California switches to a new license plate code after running out of old options
California has exhausted its 46-year license plate sequence (one number, three letters, three numbers) and will adopt a new pattern of three numbers, three letters, then one number (000AAA0). Production of the new plates has begun, but none have been issued yet and about 110,000 old-format plates remain to be issued. The new configuration is expected to last around 40 years with more than 100 million possible combinations, and plates will continue to be manufactured by inmates at Folsom State Prison.