A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate, 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 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.
Vehicle insurance is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise from incidents in a vehicle. Vehicle insurance may additionally offer financial protection against theft of the vehicle, and against damage to the vehicle sustained from events other than traffic collisions, such as keying, weather or natural disasters, and damage sustained by colliding with stationary objects. The specific terms of vehicle insurance vary with legal regulations in each region.
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is an annual tax that is levied as an excise duty and which must be paid for most types of powered vehicles which are to be used on public roads in the United Kingdom. Registered vehicles that are not being used or parked on public roads and which have been taxed since 31 January 1998, must be covered by a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) to avoid VED. In 2016, VED generated approximately £6 billion for the Exchequer.
A Warrant of Fitness (WoF) is an official New Zealand document certifying that a light motor vehicle has passed a compulsory periodic inspection of safety and roadworthiness. Most vehicles with a gross mass under 3,500 kilograms (7,700 lb) that are used on public roads are required to undergo a WoF test, with the frequency depending on the age of the vehicle. Since 1 January 2014, vehicles first registered on or after 1 January 2000 must undergo a WoF test annually; older vehicles must undergo a WoF test every six months. From 1 July 2014, vehicles first registered on or after 1 January 2000 must undergo a WoF test at first registration, at three years, and then annually after that; older vehicles must undergo a WoF test every six months.
German vehicle registration plates are alphanumeric plates in a standardized format, issued officially by the district authorities to motorized vehicles of German residents. The legal requirements for these licence plates are laid down in a federal law titled Verordnung über die Zulassung von Fahrzeugen zum Straßenverkehr, or in the shortened version Fahrzeug-Zulassungs-Verordnung, FZV which replaced part of an older law named Straßenverkehrszulassungsordnung, StVZO in 2011. The law distinguishes between Kennzeichen meaning a specific combination of letters and digits, and Kennzeichenschilder which are the physical licence plates. In everyday language, these terms are often replaced indifferently by Nummernschild and rarely is the difference emphasized by restricted use of either Nummer or Schild.
The MOT test is an annual test of vehicle safety, roadworthiness aspects and exhaust emissions required in the United Kingdom for most vehicles over three years old. In Northern Ireland the equivalent requirement applies after four years. The requirement does not apply to vehicles used only on various small islands with no convenient connection "to a road in any part of Great Britain"; no similar exemption is listed at the beginning of 2014 for Northern Ireland, which has a single inhabited island, Rathlin. The MOT test was first introduced in 1960 as a few basic tests of a vehicle and now covers 20 different parts or systems on or in the car.
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.
The registration plates of cars in Norway are maintained by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications. As in most countries, cars are identified only by number plates read visually. Each plate is a legal document that both identifies the vehicle and permits its use, and shall be returned to the registration authority when the vehicle is no longer in use.
In Sweden, vehicle registration plates are used for most types of vehicles. They have three letters first, a space and two digits and one digit or letter after. The combination is mostly a random number and has no connection with a geographic location. The last digit is used to show what month the vehicle tax has to be paid, and before 2018 it was also used to show what month the car had to undergo vehicle inspection. Vehicles like police cars, fire trucks, public buses and trolley buses use the same type of plate as normal private cars and cannot be directly distinguished by the plate alone. Military vehicles have special plates. Part of the vehicle data is public and can be retrieved online.
Antique vehicle registration is a special form of motor vehicle registration for vehicles that are considered antique, classic, vintage, or historic. Both the specific term used and the definition of a qualifying vehicle vary from country to country, as well as within a country if it is a federation.
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. This link might be used for taxation or crime detection purposes. 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.
The Vehicle register in the United Kingdom is a database of motor vehicles. It is a legal requirement in the UK for most types of motor vehicle to be registered if they are to be used on the public road.
The National Car Test is a roadworthiness test, which all cars in Ireland must undergo. Following a tender process, the Road Safety Authority awarded the National Car Testing Service contract for the operation of the vehicle inspection service in the Republic of Ireland to Applus.
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 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.
The Regional Transport Office or Regional Transport Authority is the organisation of the Indian government responsible for maintaining a database of drivers and a database of vehicles for various states of India. The RTO issues driving licences, organises collection of vehicle excise duty and sells personalised registrations.
In Canada, registration plates are issued by an agency of the provincial or territorial government.
The Canadian province of Quebec first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1906. Registrants provided their own licence plates for display until 1908, when the province began to issue plates. Plates are currently issued by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec.
Velology is the study and collection of vehicle tax discs, particularly of those issued in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1921 to 30 September 2014.
Vehicle inspection in Australia is generally done on a state basis. Each state or territory has the authority to set its own laws pertaining to vehicle inspections, all have some form of inspection, either periodically or before a transfer of ownership.
