Vehicle registration codes in the world

The country in which a motor vehicle's vehicle registration plate was issued is indicated by an international licence plate country code, formerly known as an International Registration Letter or International Circulation Mark displayed in bold block uppercase on a small white oval plate or sticker near the number plate on the rear of a vehicle.

Contents

When the distinguishing sign is incorporated into the registration plate, it must also appear on the front registration 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 organization to which the country belongs.

The distinguishing sign should be displayed on the far left or far right of the registration plate. When a symbol, flag or emblem is also displayed, the distinguishing sign shall be placed on the far left of the plate.

International vehicle registration sticker

In the European Economic Area, vehicles from one member state do not need to display the oval while within another state, provided the number plate is in the common EU standard format introduced in the 1990s, which includes the international vehicle registration code on the plate.

Registration code on plate

In Switzerland, many cars have a oval sticker, because the license plate do not include the international vehicle registration code.

Registration sticker CH

Data in the table can be sorted in ascending/descending order by clicking on the column header.

Vehicle registration codes of the Europe

Europian vehicle registration codes
Code	Country	From	Previous Code	Notes
A	Austria	1911
ABH*	Abkhazia	2006
AL	Albania	1934
AM	Armenia	1992	SU	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
AND	Andorra	1957
AX*	Aland Islands	2002	SF	Official code - FIN
AZ	Azerbaijan	1993	SU	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
B	Belgium	1910
BG	Bulgaria	1910
BIH	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1992	SHS 1919–29 Y 1929–53 YU 1953–92	Formerly part of Kingdom of Yugoslavia, then part of the Yugoslavia
BY	Belarus	1992	SU	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
BZH*	Brittany			Region is located in the West of France
CAT*	Catalonia			An autonomous community in Spain on the northeastern corner of the Iberian Peninsula
CD*	diplomatic and consular corps
CH	Switzerland	1911		Confoederatio Helvetica
CY	Cyprus	1932
CYM*	Wales	1932		Cymru
CZ	Czech Republic	1993	CS	Formerly part of the Czechoslovakia
D	Germany	1910		Deutschland
DK	Denmark	1914
E	Spain	1910		España
EH*	French Basque Country			Region lying on the west of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
ENG*	England
EST	Estonia	1993	EW 1919–1940 & 1991–1993 SU 1940–1991	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
F	France	1910
FIN	Finland	1993	SF	Suomi Finland
FL	Liechtenstein	1923		Fürstentum Liechtenstein
FO	Faroe Islands	1996	FR 1976–1996	Føroyar
GBA	Alderney	1924		Great Britain – Alderney
GBG	Guernsey	1924		Great Britain – Guernsey
GBJ	Jersey	1924		Great Britain – Jersey
GBM	Isle of Man	1932		Great Britain – Man
GBZ	Gibraltar	1924		Great Britain – Gibraltar (Z was assigned because G was already used for Guernsey)
GE	Georgia	1992	SU	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
GEO	Georgia	1992	SU	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
GR	Greece	1913
H	Hungary	1910
HR	Croatia	1992	SHS 1919–1929 Y 1929–1953 YU 1953–1992	Hrvatska. Formerly part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca – Croatian), then part of Yugoslavia.
I	Italy	1919
IRL	Ireland	1962	GB − 1910 SE − 1924 EIR − 1938	Formerly a part of the United Kingdom and formerly Saorstát Éireann (1922—1937). Used with the official code EIR
IS	Iceland	1936
KN*	Greenland	1910	GRO	Kalaallit Nunaat. The official code is DK
L	Luxembourg	1911
LT	Lithuania	1992	SU 1940–1991	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
LV	Latvia	1992	LR 1927–1940 SU 1940–1991	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
M	Malta	1966	GBY 1924–66
MC	Monaco	1910
MD	Moldova	1992	SU − 1991	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
NMK	North Macedonia	2019	YU − 1992 MK - 2019	Formerly part of the Yugoslavia. From 1992 to 2019 Macedonia.
MNE	Montenegro	2006	MN 1913–1919 SHS 1919–1929 Y 1929–1953 YU 1953–2003 SCG 2003–2006	Independent nation until 1918. After that, part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca – Serbo-Croatian), then part of Yugoslavia and then Serbia and Montenegro (Srbija i Crna Gora – Serbian). Independence restored in 2006.
N	Norway	1922
NIR*	Northern Ireland
NL	Netherlands	1910
P	Portugal	1910
PL	Poland	1921
PMR*	Transnistria	1990
RKS	Kosovo	2010	KS
RO	Romania	1981	R 1930–1981
RSM	San Marino	1932
RSO*	South Ossetia
RUS	Russia	1992	R 1910–1917 SU 1917–1992
S	Sweden	1911
SCO*	Scotland
SCV*	Vatican City
SK	Slovakia	1993	CS 1919–1939 & 1945–1992 SQ 1939–1945	Formerly part of the Czechoslovakia
SLO	Slovenia	1992	SHS 1919–1929 Y 1929–1953 YU 1953–1992	Formerly part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca – Croatian), then part of Yugoslavia.
SMOM	Scotland			Sovereign Military Order of Malta
SRB	Serbia	2006	SB – 1919 SHS 1919–1929 Y 1929–1953 YU 1953–2003 SCG 2003–2006	Formerly part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca – Serbo-Croatian). Then part of Yugoslavia. Then Serbia and Montenegro (Srbija i Crna Gora – Serbian)
TR	Turkey	1923
UA	Ukraine	1992	SU	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
V	Vatican City	1931		CV (Città del Vaticano) is used as a prefix on the licence plate number itself
VL*	Flanders	1923		The Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium.
UK	United Kingdom	2021	GB (1910–2021)	From the 28 September 2021 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will change its International vehicle registration code from 'GB' to 'UK'. This will not affect territories for which the United Kingdom controls international relations outside of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

* - unofficial code

Vehicle registration codes of the America

American vehicle registration codes
Code	Country	From	Previous Code	Notes
AG*	Antigua and Barbuda
ARU*	Aruba
AXA*	Anguilla
BDS	Barbados	1955
BH	Belize	1938		Former British Honduras.
BOL	Bolivia	1967
BR	Brazil	1930
BS	Bahamas	1950
BVI	British Virgin Islands	1910
CU	Cuba	1930
CND	Canada	1956	CA
CO	Colombia	1952
CR	Costa Rica	1956
DOM	Dominican Republic	1952
EC	Ecuador	1962	EQ
ES	El Salvador	1978
GCA	Guatemala	1956
GUY	Guyana	1972	BRG	Formerly British Guiana
HN*	Guyana	2018
JA	Jamaica	1932
KAN*	Saint Kitts and Nevis
MEX	Mexico	1952
NA	Netherlands Antilles	1957
NIC	Nicaragua	1952
PA	Panama	1952
PE	Peru	1937
PR*	Puerto Rico
PY	Paraguay	1952
RA	Argentina	1927		República Argentina
RCH	Chile	1930
RH	Haiti	1952
SME	Suriname	1936
TT	Trinidad and Tobago	1964	TD
USA	United States	1952	US
UY	Uruguay	2012	U 1930-1979 ROU 1979-2012
WD	Dominica	1954
WG	Grenada	1932
WL	Saint Lucia	1932
WV	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1932
YV	Venezuela	1962

* - unofficial code

Vehicle registration codes of the Asia

Asian vehicle registration codes
Code	Country	From	Previous Code	Notes
AFG	Afghanistan	1971
BD	Bangladesh	1978	PAK	Formerly East Pakistan
BRN	Bahrain	1954
BRU	Brunei	1956
BRU	Brunei	1956
BT	Bhutan		BHT
CL	Sri Lanka	1961		Formerly Ceylon
CN*	China
HK*	Hong Kong	1932		Hong Kong
HKJ	Jordan	1966	JOR	Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
IL	Israel	1952
IND	India	1947	BI 1930-1947	Former British India
IR	Iran	1936	PR 1930-1936	Former Persia
IRQ	Iraq	1930
J	Japan	1964
KH	Cambodia	1956	F до 1949 K 1976–1989	Formerly a territory of France. Known as Kampuchea 1976–89.
KG	Kyrgyzstan	2016	SU − 1991 KS 1991-2016	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
KGZ*	Kyrgyzstan	1992	SU − 1991 KS 1991-2016	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
KP*	North Korea
KSA	Saudi Arabia	1973	SA	Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
KWT	Kuwait	1954
KZ	Kazakhstan	1992	SU − 1991	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
LAO	Laos	1959
MAL	Malaysia	1972	PRK – 1957 FM 1954-1957 PTM 1957–1972	Formerly Perak, then Federated Malay States, then Persekutuan Tanah Melayu (Malay)
MGL	Mongolia	2002
MV*	Maldives
MYA	Myanmar	1989	BUR 1956-1989
NEP	Nepal	1970
OM	Oman
PK	Pakistan	1947
PS*	Palestine
Q	Qatar	1972
RC	Taiwan	1932
RI	Indonesia	1955
RL	Lebanon	1952
ROK	South Korea	1971
RP	Philippines	1973	PI
SGP	Singapore	1952
SYR	Syria	1952
T	Thailand	1955	SM
TJ	Tajikistan	1992	SU − 1991	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
TL*	East Timor		P, RI	Timor-Leste
TM	Turkmenistan	1992	SU − 1991, TMN	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
UAE	United Arab Emirates	1971
UZ	Uzbekistan	1992	SU − 1991	Formerly part of the Soviet Union
VN	Vietnam	1953
YEM	Yemen	1990	YAR 1960-1990

* - unofficial code

Vehicle registration codes of the Africa

African vehicle registration codes
Code	Country	From	Previous Code	Notes
ANG	Angola	1975	PAN 1932—1957 P 1957—1975
BF	Burkina Faso	1990
BW	Botswana	2003	BP 1967-2003
CAM	Cameroon	1952
ZRE	Democratic Republic of the Congo	1997	CB, RCL, CGO, ZR
CI	Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)	1961
COM	Comoros
CV*	Cabo Verde	1975	P
DJI*	Djibouti		F
DY	Benin	1910	F	Dahomey (name until 1975)
DZ	Algeria	1962	F − 1911
EAK	Kenya	1938		East Africa Kenya
EAT	Tanzania	1938		East Africa Tanzania
EAU	Uganda	1938		East Africa Uganda
EAZ	Zanzibar	1964		East Africa Zanzibar
ER	Eritrea	1993	AOI	Africa Orientale Italiana (Italian)
EG	Egypt	2024	ET 1927-2024
ETH	Ethiopia	1964	AOI − 1941	Africa Orientale Italiana
G	Gabon	1974	ALEF − 1960	Afrique Équatoriale Française
GH	Ghana	1959	WAC − 1957	West Africa Gold Coast
GQ*	Equatorial Guinea			Guinée Équatoriale
LAR	Libya	1972	I − 1949, LT	Libyan Arab Republic
LB	Liberia	1967
LS	Lesotho	1967	BL
MA	Morocco	1924
MOС	Mozambique	1975	MOC 1932–1956 P 1957–1975	Formerly part of Portugal. Moçambique (Portuguese)
MS	Mauritius	1938
MW	Malawi	1965	EA 1932–1938 NP – 1938–1970 RNY option 1960–1965
NAM	Namibia	1990	SWA	Formerly South West Africa
RCA	Central African Republic	1962
RCB	Republic of the Congo	1962
RG	Guinea	1972
RIM	Mauritania	1964
RM	Madagascar	1962
RMM	Mali	1962	AOF − 1960	République du Mali. Formerly part of French West Africa (Afrique Occidentale Française).
RN	Niger	1975	AOF − 1960	République du Niger' Formerly part of French West Africa(Afrique Occidentale Française).
RU	Burundi	1962		Ruanda-Urundi
RWA	Rwanda	1964	RU − 1962	Ruanda-Urundi
SD	Eswatini	1935		Formerly Swaziland − 2018
SN	Senegal	1962
STP*	Sao Tome and Principe	1975	P	São Tomé and Príncipe
SUD	Sudan	1963
SY	Seychelles	1938
TCH	Chad	1973
TG	Togo	1962
TN	Tunisia	1957	F − 1956
WAG	Gambia	1932		West Africa Gambia
WAL	Sierra Leone	1937		West Africa Sierra Leone
WAN	Nigeria	1937		West Africa Nigeria
WSA*	Western Sahara	1932		Western Sahara
Z	Zambia	1964	RNR - 1964	Formerly Northern Rhodesia. "ZM" is used on current driving licences.
ZA	South Africa	1936		Zuid-Afrika
ZW	Zimbabwe	1980	SR - 1965 RSR - 1980	Formerly Southern Rhodesia until 1965, then Rhodesia

* - unofficial code

Vehicle registration codes of Australia and Oceania

Oceanian vehicle registration codes
Code	Country	From	Notes
ARK*	Antarctica
AUS	Australia	1954
FJI	Fiji	1971
FSM*	Federated States of Micronesia		Federated States of Micronesia
KIR*	Kiribati
MH*	Marshall Islands		Marshall Islands
NAU	Nauru	1968
NC*	New Caledonia	1968	Nouvelle-Calédonie
NZ	New Zealand	1958
PAL*	Palau
PNG	Papua New Guinea	1978
SOL*	Solomon Islands
TO	Tonga	1995
TUV*	Tuvalu
VU*	Vanuatu
WS	Samoa	1962

* - unofficial code

Codes no longer in use

Vehicle registration codes no longer in use
Code	Country	From	Previous Code	Notes
GB	United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)	2021	UK	1910-2021
ADN	Aden	1980	Y	1938-1967 South Yemen 1967-1980 People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
AEF	French Equatorial Africa	1960	G, TCH
AOF	French West Africa	1962	DY, RMM, RN
AOI	Italian East Africa	1964	ER, ETH
BA	Burma	1956	BUR
BP	Bechuanaland Protectorate	1966	BW
CS	Czechoslovakia	1992	CZ, SK
DA	Free City of Danzig	1939	D (1939–1945) PL (1945-...)	1919-1939
DDR	German Democratic Republic	1990	D	1974-1990 Deutsche Demokratische Republik
GBY	Malta	1966	M
EW	Estonia	1940	SU	1919-1940
LR	Latvia	1940	SU	1927-1940
PR	Persia	1936	IR	1930-1936
R	Russian Empire	1917	SU	1910-1917
RSR	Southern Rhodesia	1917	SU	1910-1917
SA	Saar	1956	D	1926–1935, 1947–1956
SHS	Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes	1929	Y	1919–1929
SM	Siam	1939	T	1930–1939
SU	Soviet Union (USSR)	1991	EST, LT, LV, BY, MD, UA, TJ, TM, GE, KZ, UZ, KS, AZ, AM, RUS	1917-1991
TS	Free Territory of Trieste	1954	I
Y	Yugoslavia	1953	YU	1929-1953
YU	Yugoslavia	2003	BIH, HR, MK, MNE, SLO, SRB	1953–2003
HV	Upper Volta	1984	BF	now Burkina Faso
MK	Macedonia	2019	NMK	Became North Macedonia

* - unofficial code