Car Licence Plate

A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate ( British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. All countries require registration plates for road vehicles such as cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Whether they are required for other vehicles, such as bicycles, boats, or tractors, may vary by jurisdiction. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the vehicle or vehicle owner within the issuing region's vehicle register. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, while in others it is unique within a state or province. Whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. There are also electronic license plates.

Legal requirements

In Europe, most governments require a registration plate to be attached to both the front and rear of a vehicle, although certain jurisdictions or vehicle types, such as motorcycles, require only one plate, which is usually attached to the rear of the vehicle. Special vehicles such as agricultural and construction equipment might have the license plate attached to other parts of the vehicle. National databases relate this number to other information describing the vehicle, such as the make, model, colour, year of manufacture, engine size, type of fuel used, mileage recorded (and other similar data in jurisdictions where vehicles are regularly inspected for roadworthiness every year or two), vehicle identification number (chassis number), and the name and address of the vehicle's registered owner or keeper.

In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Either a government agency or a private company with express contractual authorization from the government makes plates as needed, which are then mailed to, delivered to, or picked up by the vehicle owners. Thus, it is normally illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates, because such unauthorized private manufacturing is equivalent to forging an official document. Alternatively, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the vehicle owner's responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number.

In some jurisdictions, plates will be permanently assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is either destroyed or exported to a different jurisdiction, the plate number is retired or reissued; exported vehicles must be re-registered in the jurisdiction of import. China requires the re-registration of any vehicle that crosses its borders from another country, such as for overland tourist visits, regardless of the length of time it is due to remain there; this has to be arranged with prior approval. Other jurisdictions follow a "plate-to-owner" policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate(s) from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyer's name and plate number. A person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the local laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them, or may be permitted to keep them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with "personal" ("vanity" or "cherished mark") plates.

In some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, and may have to pay a fee to exercise this option. Alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration, periodic safety and/or emissions inspections or vehicle taxation. Other jurisdictions have replaced the decal requirement through the use of computerization: a central database maintains records of which plate numbers are associated with expired registrations, communicating with automated number plate readers to enable law-enforcement to identify expired registrations in the field.

Placement

Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a plate frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the vehicle service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames. In some jurisdictions registration plate frames are illegal or have design restrictions. For example, many states, like Texas, allow plate frames but prohibit plate frames from covering the name of the state, province, district, Native American tribe or country that issued the license plate (when that information appears on the plate). Plates are designed to conform to standards with regard to being read by eye in day or at night, or by electronic equipment. Some drivers purchase clear, smoke-colored or tinted covers that go over the registration plate to prevent electronic equipment from scanning the registration plate. Legality of these covers varies. Some cameras incorporate filter systems that make such avoidance attempts unworkable, usually with infra-red filters.

Vehicles pulling trailers, such as caravans and semi-trailer trucks, are typically required to display a third registration plate on the rear of the trailer.

Plate design considerations

An engineering study by the University of Illinois published in 1960 recommended that the state of Illinois adopt a numbering system and plate design "composed of combinations of characters which can be perceived quickly and accurately, are legible at a distance of approximately under daylight conditions, and are readily adapted to filing and administrative procedures". It also recommended that a standard plate size of by be adopted through the United States to replace the earlier by size to allow longer registration numbers to be displayed without excessively tight spacing or excessively thin or narrow characters.

In order to combat registration plate fraud, from the 1920s several jurisdictions developed their own anti-fraud typefaces so that characters cannot be painted or modified to resemble other characters. Since the 1990s, many jurisdictions have adopted the FE-Schrift typeface.

English uses 10 digits and 26 letters (languages such as German, Icelandic and Danish allow for extra letters), so assuming that the letters vs. numbers must appear in particular locations, (common on plates in most jurisdictions, for instance 4 numbers and 2 letters where the letters must come first, allowing AB1234 but excluding A12B34). Allowing for repeating letters and numbers, the combinations for each of these will be:

If letters and digits can appear in any order, it is problematic to allow both the letter O and the digit 0 to be used. Even if the license plate uses distinguishable characters for the two, someone transcribing the plate may not know which symbol has which meaning, and the owner of plate EM6F9VO may get in trouble for something the owner of plate EM6F9V0 did. Other letter/number pairs, like I and 1, may be similarly problematic to a lesser degree. Allowing for repeating letters and numbers, the combinations for each of these will be:

History

France was the first country to introduce the registration plate with the enactment of the Paris Police Ordinance on 14 August 1893, followed by Germany in 1896. The Netherlands was the first country to introduce a national registration plate, called a "driving permit", in 1898. Initially these plates were just sequentially numbered, starting at 1, but this was changed in 1906.

In the United States, where each state issues plates, New York State has required plates since 1903 (black numerals on a white background) after first requiring in 1901 only that the owner's initials be clearly visible on the back of the vehicle. At first, plates were not government-issued in most jurisdictions and motorists were obliged to make their own. In 1903, Massachusetts was the first state to issue plates. In 1928, Idaho was the first state to put a logo on the plate (the "Idaho Potato").

In Spain, the first law to define rules on non-animal vehicle traction was and the registration of vehicles was defined as a provincial task in the .

The first Spanish registration plate, PM–1, was issued for a Clément-Talbot on 31 October 1900 in Palma de Mallorca. From 1901 to 1905 256 vehicles were registered.

Materials

The earliest plates were made of enamel on metal or ceramic with no backing, which made them fragile and impractical. Few of these early plates survived. Later experimental materials include cardboard, leather, plastic, and, during wartime shortages, copper and pressed soybeans.

File:1916 Wyoming License Plate 3088.jpg, The damage to the enamel on this Wyoming license plate from 1916 exposed the iron, causing it to rust.
File:1944 Wyoming License Plate 17 12.jpg, In 1944, Wyoming license plates were made of soybean-based fiberboard due to metal conservation for World War II.
File:First Minnesota license plate.jpg, Black leather automobile license tag with a brass number on the center front. The first automobile license plate in Minnesota, 1903.

As of the 21st century, most plates are made out of aluminium. Metal plates are manufactured through one of two processes: embossing or riveting. For embossing, a plate is placed between dies on each side corresponding to the desired characters and compressed by a press. For riveting, holes are drilled through the plate and then individual letters are riveted one-by-one to the plate.

New technology has allowed for the development of digital license plates. In 2018, Michigan approved Public Act 656, making electronic license plates legal.

Sizes

Early 20th century plates varied in size and shape from one jurisdiction to the next, such that if someone moved, new holes would need to be drilled into the automobile (often on the bumper) to support the new plate. Standardization of plates came in 1957, when automobile manufacturers came to agreement with governments and international standards organizations. While peculiar local variants exist, there are three basic standards worldwide:
* or – in the bulk of European countries and many of their former overseas territories, as well as North Korea and South Korea.
* or – in the majority of North America and Central America, and parts of South America; occasionally in Switzerland and Liechtenstein; and many Persian Gulf countries, also allowed for imported vehicles in the United Kingdom.
* – in Australia and some other Pacific Rim countries, about halfway between the dimensions of the other two standards, longer than Western Hemisphere plates but taller than European ones.

Additional sizes include:
* from – two line pattern, optional in several European countries for 4×4 and imported vehicles;
* – Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
* – in Saudi Arabia.
* – in Iraq.
* – in Andorra.
* In Vietnam:
** from to – for car,
** – for bike.
* – in Japan.
* In Monaco:
** – for the rear,
** – for the front.
* – in Thailand.
* – in Italy (front plates), and Oman.
* – in New Zealand.
* – in Chile.
* – in Taiwan.
* – in San Marino.
* – in the Philippines
* – in the Mercosur member countries: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, originally based on the 1990 Brazilian standard.
* – in Ecuador.
* – in Jordan.
* – in Indonesia.
* – in South Africa and Finland.
* – in China, but for New Energy vehicles.
* – in Syria and Tunisia.

Previous sizes included:
* – in Vietnam before 2021 for all vehicles.
* – in Paraguay and Taiwan; Paraguay now uses Mercosur size plates.
* – in South Korea, now uses European size plates.
* – in Belgium before 2013.
* – in Luxembourg before 2003.
* – in Uruguay before 2016.
* – in Finland before 2001.
* – in Serbia before 2011, based on Yugoslavia's standard.

Africa

Algeria

Algerian registration plates are manufactured according to the same standards as their French counterparts (prior to 2009), using the same font and dimensions – although there has been a recent tendency to apply custom typefaces (impact and century gothic have been observed).

Botswana

Normal vehicles have number plates starting with the letter ''B'', followed by three digits, followed by three letters. The digits and letters are assigned by a registrar. The three letters never include the letter ''Q'', to avoid confusion with ''O''. Botswana number plates have a reflective white front and yellow rear background, and black lettering.

Government vehicles all have the prefix "BX", these number plates have a white reflective background with red lettering at the front and white on red at the rear. After 'BX' are the last two numerals of the date of issue and then up to four serial numbers.

Botswana Defence Force vehicles have the prefix "BDF" in white on an 'army' green background.

Diplomatic vehicles' number plates start with two numerals which indicate the embassy to which they are attached, then two letters CD (Corps Diplomatique), CC (Consular Corps status) or CT (Foreign Technical and Advisory personnel) and another three digits which are serial. The official car of the Head of Mission uses the letters CMD rather than CD and the private vehicle uses CDA.
This series is allocated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Botswana is the former British Protectorate of Bechuanaland, and number-plates then used a 'BP' prefix (then BPA, BPB, etc.) followed by up to three numbers, in white on black background, the plates being made in the characteristic style of South Africa at that time.

Burkina Faso

Vehicles are fitted with registration plates in the front and rear of the vehicle. Motorcycles (50cc or more) must be licensed and only bear rear plates. Registration is performed at the local police or Gendarmerie station. The first digits of the plate indicate the province in which the vehicle is registered. Only plates which meet government standards and are sold by licensed dealers may be fitted.

Private passenger car registration plates have a white background with black letters and numbers. Plates exist in a long pattern and a rectangular pattern, similar in size and appearance to French plates. The plate is adorned with a small flag of Burkina Faso in the shape of the country, inscribed in a black circle. The letters "BF" appear below the circle, also in black. This circle and BF design is to the right of the long plate and to the upper right of the rectangular plate. Motorcycle plates are similar to rectangular automobile plates, but smaller.

Commercial registration plates are similar in appearance to private plates, but the background is blue, and the writing and circle are white.

Security forces plates are black with white letters. They are adorned with the emblem of the relevant security service.

Cameroon

Vehicles in Cameroon display registration plates. The current scheme of regular license plates was introduced in 1985. It has AB1234V formats or AB123VH where AB is the code region, 1234 is the number, and SH is the series. The regular plate has an orange background with black marks. Since 2005, to reflect the German FE font used, on the left side of the plate are the emblems of the Economic Community of Central African States code and the CMR emblem.

Kenya

The current series of vehicle registration plates in Kenya are on a white plate with black lettering and look quite similar to UK suffix style registrations. The format is LLL 000L, where ‘L’ denotes a letter and ‘0’ denotes a digit. The older series of number plates were black with white or silver lettering. The rear plates in the older series of number plates were yellow and black lettering. According to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics there are over 1,626,380 vehicles on Kenyan roads as at 2011.

Morocco

New-style (post-1983, black lettering on white) Moroccan vehicle registrations have one or two numbers to the right of the plate to indicate the town of registration.
Each number is separated by a vertical line. To the left of the plate are a series of up to 5 digits issued consecutively. These are separated from the town of registration digits by a hyphen.

Earlier plates (1972–1983, black lettering on white. Pre-1972, white lettering on black) differed in that they could have either one or two numbers to indicate the town of registration. The group of digits was separated from the rest of the plate by a vertical line.

The current plates use numerals without script. Earlier plates used numerals and included Arabic script.

South Africa

South African number plates are unique in each of the provinces. Each province has its own number plate design and colors, as well as numbering scheme.

Americas

Argentina

The history of registration plates in Argentina can be broken down in two major phases: the decentralized phase (until 1972) and the centralized one (since 1972). During the decentralized phase, registration plates were assigned by each municipality or by the provinces, while during the second phase, the national state took charge of standardizing and centralizing the design and style.

Argentina has used the ABC 123 format since 1995. However, from 2016, new registration plates with the logo of Mercosur and the AB 123 CD format were implemented. Both formats coexist temporarily.

Bolivia

Bolivia's current registration plate system consists of four numbers followed by three letters. At the top of the plate, "BOLIVIA" is spelled out. At the top left corner, the Bolivian flag may be present, and at the top right corner, a letter denoting the department in which the car is registered, according to the ISO 3166-2:BO code, is displayed on either a metal tab on older plates or a sticker on newer plates. The current registration plate design consists of a white background with a blue borderline and blue letters and numbers.

Serial digits progress sequentially from right to left, with the 000 AAA format followed by the 1000AAA format and currently the 4000AAA format.

Older plate serials consisted of three numbers followed by three letters (A to Z, except O and Q). They had a white background with black letters and numbers.

Brazil

Brazil adopted its former system in 1990, which uses the form ABC•1234, with a dot between the letters and the numbers. A combination given to a particular vehicle follows it from first issue to the scrapyard: it cannot be transferred to another vehicle. Above the combination there was a metallic band with the state abbreviation (SP = São Paulo, RJ = Rio de Janeiro, PR = Paraná, AM = Amazonas, etc.) and the name of the municipality in which the vehicle title owner resides. During the first registration of a new vehicle, the registering state issues a registration plate to the vehicle rather than owner, and the serial stays with the vehicle for its life.

Brazil, as a member of Mercosur, from September 2018 on, began a new registration system where plates have a blue band at the top with the logo of Mercosur on the left, the country's name centered and country flag on the right. On the bottom left, there is the international vehicle registration code for Brazil: BR. The plates are always white: the letter coloring indicates the category (e.g., black on white: private; blue on white: official, police, fire departments, etc.; red on white: taxis, buses, paid freight, etc.). A new format based on the previous one, ABC1D23, was implemented. All used cars, when transferred to another owner, must change to the new format keeping their registration, where only its second number (the fifth position of the alphanumeric combination) shall change to a letter, following the pattern: 0=A, 1=B, 2=C, 3=D, ... 9=J. , both formats coexist for the time being.

Canada

In Canada, license plates are issued on the provincial or territorial level. Federally issued plates are only used by the Department of National Defence. All provinces issue plates in which the letters and numbers are embossed so that they are slightly raised above its surface. The territory of Nunavut introduced the first flat registration plate in Canada in July 2012.

In the Canadian provinces and territories of Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon, registration plates are currently only required on the rear of the vehicle. The remaining provinces British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontariorequire the registration plates to be mounted on both the front and rear of the vehicle. When a person moves from one province to another, they are normally required to obtain new registration plates issued by the new place of residence.

In 1956, all North American passenger vehicle registration plates (except for French-controlled St. Pierre and Miquelon), were standardized at a size of , although a smaller size is used for certain vehicle classes, such as motorcycles, and for the state of Delaware's historic alternate black and white plates, which are . The plates of the Northwest Territories are shaped like a polar bear but bolt to the standard holes. Nunavut inherited this design on its creation but switched to rectangular plates in 2012. Canadian Forces vehicles that travel on regular roads display registration plates. These vehicles have registration plates issued by the Department of National Defence. Domestic plates were issued by the DND after 1968.

Most Canadian provinces offer personalized or vanity license plates, where one can display their own unique combination of characters.

Prison inmates in Ontario make registration plates.

Colombia

Private black-on-yellow plates with the ABC·123 format are used in Colombia. The municipality of issuance is embossed at the bottom of the plate.

Ecuador

Vehicle number plates in Ecuador have only one design, with the word "Ecuador" appearing in uppercase letters centred at the top of the plate and a unique letter-number combination which consists of three letters (except for motorbikes, diplomatic vehicles and vehicles owned by international organisations) followed by three or more numerical digits. Formats in use are ABC-123 (old format) and ABC-1234 (new format).

The first letter in the letter-number combination indicates the province of issue. The second letter might be sequential or a "key letter" identifying the type of registration plate; the following letters and numbers are assigned in sequential order to the date the vehicle has been registered.

Greenland

Greenlandic vehicle registration plates normally have two letters and five digits. The combination is simply a serial and has no connection with a geographic location, but the digits have a number series based on vehicle type.

Mexico

Each Mexican state issues registration plates of a different design. Most states change designs more or less every third year, with each state on its own plate replacement cycle. Every year Mexicans pay the or ("car plates renewal tax"). A set of Mexican plates includes one pair of plates, a windshield sticker, and in a few states a plate sticker. In 2001 the size of the plate number was reduced to accommodate the addition of the state number, a legend indicating the position of the plate on the vehicle ( (front) or (rear)), and additional graphics. European-sized plates do exist in Mexico, but are not official or legal. These generally contain the same design as the standard-size plate in use at the time, and bear the standard letter and number sequence.

Mexican plates come in several different classifications: private, private border, public, public border, federal public service, fiscal and customs inspection, Mexico Army, and diplomatic. The border plates were introduced in 1972 and are available in the Mexico–USA border zone. This zone is formed by the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur, as well as parts of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas. While the state of Nuevo León shares a border with the U.S., it does not have any cities within the border zone.

Panama

In Panama, the design of registration plates changes every year and the plates are the standard North American size and shape. They used to be made by prison inmates but are now produced on demand and on site using a press. Plates used to have 6 numbers, but since 2013 new plates for new vehicles have 2 letters and 4 numbers. The 2 letters go before the numbers. They have a sticker on one of the corners indicating in which month of the year the plate was issued. On the bottom center of the plate is the year when the plate was issued. They also have holograms on the right edge of the plate. On the top center the plate has the word PANAMA. Government vehicles always begin with GO. Taxis begin with T and are always yellow. School buses say COLEGIAL instead of the year the plate was issued. Motorcycles begin with M. Metro buses begin with MB. Plates for motorcycles are about half the standard size. Plates of vehicles belonging to the national assembly are always white and have the logo of the national assembly on the left and two numbers on the right and are always white. Vehicles of government executives have no registration plate. Vehicles from Central America can be used freely in Panama without having to change plates but only if the vehicle will not be staying indefinitely in Panama. Vehicles must be checked every year when changing the plate. The plate must be changed every year and once the vehicle is checked a sticker must be attached to the back of the vehicle's windshield. The color of the sticker changes every year.

United States

Although registration plates have only existed for just over 100 years in the United States, they have developed a distinctive history that has undergone several periods and changes.

The first registration plates in North America appeared in 1903 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Soon after, other states followed suit, with virtually every state having adopted a form of registration plates by 1918.

The first registration plates in the United States were made out of leather, rubber, iron, and porcelain, painted on the front in usually two different colorsone for the background and one for the lettering. This scheme held true for most states until about 1920. The front of the plate would usually contain the registration number in large digits, and in smaller lettering on one side of the plate, the two- or four-digit year number, and an abbreviated state name. Each year, citizens were usually required to obtain a new registration plate from the state government, which would have a different color scheme than the previous year, making it easier for police to identify whether citizens were current with their vehicle registration.

Even before 1920, some states had adopted the technique of embossing the metal plates with raised lettering and numbering, without porcelain, and applying paint all over the plate, directly onto the metal. Minnesota introduced some registration plates during this period with three different years embossed into the plate, so that the plates were valid for three consecutive years (e.g., 1918, 1919, and 1920).

In the United States, registration plates are issued by each state. The federal government issues plates only for its own vehicle fleet and for vehicles owned by foreign diplomats. In the United States, many Native American tribal governments issue plates for their members, while some states provide special issues for tribal members. Within each jurisdiction, there may also be special plates for groups such as firefighters or military veterans, and for state, municipality, or province-owned vehicles.

The appearance of plates is frequently chosen to contain symbols or slogans associated with the issuing jurisdiction. Some of these are intended to promote the region. A few make political statements; for example, most plates issued in District of Columbia include the phrase " Taxation Without Representation" to highlight D.C.'s lack of a voting representative in the United States Congress. More recently, some states have also started to put a web address pertaining to the state (such as Pennsylvania, which posts the address of its tourism site). In some states ( Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Ohio, and some versions in Florida), the issuing county is listed at the bottom, while Kansas does so with a letter-coded registration sticker; Utah did so until 2003. Indiana identifies counties with a two-digit code in the lower right corner of its plates. Alabama, Idaho, Montana, Ohio, South Dakota, Wyoming, most Nebraska, and some Oklahoma standard issue plates designate the county by unique codes, usually numeric (Idaho uses a one-letter or one-number/one-letter code; Oklahoma uses a one-letter code), either in the plate number or registration sticker. Some states, such as New Hampshire, New Mexico, and New York, formerly used county-coded or county-labeled plates before switching to standard-progression plates.

Most states use plates onto which the letters and numbers are embossed so that they are slightly raised above its surface. Characters on Vermont plates are engraved onto a large, slightly raised portion of the plate. Seventeen statesAlabama, Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wyomingand both the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have moved to entirely digitally printed "flat" registration plates. Several other states, such as Colorado, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, produce a flat registration plate only for certain plates, such as personalized license plates and special interest plates. Nevada reverted from using flat registration plates to using embossed plates, after using flat plates as a standard issue for a few years.

The numbering system of registration plates also varies among the jurisdictions. Some states issue a motorist a serial that stays with that person as long as they live in that state, while other states periodically issue new serials and completely rotate out any old ones. Some states issue registration plates to vehicles rather than owners, and the serial stays with the vehicle for its life. Several states do not regularly use certain letters – most commonly the letters I, O, and/or Q – in their plates, except on vanity plates, so as not to confuse observers with the numbers one and zero.

When a person moves from one state to another, they are normally required to obtain new registration plates issued by the new place of residence. Some U.S. states will even require a person to obtain new plates if they accept employment in that state, unless they can show that they return to another state to live on a regular basis. The most prominent exceptions to this policy are active duty military service members, who legally do not change residence when they move to a new posting. Federal law specifically allows them to choose to either retain the state vehicle registration of their original residence or change registration to their state of assignment.

In the United States, 21 states – Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia – do not require an official front registration plate. In Nevada, front plates are optional if the vehicle was not designed for a front plate and the manufacturer did not provide an add-on bracket or other means of displaying the front plate. In Massachusetts, certain old rear-only plates are grandfathered, but newly issued registrations require both front and rear plates. Vehicles owned by the United States Postal Service, unlike other federally owned civilian vehicles, do not bear registration plates, but rather a postal service number such as on the Grumman LLV.

In 1956, all North American passenger vehicle registration plates, except for French-controlled St. Pierre and Miquelon, were standardized at a size of , although a smaller size is used for certain vehicle classes, such as motorcycles, and for the state of Delaware's historic alternate black and white plates, which are . However, in 2012 Puerto Rico began issuing optional European-style plates that incorporate the design language of the standard-issue plates in a longer and narrower size typically seen in Europe.

Tactical vehicles of the United States military do not bear registration plates, even if they travel regularly on public streets and highways.

In many U.S. states, registration plates are made by prison inmates. Because of this, colloquial terms include "license plate factories" for prison and "making license plates" for serving a prison sentence.

Asia

Afghanistan

Afghan registration plates primarily use Persian script text and numerals. The current version was introduced in 2004.

Bangladesh

Bangladeshi registration plates use Bengali alphabets and Bengali numerals.
In Bangladesh, the Road Transport Authority (BRTA) issues vehicle registration plates for motor vehicles. The vehicle registration plates in Bangladesh use Bengali alphabets and Bengali numerals. The current version of Vehicle registration plates started in 1973. The International vehicle registration code for Bangladesh is BD.

The general format of vehicle registration plates in Bangladesh is "City – Vehicle Class alphabet and No – Vehicle No". For example, : "DHAKA-D-11-9999". The "DHAKA" field represents the city name in Bengali alphabets, the "D" field represents the vehicle class in Bengali alphabets, the "11" field represents the vehicle registration serial in Bengali numerals (newer registrations have a higher serial number) and finally, the "9999" field represents the vehicle number of the vehicle in Bengali numerals.

The plates are installed in both the front and rear of the vehicle, with the rear plate permanently attached to the vehicle. The plate is only removed when the vehicle has reached the end of service and has been sold for scrap. New vehicles are not delivered to the purchaser until the plates have been attached at the dealership.

China

Mainland

The People's Republic of China issues vehicles registration plates at its Vehicle Management Offices, under the administration of the Ministry of Public Security.

The current plates are of the 2007 standard (GA36-2007), blue background and consist a one-character provincial abbreviation, a letter of the Latin alphabet corresponding to a certain city in the province, and five numbers or letters of the alphabet (e.g. 京A-12345, for a vehicle in Beijing or 粤B-12345 for a vehicle from Shenzhen in Guangdong province). The numbers are produced at random, and are computer-generated at the issuing office. (A previous registration plate system, with a green background and the full name of the province in Chinese characters, actually had a sequential numbering order, and the numbering system was eventually beset with corruption).

Yellow plates are issued to motorcycles and large vehicles, such as coaches and buses. Black plates are issued to vehicles belonging to diplomatic missions and foreigners (including Hong Kong and Macau). Vehicles registered in Hong Kong or Macau and permitted to enter China would be required to have a separate black plate from China as Hong Kong and Macau operate their own vehicles registration system. The Chinese plates for these cars followed the pattern of the provincial character for Guangdong (粤), the Latin letter "Z", 4 letters and/or numbers, ending in the abbreviated character for the territory (e.g. 港 for Hong Kong and 澳 for Macau).

For motorcycles, the front plate only included five numbers and rear contained the full information (e.g. for a motorcycle registered in Shanghai as 沪C•12345, the front plate would be "12345" and the rear plate bears the entire set).

Hong Kong

Hong Kong number plates follow the British system of colouring, with front white and rear yellow plates. The numbering system is two letters and (up to) four digits, e.g. AB1234. Registration plate numbers starting with "AM" are reserved for government use. The front white and rear yellow background is a reflective material to comply with the BS AU145a standard.

In addition, Hong Kong started a new scheme in 2006 to allow personalised registration plates, with up to eight selectable letters or numbers.

Macau

Macau local registration plates follow the Portuguese pre-1992 system of colour and sequence. Plates have a black background with white numbers. Numbering system starts from M, and then one letter, and then 4 numbers, and separated by "-", e.g. MA-12-34. Earlier numbers will only have M instead of MA or MB or MC, etc.

Taiwan

In the Republic of China (Taiwan), vehicle registration plates are issued by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. The registration numbers contain Latin letters (A to Z), Arabic numerals (0 to 9) and dash (–), and plates also bear Chinese characters.

India

Vehicle registration plates, usually known as number plates, are issued by the Regional Transport Office of each district. Most motor vehicles which are used on public roads are required by law to display them.
The new system which is followed currently in all the states and cities came into effect in the early 1990s. The scheme comprises:
* A two letter identification for the state in which the vehicle is registered.
* A two number code to identify the Regional Transport Office (RTO) where the vehicle is registered.
* An alphabet code to define the series. (one or two Alphabet, depending on vehicle density of the district/RTO)
* A four digit serial.

For Example, in the case of "MH 10 EL 5311", "MH" stands for Maharashtra, "10" stands for Sangli city RTO, and "EL 5311" denotes the series and serial number.

The Delhi NCR however uses a modified system wherein an additional alphabet is inserted after the RTO code to classify vehicle type. For example, a Delhi registration plate may read "DL 12 C AB 0496" where "DL" stands for Delhi, "12 C" stands for Car, and "AB 0496" is the series and number. In this scheme, 'C' denotes Car, 'S' denotes Scooter/Motorcycle, 'R' stands for rickshaw (three-wheeler), 'F' stands for "Fancy" or VIP numbers irrespective of vehicle type; and "P" for Public transport vehicles.

Some states have been adapting the dual letter series code system, for example car series' are CA, CB, CC; motorbike series' are MA, MB and so on. Most states however still use the standard series code, denoted by a single letter of the alphabet.

Indonesia

Indonesian vehicle plates share the legacy of the Dutch colonial era, which do not reflect the regional divisions of the country into provinces, but the old system of ''karesidenan'' or residencies. Their prefixes are therefore based on this system. There are four types of plates that are used in Indonesia, all consisting of a combination of alphabet and numbers.

* For commercial and public vehicles, a yellow background with black typeface.
* For private vehicles, a white background with black typeface (from June 2022). Before that, a black background with white typeface.
* For government vehicles, a red background with white typeface.
* Dealer plates are white background with red typeface, usually for vehicles yet to have legal and confirmed information and owner.

Besides these normal plates, there are also military plates for Army, Navy, Air Force, and also the Police. While diplomatic corps get special white plates and black numbering with "CD" prefix. The normal scheme comprises a one or two letters identification for the regencies, followed by an up to four digit numbers for the car's identification, and the last one to three letters are the serial code or district identification. The expiry date of the license is embossed along the bottom and some on the top of the plate. At the middle of the plate number, the numbers are usually random or requested by the vehicle owner and has a maximum of four digits and a maximum of three letters at the end of the vehicle's plate number, for example it could be: (B 1 A), (B 12 AB), (B 123 AB), and (B 1234 ABC). Sometimes the last maximum three letters at the end of the plate identifies the district region of the registered vehicle by the first letter, for example: (B 1234 WIE) which "W" identifies the vehicle is from the region of Southern South Tangerang city (Kota Tangerang Selatan), Banten province. Vehicle owners may request their vehicle's last letters plate for their own desire, but would need more affairs by the local police registering it, for example that the owner's name is "Adi" then he would make his vehicle's plate number like so: (B 1234 ADI).

Example:
* B 1234 AB, is mainly a vehicle registered in Jakarta, distinguishable from the letter code from the first letter of the plate, "B" represents the following cities: Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang (includes South Tangerang), and Bekasi. Mainly, vehicles registered in 2008 and later starts using three letters at the end of the whole plate, for example: B 1234 ABC
* L 123 MN, is a vehicle registered in Surabaya, the provincial capital of East Java Surabaya code is "L"
* DB 787 AA, is a vehicle registered in North Sulawesi which includes Minahasa and Manado which is the capital city of the province. North Sulawesi code is "DB"
* KT 8910 T, is a vehicle registered in East Kalimantan Province, Tarakan municipality, on Borneo island. East Kalimantan code is "KT"
* F 8888 LU, is a vehicle registered in Bogor

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