A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or license plate or licence plate, is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. All countries require registration plates for commercial road vehicles such as cars, trucks, and motorcycles, for hire. 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.
Street-legal, road-legal, or road-going, refers to a vehicle such as a car, motorcycle, or light truck that is equipped and licensed for use on public roads, being therefore roadworthy. This will require specific configurations of lighting, signal lights, and safety equipment. Some specialty vehicles that will not be operated on roads, therefore, do not need all the features of a street-legal vehicle; examples are a vehicle used only off-road that is trailered to its off-road operating area, and a racing car that is used only on closed race tracks and therefore does not need all the features of a street-legal vehicle. As well as motor vehicles, the street-legal distinction applies in some jurisdictions to track bicycles that lack street-legal brakes and lights. Street-legality rules can even affect racing helmets, which possess visual fields too narrow for use on an open road without the risk of missing a fast-moving vehicle.
The most common format for vehicle registration plates in Romania consists of black letters on white background in the format CC 12 ABC, where CC is a two letter county code, 12 is a two digit group, and ABC is a three letter group. For Bucharest, the format is B 12 ABC or B 123 ABC, where B is code for Bucharest city, 12 and 123 is a two or three digit group, and ABC is a three letter group. The left side of the plate bears a blue vertical strip displaying the 12 stars of the European Union and the country code of Romania (RO). Between 1992 and 2007 the band featured the Romanian flag instead of the 12 stars. All lettering comes from the Latin alphabet.
Automatic number-plate recognition is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing closed-circuit television, road-rule enforcement cameras, or cameras specifically designed for the task. ANPR is used by police forces around the world for law enforcement purposes, including checking if a vehicle is registered or licensed. It is also used for electronic toll collection on pay-per-use roads and as a method of cataloguing the movements of traffic, for example by highways agencies.
Vehicle registration plates of Poland indicate the region of registration of the vehicle given the number plate.
Road tax, known by various names around the world, is a tax which has to be paid on, or included with, a motorised vehicle to use it on a public road.
In the United States, vehicle registration plates, known as license plates, are issued by a department of motor vehicles, an agency of the state or territorial government, or in the case of the District of Columbia, the district government. Some Native American tribes also issue plates. The U.S. federal government issues plates only for its own vehicle fleet and for vehicles owned by foreign diplomats. Until the 1980s, diplomatic plates were issued by the state in which the consulate or embassy was located.
Vehicle registration plates in Singapore are administered by the Land Transport Authority. All vehicles in Singapore are required to display front and back plates bearing its registration number. Purchasers of vehicles have the option to bid for a vehicle registration number or get a vehicle registration number automatically assigned. Vehicle registration numbers can be retained on new or old vehicles owned by the same person, with a validity of 1 year or with extensions of 6 months thereafter. Vehicle owners are also able to replace and bid for a new registration number for existing vehicles.
A vehicle licence is issued by a motor registration authority in a jurisdiction in respect of a particular motor vehicle. A current licence is required for a motor vehicle to be legally permitted to be used or kept on a public road in the jurisdiction. Usually a licence is valid for one year and an annual licence fee is payable before a new one is issued.
Motor vehicle registration is the registration of a motor vehicle with a government authority, either compulsory or otherwise. The purpose of motor vehicle registration is to establish a link between a vehicle and an owner or user of the vehicle. While almost all motor vehicles are uniquely identified by a vehicle identification number, only registered vehicles display a vehicle registration plate and carry a vehicle registration certificate. Motor vehicle registration is different from motor vehicle licensing and roadworthiness certification.
A parking violation is the act of parking a motor vehicle in a restricted place or in an unauthorized manner. It is against the law virtually everywhere to park a vehicle in the middle of a highway or road; parking on one or both sides of a road, however, is commonly permitted. However, restrictions apply to such parking, and may result in an offense being committed. Such offenses are usually cited by a police officer or other government official in the form of a traffic ticket.
Vehicle inspection is a procedure mandated by national or subnational governments in many countries, in which a vehicle is inspected to ensure that it conforms to regulations governing safety, emissions, or both. Inspection can be required at various times, e.g., periodically or on the transfer of title to a vehicle. If required periodically, it is often termed periodic motor vehicle inspection; typical intervals are every two years and every year. When a vehicle passes inspection, often a sticker is placed on the vehicle's windshield or registration plate to simplify later controls, but in some countries—such as the Netherlands since 1994—this is no longer necessary. Most US inspection decals/stickers display the month's number and the year.
South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364 (1976), elaborated on the community caretaking doctrine. Under the Fourth Amendment, "unreasonable" searches and seizures are forbidden. In addition to their law-enforcement duties, the police must engage in what the court has termed a community caretaking role, including such duties as removing obstructions from roadways to ensure the free flow of traffic. When the police act in this role, they may inventory cars they have seized without "unreasonably" searching those cars.
In Singapore, cars and other vehicles drive on the left side of the road, as in neighbouring Malaysia, due to its British colonial history. As a result, most vehicles are right-hand drive. However, exemptions have been made to allow foreign vehicles and construction machineries to utilise the road space of Singapore. As such, vehicles with left hand drive configurations are required to either be driven with a sign indicating "LEFT-HAND-DRIVE" or towed.
Vehicle impoundment is the legal process of placing a vehicle into an impoundment lot or tow yard, which is a holding place for cars until they are placed back in the control of the owner, recycled for their metal, stripped of their parts at a wrecking yard or auctioned off for the benefit of the impounding agency.
Vehicle registration plates of Canada, also known as licence plates, are issued by provincial or territorial government agencies. Registration plates in Canada are typically attached to motor vehicles or trailers for official identification purposes. Some Canadian registration plates have unique designs, shapes, and slogans related to the issuing jurisdiction. For example, registration plates issued in the Northwest Territories are shaped like a polar bear. In Alberta, registration plates typically display the words "Wild Rose Country."
Vehicle registration plates in Trinidad and Tobago are categorised using prefixes based on the type of vehicle and feature up to four succeeding digits. Registration plates in Trinidad and Tobago are supposed to be either white figures on a black background or black figures on a white background. All motor vehicles that are operating in the roads of Trinidad and Tobago are required by law to have a registration plate affixed to the front and rear of the vehicle at all times except during very specific situations. This current system has been present for over 40 years.
A parking chair is a chair that is used by a vehicle owner to informally mark a parking space as reserved. Other objects are also used for this purpose, including trash cans, ladders, ironing boards, traffic cones, and similar-sized objects. In Boston, these are known as parking space savers or just space savers. For curbside parking spaces, two or more items are normally used; for angle spaces, only one is needed.
Vehicle registration plates are the alphanumeric plates used to display the registration mark of a vehicle, and have existed in the United Kingdom since 1904. It is compulsory for motor vehicles used on public roads to display vehicle registration plates, with the exception of vehicles of the reigning monarch used on official business.
Vehicle registration plates, commonly referred to as number plates, are the mandatory numeric or alphanumeric plates used to display the registration mark of a vehicle. The Crown dependency of Guernsey is outside the United Kingdom and the European Union, and its islands have registration marks that are different from those used in the UK. The international vehicle registration code for Guernsey is GBG.
