 |
H 32,000 |
J 38,000 |
K 44,000 |
L 50,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78? | |||||||
| 88? | FA 139 | ||||||
| 94 | Narrow Prefix | FB 70 FB 78 |
JB 290 | KB 5 | |||
| Wide Prefix | FB 123 FB 135 |
In 2004, all bus plates were combined into one bus type. Insert bus plates use insert stickers and have weight class stickers, which helps identify them.
| 04 | Avery Sheeting | 1073 B 18288B |
|---|---|---|
| 3M Sheeting | 19070B | |
| Avery Sheeting | 25890B |
City bus plates have only been confirmed for 1928 and 1940 plates. It's suspected that city bus plates are a precursor to BX bus plates, but there is no evidence to support that.
BX bus plates are used for privately owned mass transit vehicles. They always expire in December. I don't know when the series started or the color/plate cycles of the plates after 1986.
| 70 | BX 1010 |
|---|---|
| 74 | BX 306 BX 812 |
| 78 | |
| 80 | |
| 82 | BX 125 |
| 84 | |
| 86 |
In 2004, all the bus types were combined into one bus class. BX bus plates, however, can still be identified with their constant December expiration. The DOT guide says that BX bus plates expire in 5-year intervals, but as of 2013 they didn't. I'm estimating it's possible that since between 2013 and 2018 BX bus plates have expired in intervals comparable to school bus plates
School bus plates were issued to school vehicles from at least 1952 to 2004. The first plates used a weight class in it.
| 51 52 | G 220 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | D 7 | ||||
| 55 | H 55 |
Around 1961, the weight classes were eliminated from school bus plates and instead school bus plates used a constant "SB" prefix.
| 61 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 62 | ||
| 67 | SB 7158 | |
| 70 |
In 1973, inspection stickers were put onto the bus plates. The inspection stickers are still used to this day, and as far as I'm concerned it is the only inspection sticker ever used on a Wisconsin license plate, AND the only inspection sticker used in the state of Wisconsin beyond the 70s. Also the SB prefix was dropped. I think in 1977 the expiration month changed to June, but that is estimation based on the whole shift of expiration months in 1977 and the gap from December expirations to June expirations is between 1973 and 1977.
| 73 | Partial Groove |
316 13167 |
|---|---|---|
| Full Groove |
15133 | |
| 80 | 216 9936 |
In 1988, the expiration month switched to December again.
| 88 | 3 6199 |
|
|---|---|---|
| 89 | Offset Right |
3872 7512 |
| Right Aligned |
10761 12920 |
|
| 93 | Wide Dies | 7817 12290 |
| Narrow Dies | 15078 16249 |
In 2003, the expiration month of school bus plates yet again switched to June. Some plates still expired in December while other plates expired in June.
| 03 | 401nnSB 53992SB |
|---|
In 2004, all other types of bus plates were made into one "Bus" type. However, school bus plates can still be identified by their inspection stickers.
The DOT guide says that school bus plates expire December 2023, though they have expired in June for the past 20 years. Is the expiration date shifting again?
