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A vehicle registration plate, usually called license plate or number plate (often referred to simply as a plate, or colloquially tag) is a small metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. On many vehicles, they appear in pairs, with one attached to the front and another attached to the rear, although certain jurisdictions and/or vehicle types only require one plate, usually the rear. The plate has a serial number or other alphanumeric number on it which is specific for the vehicle; all plates attached to that vehicle display this number. This number, when coupled with other information on the plates (such as the color scheme, name of the issuing jurisdiction, and/or the type of vehicle) is unique to the vehicle and identifies it in government databases by make, model, year, VIN, and the name and address of the vehicle's registered owner. The unique nature of each set of license plates also makes them useful for vehicle indentification by other entities, such as automobile insurance companies, service stations, parking facilities, and within fleets. In certain jurisdictions, having a current license plate can also be evidence of a vehicle being licensed for use on a public highway, or of a tax having been paid in connection with the vehicle. In some jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, where they are known as number plates, one set of plates usually remains with a vehicle from its initial sale through its ultimate demise, as the information displayed on the plates is static throughout the vehicle's life. In others, such as some U.S. states, where they are known as license plates, they are required to be changed periodically (though, 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 and the buyer must either obtain new plates from his jurisdiction of residence, or attach plates that he already holds from that jurisdiction, as well as formally registering the vehicle, under his name and the plate number, with the appropriate authorities. If the person who sold the car then purchases a new car, he can apply to have his old plates put onto this car. Otherwise, depending on the local laws involved, he must turn them in, destroy them, or simply keep them if he wishes. 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 center or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized and specialty frames to replace the original frames. In some U.S. states, license plate frames are illegal. Plates are usually 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 number. Although perhaps useful to those avoiding detection from police, these covers are not legal in the entire U.S. and their use is discouraged in other countries. In most countries, license plates are issued by an agency of the national government, except in Canada, Mexico, Australia, Germany, Pakistan, and the United States, where they are issued by provincial, territorial, or state governments. 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. USA and Canada
Europe 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 requires vehicles to display small white number plates with red lettering. Italy, on the other hand, requires smaller plates to be attached to the front of a vehicle, while the rear number plate complies to the usual EU format. The common design consists of a blue strip on the left of the plate. This blue strip has the EU motif (12 yellow stars), along with the country code of the member state in which the vehicle was registered. Lettering on the number plate must be black on a white or yellow reflective background. With this EU format, vehicles do not require international code stickers for travelling between member states. The non-EU state of Switzerland also recognises the blue strip instead of a white oval. 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. Image:FrenchNumberPlates CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg|Car registration plates from France, as observed 2004. Image:Plate-KA-PA777.JPG|current car registration plate from Germany. Image:BritishNumberPlates CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg|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. Image:Swedish licenseplate.jpg|Car registration plate from Sweden Image:ManxCarRegistrationPlate.jpg|Manx (not in the EU) car registration plate Image:Pltableseries2006.jpg|Polish plates. New with EU stars and old issued shortly before EU membership. Image:LTplate.JPG|Lithuanian plate issued shortly before EU membership. The same format is still used, except with the EU logo instead of the country flag. Image:Dk-number-plate.jpg|Danish plate issued in 1998 (also showing the country sticker). Image:CZ plate euro.jpg|Czech plate Image:NL license plate.jpg| Dutch car number plate Image:AndorraVehicleRegPlate.jpg|A plate from Andorra. Image:FE-Buchstaben.png|Fälschungserschwerende Schrift, used on German plates to hinder falsification. Note that normally similar glyphs (e.g. O and Q) are distinct in shape. Peoples 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. These plates 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 licence plates are handed to vehicles of any size, as long as they are from one of the special administrative regions.) Pakistan 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; 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. For example: All number plates use the Latin alphabet. India
Indonesia
Japan
Russian Federation
Brazil (Federative Republic of Brazil) 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). The size of the Brazilian licence plates is 380 x 130 mm (15" x 5" approx.) but plates can be made in Japanese or European size. Brazilian license plates use colors to show their type, and front and rear plates use the same color: The letters of the plate can describe its state of origin. Vehicles can be relocated from one state to another, but their plate's combination will show the origin: Mexico In Mexico, license plates have a different design for each state. They change more or less each 3 years (it varies from state to state), but 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 2002 the size of the plate number was reduced, in order to accommodate the addition of the state number, position plate ("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 Leon shares a 15 km border with the US, it does not have any cities within the border zone. MEXICAN PLATE FORMATS: WHITE PLATES (Private) ORANGE PLATES (Public) YELLOW PLATES (Private Frontier) RED PLATES (Public Frontier) Servicio Publico Federal (SPF) Seguridad Publica (Local, State or Federal Police and related) Australia 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), typically aaa·nnn as in Victoria or New South Wales. More recently as these series have reached the end of their lives, different States 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: 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. Vanity and specialty plates
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 install novelty license plates for promoting their business, motorists (auto enthusiasts) install novelty license plates to express their brand preference (like a Ford logo license plate), 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. Antique auto collectors use novelty replicas of period license plates to give their show cars a dated look. Entire websites have been established to market these plates. 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. 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. 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, Hawai'i, and Japan. See also | |||||||||||||||||||
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