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.
A vanity plate or personalized plate ; prestige plate, private number plate, cherished plate or personalised registration ; personalised plate or custom plate is a special type of vehicle registration plate on an automobile or other vehicle. The owner of the vehicle pays extra money to have their own choice of numbers or letters, usually portraying a recognizable phrase, slogan, or abbreviation, on their plate. Sales of vanity plates are often a significant source of revenue for North American provincial and state licensing agencies. In some jurisdictions, such as British Columbia, vanity plates have a different color scheme and design.
All motorised vehicles plying on public roads in India are tagged with a registration or licence number. The vehicle registration plate is issued by a Regional Transport Office (RTO), the district-level authority on road matters in the respective state or Union Territory. The number plates are mandatory on both front and rear of the vehicle and are required to be in modern Arabic numerals with Latin letters. Complete specification of registration plates are specified under the HSRP: High Security Registration Plate rules.
Austrian car number plates are mandatory vehicle registration plates displaying the registration mark of motor vehicles in Austria. They are used to verify street legality, proof of a valid liability insurance and to identify and recognise the vehicle.
Turkish vehicle registration plates are number plates found on Turkish vehicles. The plates use an indirect numbering system associated with the geographical info. In Turkey, number plates are made by authorized private workshops.
Vehicle registration plates in Hong Kong are managed by the Transport Department of Hong Kong. The physical number plates are not provided by the government but are made to order by garages. The vehicle registration system in Hong Kong is independent from that of Mainland China and Macau. Hong Kong's official UN road code is HK, as of June 2024.
A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate, license plate or licence plate, is a metal or plastic plate or plates attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies the vehicle within the issuing authority's database. In Europe most countries have adopted a format for registration plates that satisfies the requirements in the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, which states that cross-border vehicles must display a distinguishing code for the country of registration on the rear of the vehicle. This sign may be an oval sticker placed separately from the registration plate, or may be incorporated into the plate. When the distinguishing sign is incorporated into the registration plate, it must also appear on the front plate of the vehicle, and may be supplemented with the flag or emblem of the national state, or the emblem of the regional economic integration organisation to which the country belongs. An example of such format is the common EU format, with the EU flag above the country code issued in EU member states.
Malaysian registration plates are displayed at the front and rear of all private and commercial motorised vehicles in Malaysia, as required by law. The issuing of the number plates is regulated and administered by the Malaysian Road Transport Department or JPJ.
Maltese registration plates are the number plates used within Malta to uniquely identify motor vehicles. Since 1995, the three letter, three number system has been in use in Malta for vehicle registration. The characters are always printed in black on a white background, and to the left one can find a blue box with the Flag of the European Union and the letter M underneath it in white. The typeface used on Maltese registration plates is FE-Schrift which is also the typeface used on German vehicle registration plates.
In South Korea, the Surface Transportation Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOCT) oversees the design and issue of license plates for motor vehicles. The abbreviation for South Korea is ROK.
Standard Bulgarian vehicle registration plates display black glyphs on a white background, together with – on the left-hand side of the plate – a blue vertical "EU strip" showing the flag of Europe and, below it, the country code for Bulgaria: BG.
As of the year 2019 there are two different valid systems of vehicle registration plates in the Czech Republic.
Vehicle registration began in the Isle of Man on 1 January 1906, following the Highways Act Amendment Act 1905.
Vehicle registration plates of Georgia are composed of an embossed serial of two letters, a hyphen, three numbers, a hyphen, and two letters, in black on a white background with a blue vertical strip on the left. The plates are issued in the Latin alphabet. Georgian registration plates are the same size as the most common European registration plate. All plates have the abbreviation "GE" in the lower left corner of the plate and the national flag in the upper left corner. This set of new style registration plates have been in use since 1 September 2014.
Vehicle registration plates are displayed on all motorised road vehicles in Brunei, as required by law. The issue of registration plates is regulated and administered by the Brunei Land Transport Department. All vehicles must also display two of the same registration plates numbers of the same colours at the front and rear of the vehicles. All vehicle registration plates in Brunei, other than those issued to royalty, diplomats and taxis, have white characters on a black background, regardless of the vehicle type.
Vehicle registration in Ecuador is composed of two parts.
- The vehicle registration document that describes the vehicle characteristics, such as the year of manufacture and vehicle identification number; and the vehicle owner's information, such as name and address. The registration must be renewed every four years.
- The registration plates which display a unique registration letter-number combination. These must be placed on the front and rear of the vehicle. Two plates are issued for each vehicle, except motorcycles which receive one plate, and they should be inspected for serviceability every year. If the plates are damaged they should be replaced.
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.
Cambodian vehicle license plates are the license plates attached to most motorized road vehicles in Cambodia, which are required by law. Cambodian license plates display the name of the province where the vehicle was registered. The owner must register the car in the province they live; this can be a different province from where the owner has his official residence. If the title to the car is transferred to someone else, and the new owner lives in a different province, the number usually changes. Since 2009, Cambodia's official UN road code is KH.
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.
Kyrgyz registration plates were first issued in 1980, when the country was still a republic of the Soviet Union. Despite having gained its independence in 1991, it continued to use the old Soviet plates until the introduction of the current format in 1994.
