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.
Number plates in Belgium are driver specific, meaning that they are transferred to a new vehicle from the owner's previous one.
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.
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.
Present Montenegrin car plates have black characters on a rectangular white background, with blue strip on the left. The plates follow the 520 mm x 110 mm format, except for motorcycles. The present licence plates format was introduced on 6 June 2008, and replaced the old format gradually over the following year. The new format is on par with common European Union format.
Vehicle registration plates of Serbia are issued using a two-letter region code, followed by three or four-digit numeric and a two-letter alpha license code, separated by a hyphen.
The Portuguese vehicle registration plate system for automobiles and motorcycles is simple and sequential. The system has no link to geographical locations or similar. It is an incremental numbering system consisting of three groups of two characters, separated by dashes. This system started in 1937 with AA–10–00, which ran out on 29 February 1992. This then went on to 00–01–AA and changed to 00–AA–01 in 2005. This last sequence was exhausted early in 2020, and it was announced on 3 March that it had been replaced by the sequence AA–00–AA. Moreover, the letters W and Y, never before used, and the letter K, used only for a short-lived series for imported vehicles in 1997, are being employed in the new system, meaning that this sequence should last more than six-and-a-half times as long as the previous. At current rates that it would not need replacing at least until the end of the 21st century, but the expected lifetime of the series is stated as being forty-five years.
The license plates in Cape Verde have been derived from the former colonial power Portugal.
In Albania, vehicle registration plates are issued by the regional directorates of transport.
Philippine vehicle registration plates have a long history. The earliest license plates were introduced around 1912 with the introduction of Legislative Act No. 2159.
Vehicle registration plates of Vietnam generally take the form DDL-DDDDD for vehicles. Standard license plates have black characters on white background. Front plates measure 47 × 11 cm, rear ones are 27 × 20. The current scheme for civilian vehicles omits the letters I, J, O, Q and W, with the letter R reserved for trailers, and includes the Vietnamese D.
Nigerian vehicle registration plates in current use were introduced in 1992 and revised in 2011. Nigeria and Liberia are the only two African countries that use the North American standard 6 × 12 inches, with Egypt using an approximately similar size of 170 x 350 mm. The international code for Nigeria is "WAN".
The vehicle registration plates of Cameroon is a legal form requiring the citizens of Cameroon to have their cars registered.
The vehicle registration plates of Benin is a legal form requiring the citizens of Benin to have the car registered.
The vehicle registration plates of Gabon is a legal form requiring the citizens of Gabon to have the car registered.
The vehicle registration plates of Niger is a legal form requiring the citizens of Niger to have the car registered.
The vehicle registration plates of Togo is a legal form requiring the citizens of Togo to have the car registered.
The vehicle registration plates of Equatorial Guinea is a legal form requiring the citizens of Equatorial Guinea to have the car registered.
The vehicle registration plates of the Central African Republic allows the identification of vehicles registered in the Central African Republic.
The vehicle registration plates of Chad is a legal form requiring the citizens of Chad to have the car registered.
Republic of the Congo