Vehicle registration plates of Estonia are divided into 18 categories, the most common of these (A1) is composed of three numbers and three letters (e.g. 123 ABC). Most registration plate types have black letters on a white background, and the plates are the same size and length as other European plates (520 × 113mm). Previously the first of the three letters indicated the region of Estonia in which the car was registered; however, as of 2013, this is no longer the case. The third digit from the numbers indicated states when the car is due an inspection. It can be inspected up to 2 months after that digit. The registration plates are printed on an aluminium sheet with minimum thickness of 1mm and must fulfil the requirements of ISO 7591:1982. All plates are issued with the blue European Union identification label, except types A9 and B2.
These are the different types of plates in use in Estonia:[1]
Diplomatic license plate
A1 – Plates for general use on cars and trailers (vehicle categories M, N and O).
A2 – Special-order plate. Must contain at least one letter and one number up to a total of 9 characters. Numbers and letters may not alternate.
A3 – Plates for general use with reduced size. Usually used on cars with American origin, contains two numbers and three letters (historically beginning with Z).
A4, A5 – General diplomatic plates with white letters on a blue background. A4 plates consist of two letters (usually CD) and four numbers, A5 are restricted to heads of diplomatic missions and consists of three letters (usually CMD) and three numbers.
A6, A7 – Diplomatic plates with reduced size. A6 plates consist of two letters (usually CD) and three numbers, A7 are restricted to heads of diplomatic missions and consist of three letters (usually CMD) and two numbers.
A8 – Transferable plates, used by car dealers. Consist of the letters PROOV (Estonian for test) and four numbers.
A9 – Plates for classic and antique cars and trailers. Old vehicles are specifically defined vehicles (at least 35 years old) that have been granted an official old vehicle status. The plates consist of one letter and three numbers in white on a black background.
A10 – Plates for racing cars, two letters, which are SP (sport) and four numbers that start with 0 in white on a red background.
A11 – Transferable plates with reduced size.
B1 – Plates for motorbikes and terrain vehicles (ATV's, snowmobiles and similar), consist of two numbers and two letters.
B2 – Plates for classic and antique motorbikes, mopeds and terrain vehicles, similar to A9 but consist of one letter and three numbers.
B3 – Plates for mopeds. Mopeds are two to four-wheeled vehicles with engine displacement of 50cm³ or less and maximum speed of 45km/h or less. The plates consist of three numbers and one letter in black on a green background.
D1 – Transit plates for cars, consist of two letters, a dash and four numbers in red on a white background.
D2 – Transit plates for motorbikes, mopeds, tractors and special-purpose vehicles and their trailers, similar to D1 but with three numbers instead of four.
E1 – Plates for tractors, special-purpose vehicles and their trailers, consist of two letters and four numbers on the next line.
Diplomatic codes
These are the two-digit codes used on Estonian diplomatic plates, beginning in 1992.
Former Estonian plate, issued in 1998Pre-1991 Estonian(USSR) registration plate
On July 1, 1907, the City Board of Tallinn issued a decree concerning the moving, registering and taxation of motor vehicles. The cars only had a rear license plate, whose color varied every year. Other city council in the gouvernements of Estonia and Livonia issued similar decrees, some of which were still valid until the mid-1920s. The size and color of the plate was decided independently by every council. Chiefly they only carried the order of registration, sometimes the name of where the plate had been registered or a shortened form of it.
On August 27, 1920, the City Council of Tallinn favored the decree "On the compulsory registration of automobiles and motorcycles within the limits of the city of Tallinn," an evolution of the Tsarist decree. Cars still only had a rear license plate, and the color still varied every year. The plates were made of tin carrying numbers starting with 1.
On December 7, 1922, the decree was changed. Motorists were ordered "upon fastening a tin order number to the rear of their vehicle, to add a white iron plate in a visible spot in front of the car (under the radiator) on which the order number given by the city council has been printed." Since car owners were able to do a test drive before the technical inspection, a "test" number valid for three days was issued. It had to differ from the current number by shape and size. The plates of the previous tax year had to be changed to the current ones until May 15.
From 1923, Tallinn license plates became four-digit. Plates starting with 1 (from 1001) belonged to members of the Union of Estonian car owners as per a contract signed with the city council of Tallinn, and plates starting with 2 (from 2001) were issued for other cars. This decree lasted until the end of the 1925/26 tax season. From then on all cars registered in Tallinn had unitary license plates starting with 2. Motorcycles were registered differently, the numbers were three-digit starting with 101.
In 1925, when the Tallinn and Harjumaa plates were manufactured in Aleksander Karja's engraving shop, the font changed. The color of the plates still varied per tax year. For the 1928/29 season they were green with black font. For the following 1929/30 tax season the financing sector of the city council planned for plates with white font on black background, but the new regulation for registering motor vehicles declared unitary license plates on May 14, 1929, which were required to be changed until July 1. Because this regulation appeared after the beginning of the new tax year, the new black plates were already prepared and had to be melted down. The new regulation had something important missing: test numbers were now exclusive to car dealers and working places. If a civilian repaired a car or motorcycle in his own home, he lacked the legal chance to bring his vehicle to the technical overview, as test numbers could not be given out to private persons and driving without a number was prohibited as well. As a solution, the city council of Tallinn issued the 1929 tax year plates as test numbers for private car and motorcycle owners. These were now red with black font starting from 3001 for cars and 301 for motorcycles, written above the numbers on the rear plate was PROOV (test). This started a discussion in the city council with the Road Ministry when its representatives saw cars and motorcycles with red license plates on the street. Nevertheless, in August 1929, the decree was accepted by the Road Ministry and allowed vehicle owners to drive to the technical overview without a number, but with a 3-day test plate on the basis of a written declaration. This decree remained unchanged until the end of the first republic.
After the USSR's pact of mutual assistance in the fall of 1939, several Red Army trucks without license plates arrived in Estonia. As it was forbidden to drive without license plates in Estonia, they were given Estonian license plates. One such truck with the plate A-2798 is known to have been involved in an accident with a 14 year old cyclist on April 17, 1940.
On April 19, 1941, the Estonian SSR Informer (Eesti NSV Teataja) published the People's Commission of the Estonian SSR's decree for registering vehicles. Following this, the People's Commission of the Interior's militia government was missioned to replace all old license plates and technical passes with the new ones until June 1, 1941. The basis for the plates was the People's Commission of the Interior of the USSR decree on registering motor vehicles from July 22, 1939. The new plates were black with white ciphers in the format ER-12-34 and ES-12-34, but differed in size and shape completely from other Soviet license plates. Manufactured in Estonia, the front and rear plates were 112x340 mm and with the 1939 rift (Soviet rear license plates were square at the time) ER motorcycle plates were 85x255 mm, with the number printed on both sides on the front plate.
On November 18, 1941, the German occupying powers issued a decree for registering and reregistering vehicles. The plates were white with "Est" in black letters and a five digit number. On top of this, a so-called consent of registration, the Zulassungsausweis (at first called Zulassungsbescheinigung) had to be attached inside the windscreen.
For reasons unknown, General Commissioner in Estonia Litzmann did not like the decree issued by the Estonian Home-Rule Government and stopped the issue of the "Est" plates in early January 1942. Until the end of the year, all plates issued with occupational technical passes and registration consents were valid:
1. Republic of Estonia license plates (most of them 1940, a few 1939)
2. 1941 ESSR ER and ES plates
3. Estonian Home-Rule Est plates.
From January 1, 1943, the German highway code was valid in Estonia and all local vehicles were issued German plates starting with RO (Reichskommissariat Ostland) Estonian numbers were limited to RO-10000 – 29999.
These plates were issued until the Red Army occupied Estonia in the fall of 1944.
The first, post-Soviet, Estonian registration plates (1991) were composed of three numbers, with a licence label in the middle of the plate. The labels were dropped in 2004.
Only two suffixes were used on Soviet era plates: ЕА and ЭС. Neither identified any specific town or city, but rather served to inform that the vehicle had been registered in the Estonian SSR. There were plans to introduce an additional ЕС suffix, but as this occurred just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the mark was subsequently allocated to the Russian city of St. Petersburg.[2]
Plate used on a Defense Forces vehiclePlate used on the car of the President
Temporary license plates are printed on a yellow background.[1]
For vehicles registered in Estonian Defense Forces vehicle register, white characters on a black background are used. Two letter combinations start with K, three letter combinations with EK.[3]
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 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.
Number plates in Belgium are driver specific, meaning that they are transferred to a new vehicle from the owner's previous one.
The Italian vehicle registration plates are the compulsory alphanumeric plates used to display the registration mark of motor vehicles registered in Italy. They have existed in the country since 1897.
Vehicle registration plates of Poland indicate the region of registration of the vehicle given the number plate.
Finnish vehicle registration plates usually carry three letters and three numbers separated with a dash, though vanity plates may carry 2-3 letters and 1-3 numbers. Since 1989 the code has no connection with the geographic location, except that Åland has its own type of plate. Between 1972/1973 and 1989 the first letter indicated where the vehicle was first registered as the plate did not have to be changed even if the vehicle was moved to another area of Finland.
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.
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.
Vehicle registration plates are the mandatory number plates used to display the registration mark of a vehicle, and have existed in Spain since 1900. Most motor vehicles which are used on public roads are required by law to display them. The government agency responsible for the registration and numbering of vehicles is the Directorate General of Traffic.
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.
Slovenian car number plates are vehicle registration plates found on Slovenian cars. The code for Slovenia itself is SLO. The registration plates are made of metal. On the left there is a blue bar as in other EU countries along with tamper-proof text up to 2008; the text is in black letters on a white background in Helvetica typeface. In 2008 the plates reverted to a green border used before 2004 and the old font but retaining the EU border at the left. Two plates must be present on each car - one at the front and one at the rear. In the case of motorcycles, only one plate is needed on the back of the vehicle. These plates can have different sizes, being the regional code in the first line, at the top.
Since Ukraine's independence in 1991, the country has used four main systems of vehicle registration plates.
Standard vehicle registration plates in Lithuania bear three letters and three numbers in black lettering on a white background. The plates are usually of the standard EU dimensions, but can also be manufactured in the American dimensions for special import vehicles. All plates issued since 2004 also bear a blue EU identification stripe on their left-hand edge. Those issued between the restoration of Lithuanian independence in 1990 and the country's accession to the European Union in 2004 bore a similar stripe with a small Lithuanian flag in place of the flag of the European Union.
In Macau, vehicle registration marks have been issued by the Transport Bureau since 2008. The bureau does not provide the registration plates themselves; these are made by garages and vehicle accessory shops at the owners' request.
Belarusian vehicle registration plates are currently mainly composed of four digits – the vehicle identifier, two letters – the number plate series, and the region code – a final digit indicating the region of Belarus in which the vehicle was registered. The placement of the series letters varies for the weight class or type of the vehicle:
Vehicle registration plates of Latvia consist of two letters, a hyphen and one to four numbers (depending on the age of registration), e.g., AB-1234,
Vehicle registration plates of the Principality of Liechtenstein are composed of the letters FL, followed by the small version of the coat of arms of Liechtenstein and up to five digits. The letters FL stand for Fürstentum Liechtenstein. Standard license plates show white characters on a black background, using the same type of font as Swiss license plates.
An Israeli vehicle registration plate, or an Israeli license plate, is a vehicle registration plate, a metal or plastic plate or plates attached to a motor vehicle or trailer, used in Israel for official identification purposes.
The Palestinian National Authority requires their residents register their motor vehicles and display vehicle registration plates. There are two different registration systems in use: one for West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip.
In Nepal, all road vehicles with or without a motor are tagged with a registration number. This is issued by the state-level Transport Management Office, a government agency under the Department of Transport Management. The license plates must be placed in the front as well as back of the vehicle. The international vehicle registration code for Nepal is NEP.
Vehicle registration plates were used in the Soviet Union for registrations of automobiles, motorcycles, heavy machinery, special-use vehicles as well as construction equipment, military vehicles and trailers. Every vehicle registration plate contains a unique registration mark embossed on a metal plate or a plate made of other materials. All vehicles were required to display the plates on the front side and backside, with the exception of trailers and motorcycles, which were only required to display one on the backside.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
