The 2-character California plate space, fully mapped

A 2-character plate is the closest thing California issues to a collector piece: there are only 1,196 legal combinations in existence, because all-numeric configurations are rejected. We checked every single one against the DMV. As of the latest sweep, only a handful remain, and the live list is on our 2-character availability page.

Why 1,196 and not 1,296

Two characters from a 36-symbol alphabet gives 1,296 combinations, but the DMV refuses the 100 all-numeric ones like 22 or 07. Letters-only and letter-number mixes are legal, which leaves 1,196.

How they come back

Plates return to the pool when an owner stops renewing and the retention lapses. There is no announcement. The only way to catch one is to check at the right moment, which is why we re-sweep the whole 2-character space continuously and offer drop alerts the moment one opens.

Watching a specific combination

If you want your initials, open the plate’s page from any search and set a watch. We check it on a rolling basis and email you when it frees up. The four currently open are all on the live page, checked against the DMV, not estimated.