Vehicle registration plates of Egypt

Last updated
Arab Republic of Egypt
License plate Egypt private.jpg
Egyptian regular legal standard number plate.
CountryFlag of Egypt.svg  Egypt
Country codeEG
Current series
Size35 cm × 17 cm (13.8 in × 6.7 in)
Serial format Not standard
Colour (front)Black on white
Colour (rear)Black on white

Egyptian vehicle registration number plates are used for official identification purposes for motor vehicles in Egypt. The international vehicle registration code for Egypt is EG (formerly 'ET' until April 2024). [1]

Contents

Appearance

A red truck plate (Giza) Egyptian license plate for trucks.jpg
A red truck plate (Giza)

The current vehicle registration plates, which have been used since 2008, are rectangular in shape and made of aluminum. The top part has the word "Egypt" in English (all uppercase) and Arabic in black font on backgrounds of different colors depending on the type of license the vehicle is given. [2] Motorbikes have smaller plates [3] which are similar but much with light blue (private motorbikes) and dark blue (police motorbikes) the only colors available.

The most recent version used Calibri typeface for English text EGYPT/POLICE and Square Kufic typeface for Arabic text since 2022. [4]

The vehicle registration number consists of two parts:

Plate codeGovernorate Vehicle RegistrationImage
0000-.. Giza Governorate Egypt - License Plate - Private Giza.png
000-... Cairo Governorate Egypt - License Plate - Private Cairo.png
0000-..أ Egypt - License Plate - Private.png
0000-..س Alexandria Governorate
0000-..ق Qalyubia Governorate
0000-..ر Sharqia Governorate
0000-..م Monufia Governorate
0000-..ب Beheira Governorate
0000-..د Dakahlia Governorate
0000-..ع Gharbia Governorate
0000-..ل Kafr El Sheikh Governorate
0000-..ف Faiyum Governorate
0000-..و Beni Suef Governorate
0000-..ن Minya Governorate
0000-..ى Asyut Governorate
0000-..هـ Sohag Governorate
0000-. ص أ Qena Governorate
0000-. ص ق Luxor Governorate
0000-. ص و Aswan Governorate
0000-. ط د Damietta Governorate
0000-. ط م
0000-. ج م
0000-. ج ى
0000-. ط ع Port Said Governorate
0000-. ط ب
0000-. ط ص Ismailia Governorate
0000-. ط ن
0000-. ط س Suez Governorate
0000-. ط ر Red Sea Governorate
0000-. ط أ North Sinai Governorate
0000-. ط ج South Sinai Governorate
0000-. ج هـ Matrouh Governorate
0000-. ج ب New Valley Governorate

Numbers go from 1 to 9 and are chosen randomly. They are followed by a one to three letters.

Note : These plate codes do not apply for army, police and diplomatic vehicles.

Use of Latin letters and Western Arabic numerals below Arabic letters and Hindu–Arabic numerals was abandoned early due to the unease of reading the Arabic letters and numbers because they were too small.

To reduce the risk of confusion on account of the visual similarity between Arabic letters, only a limited number of letters are used. They and the Latin letters the Egyptian government uses to correspond to them are:

A gray bus plate Egyptian license plate for busses.jpg
A gray bus plate
A beige tourist bus plate without Latin letters from Aswan License plate Egypt tourist bus.jpg
A beige tourist bus plate without Latin letters from Aswan
Arabic letterLatin letter
أ A
ب B
ج G
د D
ر R
س S
ص C
ط T
ع E
ف F
ق K
ل L
م M
ن N
هـ H
و W
ی Y

Size

Standard license plates are of 17x35 cm.

Design and format

Customs plate from South Sinai (2004) Zollkennzeichen, ausgestellt im Sinai.JPG
Customs plate from South Sinai (2004)

The top rectangle in the license plate is color-coded according to the type of vehicle being licensed.

Egypt - License Plate - Private.png
Egypt - License Plate - Taxi.png
Egypt - License Plate - Public Transport.png
Egypt - License Plate - Bus.png
Egypt - License Plate - Commercial.png
Egypt - License Plate - Diplomatic.png
Egypt - License Plate - Customs.png
Egypt - License Plate - Police.png
Egypt - License Plate - Motorcycle.png

Older versions

Before the introduction of the new alphanumeric plate system in August 2008, Egyptian vehicle registration numbers were purely numeric, and registered by governorate and registration type. Privately owned vehicles were generally given white plates with black lettering; other vehicles' plates were color-coded, with the entire plate being in the applicable color, as follows:

2000s Egyptian license plate.jpg 1990s Egyptian license plate.jpg
Private vehicle, Cairo, early 2000sPrivate vehicle, Cairo, 1990s
1980s Egyptian license plate.jpg 1970s Egyptian license plate.jpg
Private vehicle, Cairo, 1980sPrivate vehicle, Cairo, 1970s

Some of these older plates are still in use, but it is the government's intention to replace all the plates with the new color-coded plates within 1 to 2 years.[ citation needed ]

References

  1. "United Nations Treaty Collection". treaties.un.org. United Nations . Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  2. Wael Badawy; Rahma Tarek; Alaa Yousri (25 May 2022). "Automated License Plate Recognition in Egyptian Environment: Lessons Learned - TechRxiv". www.techrxiv.org. doi: 10.36227/techrxiv.19809571.v1 .
  3. "Traffic - License Plates". traffic.moi.gov.eg. Government of Egypt . Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  4. "QT Square Kufic" (PDF). qtypography.com. Retrieved 19 September 2024.