Back when the internal combustion engine first rumbled to life, Wyoming wasn't even a state. It was an expansive territory where the high desert plains uplifted into jagged mountains. The major means of transportation was the horse, and the passenger vehicle was a covered wagon pulled by oxen―generally heading west on the Oregon Trail.

The railroads of the late 1860s initiated the decline of wagon travel, as folks could get from point A to point B more quickly and without the dangers on the trails. Then the mass production of automobiles changed the way Americans traveled. Roads were built. Everybody that could afford one of these new creations had to have one. The first automobile drove into Yellowstone Park in 1917. Two years later, 5,000 cars roared into the park.

It was only a matter of time before states needed to begin regulating these new contraptions that were taking over the roads and literally running the horse out of town. In the early days, the state struggled with license plate counterfeiting, but it got it under control in the 1930s with the introduction of a legend.

The ubiquitous bucking bronco insignia on license plates today can be traced back to 1918. It was a fighting symbol used by a Wyoming military contingent in France during World War I. It made its debut on license plates in 1936 and has been a part of the state's automobile history every since.

If you are curious, the horse's name is universally recognized as Steamboat. The plate perennially competes with Utah, Vermont, and Colorado for "best plate" kudos.

Today the plates are handed out at the state's 29 county treasurer offices when people register vehicles. Title issues are also handled at the county level at the clerk's office.

The titling and registration services are regulated at the state level by Motor Vehicle Services, a division of the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT). Motor Vehicle Services also takes care of dealer licensing, commercial vehicle registration, and license plate production.

Driver Services is the headquarters for anything having to do with a driver's license. Also a member of the extended WYDOT family, this busy division operates 29 exam centers across the state.

Here exam officers handle all testing services for commercial and standard driver's licenses. These folks also maintain the driving histories of Wyoming residents, including adding and removing convictions.

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