Move will yield 25 million new combinations

The drab colors — black on straw — unfortunately won't change. But starting next year, New Jersey's newest license plates will look a little different.

Up until now, the so-called standard issue plates have started with a sequence of three letters, followed by two numbers and a letter. But the state Motor Vehicle Commission has just started issuing plates that start with ZZZ, so a change is in order.

When the final plate in the series, ZZZ-99Z, is issued, sometime next year, the sequence of letters and numbers will be reversed, the Associated Press reports.

The change will yield 25 million new combinations. Officials said the new series, which will begin with A10-AAA and go through Z99-ZZZ, will likely last about 20 years.

— ANNE-MARIE COTTONE, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM