What is License Plate?

A vehicle registration plate is a metal or plastic plate 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 region's database. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country. In others, it is unique within each state or province. Depending on the country or region of issue, it may also be referred to as a license plate, number plate, vehicle tag or, simply, tag.

Legal requirements

Most governments require a registration plate to be attached to both the front and rear of a vehicle, although certain jurisdictions or vehicle types only require one plate, which is usually attached to the rear, such as motorcycles. National databases list this number to other information relating to each specific vehicle, such as the make, model, colour, year of manufacture, engine size, type of fuel used and mileage recorded during the vehicles annual (or bi-annual) road worthiness test, Vehicle identification (Chassis) Number and the name and address of the vehicle's registered owner or keeper.

These registration plates will be permanently assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. Some countries permit the re-registration of the vehicle with "personal" (officially "Cherished Mark" plates. When the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country it will require re-registering in the country of import. China requires the re-registration of any vehicle that crosses its borders from another country, such as overland holiday tourist visits, regardless of the amount of time it is due to remain there; this has to be arranged with prior approval.

In others, such as U.S. states, where because the plate constitutes the licence they are known as license plates, they require periodic changing (for cost-saving purposes, the recent tendency has been to simply replace a small decal on the plate's surface). Additionally, some jurisdictions follow a "plate-to-owner" policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold, the seller removes the current plate(s) from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates from their jurisdiction of residence or attach plates that they already hold from that jurisdiction, as well as formally registering their vehicles, under the buyer's name and the plate number, with the appropriate authorities. A person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto this car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the local laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them, or may simply be permitted to keep them.

Plates usually are either directly fixed to a vehicle or located in a plate frame which is itself fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the vehicle service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customised and speciality frames to replace the original frames. In some U.S. states, license plate frames are illegal. Plates are designed to conform to certain standards of clarity with regards to being read by the human eye in day or at night, or by electronic equipment. Some drivers purchase clear, smoke-colored or tinted covers that go over the license plate, usually to prevent such electronic equipment from scanning the license plate. Although perhaps useful to those avoiding detection from police, these covers are not legal in the entire United States and their use is discouraged in other countries. The British system of traffic and DVLA number recognition system cameras incorporate filter systems that make such avoidance attempt unworkable, usually with infra-red filters.

Some countries issue registration plates by provincial, territorial, or state governments rather than by National Government.

History

License plates have been around almost as long as automobiles, appearing in the earliest period of the transition from the horse, 1890 to 1910. The Netherlands were the first to introduce a national licence plate, first called a "driving permit", in 1898. The first licences were simply plates with a number, starting at 1. By August 8th of 1899 the counter was at 168. When the Dutch chose a different way to number the plates on January 15th 1906 the last issued plate was 2065.

In the U.S., where each state issues plates, New York has required plates since 1901. At first, plates were not government issued in most American jurisdictions and motorists were obliged to make their own. Massachusetts and West Virginia were the first states to issue plates, in 1903. The earliest plates were made out of porcelain baked onto iron, or simple ceramic with no backing, which made them extremely fragile and impractical. Few examples of these earliest plates survive. Later experimental materials include cardboard, leather, plastic and during wartime shortages copper and pressed soybeans.

Earlier plates varied in size and shape from one jurisdiction to the next, such that if one moved, new holes would be needed drilled into the bumper to support the new plate. Standardization of plates came in 1957, when automobile manufacturers came to agreement with governments and international standards organizations. While peculiar local variants still exist, there are three basic standards worldwide.

• 12 by 6 inches (300 mm by 150 mm) - Used in the majority of the Americas.
• 20.5 by 4.5 inches (520 mm by either 110 or 120 mm) - Used in the bulk of the European countries and many of their former overseas territories.
• 14.5 by 5.3 inches (372 mm by 135 mm) - Used in Australia and some other Pacific Rim countries, about halfway between the dimensions of the other two standards, longer than Western Hemisphere plates but taller than European ones.

Vehicle registration plates by country

Australia

Main article: Australian vehicle number plates

In Australia, licence plates, usually known as number plates, are normally issued by the State or Territory government; some are issued by the Commonwealth government. Plates are associated with a vehicle and generally last for its life, though as they become unreadable (or for other reasons) they may be recalled or replaced with newer ones. For a long period of time from the 1970s to the late 1990s, most Australian plates were of the form xxx·xxx (with the x either letters or numbers) - for example, aaa·nnn in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory; naa.nnn in Western Australia, where the starting number was between 6 and 9; and nnn.aaa in Queensland. More recently as these series have reached the end of their lives, different States and Territories have chosen different continuations, so the commonality with respect to format is at an end. Nevertheless, most plates are the same size for a given vehicle, so there remains a consistency about them.

Plates tend to bear the state or territory name and a state motto in the bottom of the plate. Recent issues of plates (since the 1990s) also often use the State's colors and may include some imagery related to the state (such as the State's logo as the dot separating the groups of numbers).

LIST OF FORMATS FOR AUSTRALIAN PLATES - CURRENT TO 25/01/06:

• KEY: 'x' represents a sequential letter, 'n' represents a sequential number.
• Australian Capital Territory: Blue text on white background, with "ACT" above and "CANBERRA - THE NATION'S CAPITAL" below the plate code. Code format: Yxx-nnx
• New South Wales: Black text on yellow background, with "NEW SOUTH WALES" below the plate code. Code format: xx-nn-xx
• Victoria: Blue on white background, with "VICTORIA - THE PLACE TO BE" under the plate code. Some older plates might have "VICTORIA - ON THE MOVE" or "VICTORIA - THE GARDEN STATE" Code format: xxx-nnn. Also, there have been a few special, limited edition plates issued, for example, 1000 were issued to commemorate the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and had a picture of Karak, the mascot who is a red-tailed black cockatoo, and they are an extinct species in Australia. Also there are AFL Football Number Plates with the team logo or mascot, Euro plates, Grand Prix Plates, Service club plates (eg. Lions service club or Rotary service club) and some more plates. Many of these limited edition plates will have a different slogan on the bottom.
• Queensland: Maroon text on white background, with "QUEENSLAND - SUNSHINE STATE" or "QUEENSLAND - THE SMART STATE" under the plate code. Code format: nnn-xxx
• South Australia: Code format: xxx-nnn or xx-nnnx with "SA - THE FESTIVAL STATE"
• Western Australia: Code format: nxxx-nnn, with 'WESTERN AUSTRALIA" or xx nnn for local government issued plates,eg;City of Bunbury BY 1, or Shire of Bridgetown/Greenbushes B.21 (Note:a dot between the suffex designates a Shire Council and no dot designates a Town or City Council, eg;Northam Town N 37 ,Northam Shire N.37) Also local government plates can start with a one,two or three letter suffex eg;A Albany,DB Donnybrook/Balingup or BSN Busselton
• Tasmania: Code format: xx-nnnn or xx-nnn, with "TASMANIA - YOUR NATURAL STATE"
• Northern Territory: Orange text on white background. Code format: nnn-nnn, with "NT - OUTBACK AUSTRALIA"

To show that a vehicle is registered in Australia, a sticker must be displayed in the lower left corner of either the rear left window or windscreen. This sticker is issued to the register owner of the vehicle on payment of the next year's registration fee, and shows the expiry date of the registration. They are colour coded for easy recognition of the year of expiry. The sticker shows the licence plate number, Vehicle Identification Number, Make, Model, and colour of the vehicle, along with other such information. This acts as an anti-theft device, because transplanting the licence plates from one car to another will be in contrast to the details on the sticker. The Western Australia registration sticker only shows the month and year of expiry.

Brazil (Federative Republic of Brazil)

Main article: Brazilian vehicle number plates

Brazil adopted its current system in 1990, which uses the form ABC 1234, with a dot between letters and numbers. A combination given to one vehicle cannot be transferred to another vehicle. Above the combination there is a metallic band with the state abbreviation (SP = São Paulo, RJ = Rio de Janeiro, PR = Paraná, AM = Amazonas, etc.) and the name of the municipality. This band can be changed by breaking the seal (plastic or lead-made).

Canada and the United States

Main article: U.S. and Canadian license plates

In the United States and Canada, license plates are issued by each state or provincial government. In the United States, many Native American tribal governments issue plates for their members, while some states provide special issues for tribal members. The federal government issues plates only for its own vehicle fleet and for vehicles owned by foreign diplomats, although in California Diplomatic Corps plates are issued. Within each jurisdiction, there may also be special plates for groups such as firefighters or military veterans, and for state, municipality or province-owned vehicles.

The appearance of plates is frequently chosen to contain symbols, colors, or slogans associated with the issuing jurisdiction. For example, new plates issued in Washington, D.C. include the phrase "Taxation without representation" to highlight D.C.'s lack of a voting representative in the United States Congress. More recently, some states have also started to put a web address pertaining to the state, whether it would be with the state itself (such as Indiana with www.IN.gov) or in Pennsylvania's case with VisitPA.com, that state's tourism site.

Most states use plates onto which the letters and numbers are embossed so that they are slightly raised above its surface. A very few do not, such as Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia, which have moved to entirely digitally produced flat license plates. Many other U.S. states now use a color thermal transfer production process that produces a flat license plate for only short-run plates such as personalized license plates and special interest plates.

When a person moves from one state or province to another, they are normally required to obtain new license plates issued by the new place of residence. Some U.S. states will even require a person to obtain new plates if they accept employment in that state, unless they can show that they return to another state to live on a regular basis. The most prominent exceptions to this policy are active duty military service members who legally do not change residence when they move to a new posting. Federal law specifically allows them to choose to either retain the state vehicle registration of their original residence or change registration to their state of assignment.

In many states and provinces, license plates are made by prison inmates [1][2]. In 1956, all North American passenger vehicle licence plates, except for French controlled St. Pierre and Miquelon and the Canadian Northwest Territories and Nunavut, were standardized at a size of 6 in x 12 in (152.40 mm x 304.80 mm), although a smaller size is used for certain vehicle classes, such as motorcycles, and for the state of Delaware's historic alternate black and white plates, which are 5.25 in x 9.5 in. The Canadian territories' plates are shaped like a polar bear [3]

thumb|right|An example of a personalized license plate from Illinois.]]

Europe

Main article: European vehicle registration plates

In the European Union, white or yellow number plates of a common format and size are issued throughout (albeit still optional in some member states). Nevertheless, some individual member states still use differing non-EU formats - Belgium, for example, still permits vehicles to display the older small white number plates with red lettering. Italy still permits smaller plates to be attached to the front of a vehicle, while the rear plate complies to the usual EU format. The common design consists of a blue strip on the left of the plate, which has the EU motif (12 yellow stars), along with the country code of the member state in which the vehicle was registered.

This 'common design' is claimed to be a registered design - number 2053070 - registered at the UK Patent office by David and Nansi Mottram in 1995 [4]. However, Ireland introduced this style of vehicle registration plate on 1st Jan 1991 under regulation S.I. No. 287/1990, [5]. Portugal introduced plates with the common design in 1992, and Germany introduced plates with the common design in January 1994 [6], [7], No successful challenge has been launched upon the registered design to date.

Lettering on the plate must be black on a white or yellow reflective background. With this EU format, vehicles are no longer required to carry an international code plate or sticker for travelling between member states. The non-EU state of Switzerland also recognises the blue strip instead of the traditional white oval with the country code in black.

Germany has selected a typeface which is called fälschungserschwerende Schrift (abbr.: FE-Schrift), meaning "falsification-hindering script". It is designed so that, for example, the O cannot be adjusted to look like a Q, or vice versa; nor can the P be painted to resemble an R, amongst other changes. This typeface can more easily be read by radar or visual license-plate reading machines, but can be harder to read with the naked eye, especially when the maximum allowed number of 8 characters in "Engschrift" (narrower script used when available space is limited) are printed on the plate.

Car registration plates from France, as observed 2004.	current car registration plate from Germany.	British number plates (1982 – 2001 system), as observed in 2004. The bottom plate has no EU ring as it is not compulsory in the UK.	Licence plate from Sweden
Manx (not in the EU) car registration plate	Polish plates. New with EU stars and old issued shortly before EU membership.	Lithuanian plate issued shortly before EU membership. The same format is still used, except with the EU logo instead of the country flag.	Danish plate issued in 1998 (also showing the country sticker).
Czech registration plate. - since 2004	Number plate of a Belgian car	Dutch car number plate	A plate from Andorra.
Fälschungserschwerende Schrift, used on German plates to hinder falsification. Note that normally similar glyphs (e.g. O and Q) are distinct in shape.	The newest Slovak plate.	A standard Finnish license plate	Car registration rear plate of Jersey (British, not in the EU)

India

Main article: Indian licence plates

Two types of licence plates are used in India. For commercial vehicles, the plate has a yellow background and black numbering. For private vehicles a white background with black numbering is used. The scheme comprises a two letter identification for the state in which the vehicle is registered. It is followed by a two number code to identify the district. Finally a four-digit number is used to uniquely identify the vehicle. When this number reaches 9999, it is prefixed with the next letter of the alphabet taken in order. When the alphabet reaches Z, the length of the prefix is increased to 2. So after TN-01 9999, the next number is TN-01 A 0001 and after TN-01 Z 9999 it is TN-01 AA 0001 and so on..

eg: PB 10 AM 4737, is a vehicle registered in Ludhiana, Punjab State. TN 09 AB 1237, is a vehicle registered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu State. MH 01 5678 , is a vehicle registered in Bombay, Maharashtra State. KA 05 EH 1254, is a vehicle registered in Bangalore, Karnataka State.

Indonesia

Main article: Indonesian car number plates

Current Indonesian license plates share the legacy of the Dutch colonial era. They do not reflect the current regional divisions of the country into provinces, but rather maintain the old system of Dutch Karesidenan regions or regencies. Their prefixes are therefore based on this system. Basically there are four types of plates are used in Indonesia which consists of a combination of alphabet and numbers. For commercial vehicles, the plate has a yellow background and black numbering. For private vehicles, a black background with white letters. For government vehicles, the plates are red with white fonts. Dealer plates are white with red letters. Besides these normal plates there are also military plates for Army, Navy, Air Force, and also the Police. While diplomatic corps get special white plates and black numbering with "CD" prefix. The normal scheme comprises a one or two letters identification for the regencies, followed by an up to four digit number to uniquely identify the vehicle, and the last one or two letters are the serial code or district identification. The expiry date of the licence is embossed along the bottom of the plate.

e.g.:

• B 1234 CD, is a vehicle registered in Jakarta (formerly Batavia) capital area, Tangerang District.
• L 123 MN, is a vehicle registered in Surabaya, provincial capital of East Java (Jawa Timur).
• KT 8910 T, is a vehicle registered in East Kalimantan Province, Tarakan municipality, on Borneo island.

All of the plates usually have their expiration dates shown on a bar above or below the serial numbers depicting the expired month and the year; or for temporary plates, the expiration date and month.

Japan

Main article: Japanese license plates

Japanese vehicle registration plates fall into two classes: Prefectural, used nationwide, and Municipal. Municipal registration is typically applicable to motor vehicles that will not leave the area, such as light motorcycles.

In the prefectural system, the top line names the office at which the vehicle is registered, and includes a numeric code that indicates the class of vehicle. The bottom contains one serial letter (typically a kana), and up to four digits. The classes of registration plate are divided by vehicle type and engine size. For private vehicles less than 660 cc, registration plates have black text on a yellow background. Above 660 cc, a white plate with green text is used. For commercial, non-private vehicles, the colours of the numberplate are inverted. An official seal is applied over one (typically the left) screw, preventing the plate being removed and applied to another car.

Municipal registration plates in Japan may vary in color and design.

Mexico

Each Mexican state issues license plates of a different design. Most states change designs more or less every third year, with each state on its own plate replacement cycle. Every year Mexicans pay the "tenencia" or "revalidación de placas." A set of Mexican plates includes one pair of plates, a windshield sticker, and in a few states a plate sticker. In 2001 the size of the plate number was reduced in order to accommodate the addition of the state number, legend indicating the position of the plate on the vehicle ("delantera" (front) or "trasera" (rear)), and additional graphics.

Mexican plates come in several different classification: Private, Private Fronteriza, Public, Public Frontera, Servicio Publico Federal, Inspeccion Fiscal y Aduanera, Armada de Mexico, and Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores. The Fronteriza plates were introduced in 1972 and are available in the Mexico-USA border zone. This zone is formed by the Baja California and Baja California Sur states, as well as parts of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas. While the state of Nuevo León shares a 15 km border with the U.S., it does not have any cities within the border zone.

Plate formats:



Private:

• Antique Automobile: AA-12 (AA-123 in Distrito Federal)
• Bus: 1-AAA-23
• Dealer: 1-AA-234
• Handicapped: 123-AA
• Motorcycle: A123A (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Estado de Mexico, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Zacatecas), A 123 A (Guanajuato), AAA12 - when overflows A123A allocation? (Durango, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacan, Quintana Roo, Yucatan), AAA 12 (Queretaro), or 1234 A (D.F.)
• Passenger: AAA-12-34 (123-AAA in D.F.)
• RV: 1-AA-2345
• Trailer: 1-AA-2345
• Truck: AA-12-345 (12-34-AA in D.F.)

Public:

• Bus: 123-456-A (123-45-67 in D.F., where '123' denotes the bus route number; 123-AA-456 in Estado de Mexico-D.F. joint Transporte Metropolitano issues, where 'AA' denotes the municipality)
• RV: A-123-456
• Taxi: 12-34-AAA (L-12345 for Taxis Libres and S-12345 for Taxis de Sitio in D.F.)
• Truck: 1-AAA-234

Private border zone:

• Antique Automobile: AA-12
• Bus: ZAA-1234
• Handicapped: 123-AA
• Passenger: 123-ABC-4 (BAA-00-00 in Baja California)
• Truck: ZAA-1234 (BA-12345 in B.C.)

Public border zone:

• Bus: 1234-Z AA
• Taxi: 1234-ZAA
• Truck: 1234-ZAA

Servicio Público Federal (SPF):

• Carga (purple plate): 123-AA-4
• Pasaje (orange plate): 123-AA-4
• Turismo (green plate): 123-AA-4
• Arrastre Fronterizo (tan plate): 123-AA-4
• Traslado (yellow/orange plate): 1234-AA
• Arrendamiento (blue plate)
• Discapacitados (burgundy plate)
• S.R.E. (blue plate with Aztec symbol)
• I.F.A. (white w/ dark blue letters)

Seguridad Publica (Local, State or Federal Police and related)

• Any Vehicle: 01-234 (all patrol vehicles, and official-use vehicles from the Judicial Branch of the Mexican Government)

Pakistan

Main article: Pakistani licence plates

Eight types of licence plates are used in Pakistan. Each province and territory issues its own number plate; the federal government issues number plates for foreign diplomats and vehicles owned by the military, police and federal departments (red for foreign diplomats and green for the federal government.) Sindh's number plates are yellow with black letters and numbers for private vehicles and Black number plates with white letters for commercial vehicles; Islamabad, NWFP, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Balochistan and Northern Areas have white number plates with black letters and numbers. The number plates also have the province or territory's name at the bottom. In Punjab however, number plates can be of any colour the vehicle owner chooses, but the first 2 letters represent the city the vehicle is registered in.

From January, 1 2007 Punjab has started issuing official number plates for all cars registered in Punjab. Number plates are of Green and White colour. The green part is the same all over Punjab and has a sign and 'Punjab' written on it, while the white part has the number of the vehicle.

For example:

• RIZ 3725, is a vehicle registered in Rawalpindi, Punjab.
• MNE 6762, is a vehicle registered in Multan, Punjab.

All number plates use the Latin alphabet.

People's Republic of China

Main article: Licence plates of the People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China issues vehicles licence plates at its Vehicle Management Offices, under the administration of the Ministry of Public Security.

The current plates are of the 1992 standard, which consist of the one-character provincial abbreviation, a letter of the Latin alphabet corresponding to a certain city in the province, and five numbers or letters of the alphabet (e.g. 京A-12345, for a vehicle in Beijing or 粤B-12345 for a vehicle from Shenzhen in Guangdong province). The numbers are produced at random, and are computer-generated at the issuing office. (A previous licence plate system, with a green background and the full name of the province in Chinese characters, actually had a sequential numbering order, and the numbering system was eventually beset with corruption).

Yellow plates are issued for large vehicles of Chinese nationality. Blue plates, the most common sort, are issued for vehicles of Chinese nationality, which are small or compact in size. Black plates are issued for vehicles belonging to foreigners and persons from Hong Kong and Macao. Please note this is the license plates for the car originated from Hong Kong or Macao and traveling in mainland China, which means the car has two sets of license plates, this one for use in mainland China, while the other one is the original Hong Kong/Macao license, which is totally different from this numbering system and colors. And it is not easy to get two licenses on the car unless the owner has significant investment in mainland China. For other Hong Kong / Macao cars which have just one license, they can only operate in Hong Kong or Macao respectively. The mainland Chinese plates of these cars follow the pattern of the provincial character for Guangdong (粤), the Latin letter "Z", 4 letters and/or numbers, ending in the abbreviated character for the territory (e.g. 粤Z-AE54港 for Hong Kong) (Black license plates are handed to vehicles of any size, as long as they are from one of the special administrative regions.)

Hong Kong license plates

Hong Kong local license plates follow British system of coloring, with front white and rear yellow plates. Numbering system is two letters and (up to) four digits, e.g. AB1234. License numbers start from "AM" are government cars. The front white and rear yellow background is a reflective material comply to BS AU145a standard.

In addition, Hong Kong started to have personalize license plates from 2006, with up to 8 selectable letters or numbers.

Macao license plates

Macao local license plates are black background with white numbers. Numbering system starts from M, and then one letter, and then 4 numbers, and separated by "-", e.g. MA-12-34. Earlier numbers will only have M instead of MA or MB or MC.... etc...

Russian Federation

Russian registration plates are divided to 5 types.

Main article: Russian car number plates

1. Civil plates - civil plates have white background with black numbers. The templates for number is "@###@@ | RR" where @ is one of the "ABCEHKMOPTXY" letters (Cyrillic letters that can be recognized by those familiar with the Latin alphabet, but actually correspond to AVSENKMORTHU), # is a digit and RR is a region number.
2. Government plates - government plates have white background with black numbers. The templates for number is "@###@@ | FL" wher FL is a tricolor flag of Russia.
3. Special forces plates
4. Diplomatic plates
5. Military plates.

Vanity and specialty plates

Main article: Vanity plate

In some countries, people can pay extra and get "vanity plates": licence plates with a custom number (character set). For example, a vanity license plate might read "MY TOY". Generally vanity plates are not allowed to have profane, offensive or obscene messages on them, and of course they must also be unique. (DMVs of states have sometimes received complaints of offensive vanity plates. [8]) Some U.S. states allow amateur radio operators to use their callsign for a lower fee than a regular vanity plate.^[1]

In the U.S., Canada and Australia, vehicle owners may also pay extra for specialty plates: with these, the sequence of letters and numbers is chosen by the licensing agency – as with regular plates – but the owners select a plate design that is different from the normal license plate. Fees for specialty plates are usually channeled to a specific charity or organization. For example, California has issued the "Yosemite plate" and "whale tail plate," both aimed at conservation efforts in the respective domains. Some jurisdictions allow for these special plates to also be vanity plates, usually for an additional fee on top of the cost of the plate.

In some Australian states, it is possible to purchase "personalised plates", where an individual can choose the colour, design, and sometimes even the shape and size of the plate, as well as the displayed text. For example, the government of the state of Queensland offers a wide range of possibilities for customisation.^[2] Another style of plate that is common in some states of Australia is "Euro Plates", which are the same size as European plates (rather than the narrower taller Australian plates) to fit on the numberplate holders in European cars.

The "Personal Plate" industry in the United Kingdom is huge, with a large number of private dealers acting as agents for DVLA issues as well as holding their own or communal stock. The official term for what is often incorrectly called a "personal", "personalised" or "private" plate is a "cherished mark", as the alphanumeric code on the plate is the "index mark" — that is, the "mark" assigned to the vehicle on the central registry or "index". UK registrations or indexes cannot be owned outright by individuals, even though they may appear to have been purchased. They are issued by Government agencies and can be recalled or cancelled at any time if misuse is suspected.

The main difference regarding "personal plates" between the UK and many other countries, is that drivers are not able to make, or request, their own. What is being traded is coincidences in the existing numbering system where the numbers and letters appear to spell something. E.g. M15 ERY looks like MISERY or J4 MES looks similar to JAMES. Often, illegal fonts or digit-spacings are used to enhance the appearance of the "word".

The current world record for a personal plate sale, held in the UK, is £330,000 for M 1, sold at auction in Goodwood on 7 June 2006 - News article.The buyer of the number plate is rumoured to have bought the plate for his six-year-old son. Some personal plates are listed on dealers' books for as much as £500,000 — a target that is expected to be reached before long, and should A 1 ever come up for sale, it is widely expected to sell for as much as £1 million.

The world record for the most expensive license plate is USD 6.8 million (25,200,000 AED). The license plate "5" was bought at an auction in Abu Dhabi conducted by Emirates Auction on May 12 2007. Gulf news

Novelty licence plates

There also exist novelty license plates often sold in gift or novelty shops. Similar to vanity plates, these novelties are printed with an individual's name, but unlike vanity plates they are not intended for legal identification of an automobile. They can be displayed in the rear window, for example, or on the front of vehicles registered in jurisdictions that only require a valid plate on the rear of the vehicle.

Novelty license plates are usually installed by motorists or automobile dealerships. While automobile dealerships may install such plates for promoting their business, motorists may install novelty license plates to express their brand preference or an affiliation with a group, state, country, sports/sport team, hobby, art, custom creation, etc. In the United States, 19 states do not require an official front license plate, these states being Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia; U.S. territories Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam also do not require an official front license plate. In Nevada, front plates are optional if the vehicle was not designed for a front plate and the manufacturer did not provide an add-on bracket or other means of displaying the front plate. [9] Antique auto collectors may use novelty replicas of period license plates to give their show cars a dated look, or import vehicle owners may use a novelty replica of a foreign plate to give it a foreign image. Some states allow "Year of Manufacture" registrations where an original, official plate expiring on the model year of an antique car is revalidated.

International codes

On the international level the licence plates of different countries are distinguished by a supplementary licence plate country code. This country designator is displayed in bold block uppercase on a small white oval plate or sticker on the rear of the vehicle near the number plate.

The allocation of codes is maintained by the United Nations as the Distinguishing Signs of Vehicles in International Traffic, being authorized by the UN's Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949) and Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (1968). Many, but far from all, vehicle codes created since the adoption of ISO 3166 coincide with either the ISO two or three letter codes.

For a full list of licence plate country codes, see List of international license plate codes.

Imitation international codes

In Canada and the United States, where the international oval is not used on vehicles from neighbouring countries, putting one on a car is purely a matter of personal discretion. This has given rise to a tourist-driven industry of imitation international code stickers. For example, the island of Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts has MV, while the Outer Banks region of North Carolina uses OBX. Long Beach Island, NJ uses "LBI," with the letter "I" substituted with an illustration of the island's lighthouse. The city of Key West, Florida, uses KW as part of its Conch Republic 'rebellion' from the U.S. Stickers of this sort are usually visibly different from any real international code sticker, but some places sell what could appear to be real stickers, touting that the abbreviation refers to their venue.

In the United Kingdom imitation international codes are sometimes seen for the various parts of the country. For example, in Scotland oval stickers with "Ecosse" or "Alba" (Scotland in French and Gaelic respectively) are occasionally seen on cars.

As art

Atlanta-born artist and former baseball player Michael Kalish uses license plates to make art. Kalish, in his thirties, makes popular sculptures and portraits from old license plates. His work includes portraits of celebrities made out of portions of license plates. Sometimes the numbers on the plates relate to some aspect of the person portrayed. One piece uses red, white, and blue license plate pieces to construct a stylized American flag. Kalish uses tin snips to shape plates into forms that are relevant to a particular work. Sometimes the color of the plate's original Scotchlite is used. In other cases, Kalish paints fabricated metal pieces. In at least some pieces, license plate fragments are attached to a substrate with sheet metal screws.

Some California Department of Motor Vehicles offices display dioramas of license plates in display cases on office walls. Many offices have one plate from each of the fifty states. Some car repair shops, auto dealers, restaurants, and people who like cars also hang collections of plates on their walls. Sometimes the license plate collections have a theme such as a Pacific Island themed restaurant having plates from Guam, Hawaii, and Japan. The Long Island, New York, Tex-Mex restaurant Poncho's is widely known for their extensive License Plate collection.

See also

• Antique vehicle registration
• Automobile Licence Plate Collectors Association
• Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR)
• List of international license plate codes
• Vehicle excise duty
• Vehicle identification number (VIN)

Car number plates by country Afghanistan Argentina Australia Austria Barbados Belgium Bulgaria People's Republic of China (mainland) Croatia Denmark European Union Finland France Germany Greece Hong Kong, China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Ireland Italy

Japan Korea, South Malaysia The Netherlands New Zealand Norway Pakistan The Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sweden Turkey United Kingdom U.S. and Canada U.S. Army in Germany

External links

• License Plates of the World
• Photographs taken by Olav Arne Brekke of license plates from around the world
• License Plate Mania

References