The issuance of distinctive license plates for antique vehicles was approved by Congress with Public Law 85-273 on September 2, 1957. According to a January 1958 letter penned by the then assistant director of the D.C. Motor Vehicle Administration, the plates were expected to "go on sale approximately March 1, 1958." The actual introduction date is unknown. The annual registration fee was $5, where it remained until being raised to $9 in October 1976. The 1957 statute defines an antique car as a vehicle that "was manufactured prior to January 1, 1930, and is owned solely as a collector's item, with its use limited to participation in club activities, exhibits, tours, parades, and similar uses, but in no event for general transportation

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