European number plates: codes, letters and look

Publié par Eplaque - 4 min de lecture ⏳

Le 26/01/2023 - Mis à jour le 17/10/2023

Are you wondering what a MK European number plate is? FIN? EST? All those letters have, of course, a meaning. Not only we will cover all the European number plate codes and letters. But also, find out about the visual aspect of all those car plates. With this resource, identifying all European number plates will be as easy as 1, 2,3 when driving in France!

How to read European number plate codes?

On some car plates, flags can help us identify the country of origin of a vehicle. But it’s far from always being the case! Indeed, EU license plates display the EC stars. In that case, we must rely on European number plate letters to understand where a car is registered. Here is the full list of the car plates codes in the European union:

A: Austria
B: Belgium
BG : Bulgaria
CY : Cyprus
CZ: Czech Republic
D: Germany (Deutschland)
DK: Denmark number plate
E: Spain
EST: Estonia
F: France
FIN: Finland
GB: Great Britain (prior Brexit, now UK)
GR: Greece
H: Hungary
HR: Croatia (Hrvatska)
I: Italy
IRL: Ireland
L: Luxembourg
LT: Lithuania
LV: Latvia
M : Malta
NL: Netherlands ou Nederland
P : Portugal
PL: Poland
RO: Romania
S: Sweden
SK: Slovakia
SLO: Slovenia

European car number plate country codes (outside UE)

Here are now all the missing European car license plate codes related to non EU countries that are part of the geographical Europe:

AL: Albania
AM: Armenia
AZ: Azerbaijan
AND: Andorra
BIH: Bosnia and Herzegovina
BY: Belarus
FO: Faroe Islands
GEO: Georgia
FL: Liechtenstein
MC: Monaco
MD: Moldova
MNE: Montenegro
N: Norway
NMK: North Macedonia
TR: Turkey
IS: Iceland
CH: Switzerland
RKS: Kosovo
RSM: San Marino
RUS: Russia
SRB : Serbia
UA: Ukraine
UK: license plate from the United Kingdom

Characteristics of European license plates, how do they look like?

From the Portugal plate to Kazakhstan via Andorra, Iceland, Lithuania or Hungary, we can see how they look like thanks to the map above. This particularly concise overview allows to draw lessons regarding the appearance of number plates in Europe. As we can see, white backgrounds largely predominate. Some countries and territories use yellow plates, including Great Britain, Luxembourg or Gibraltar. Black is rare, it is used by the Channel Islands and Liechtenstein (white characters).

European Union plates largely follow the French model, if we ignore the French right stripe that is shared with Italy:

Left stripe: blue with the EU stars + European number plate country code (see liste above)
Plate number

A territorial identifier sometimes separates the registration number (Croatia, Austria…), sometimes it is placed on the far right, as for the registration plate of France or Italy. It is noteworthy to mention that the blue “euroband” is compulsory on the left for the countries of the European Union. Some countries, apparently eager to join the Union, have already added it, for example Serbia.

Among the atypical plates, we note the Belgian license plate, which sports a red edge and red characters. The country is the only one to use red in Europe. Blue is used by 3 territories: Aland (autonomous Finnish archipelago), Monaco and San Marino.

The design of those plates can be altered in case of special series. For example, official number plates or personalised license plate.

The shortest and longest license plates in Europe

As far as the number plate with the shortest number is concerned, Monaco wins the competition with a 4-character code. This is better than the Vatican, whose plates are made up of at least 7 characters (CV + 5 digits for individuals). The longest car number plates are from Ireland (9 characters).

FAQ European number plate codes

What is an MK European number plate?

MK was the Makedonia code. Since the renaming of the country to North Makedonia, the code is now NMK.

What European number plate is E?

Spain.

How to perform a European number plate check?

There is no integrated system to check a number plate at European level at this point. One should check the available tools and resources in the country of origin to check a car by number plate.

What European country has yellow license plates?

UK, Luxembourg, Netherlands and small British Overseas Territories, such as Gibraltar have yellow number plates as standard colour.

How do European license plates work?

There is no European license plates as such. Each country has its own system. They just shared some layout similarities, such as the size and the presence of a blue strip on the left side.

What is B on a European number plate?

It means the vehicle is registered in Belgium.

CY European number plate?

It means Cyprus.

D on European number plate?

It is a German license plate.

HR European number plate?

The country related to HR is Croatia.

S European license plate?

S is for Sweden.

TR European number plate

TR is Turkey or Türkiye.

A European license plate?

A is for Austria.

Une question ?

Nous vous répondrons dans les meilleurs délais.

Les questions des utilisateurs

Grove

22 octobre 2024

Looking to find the origins of a truck / cross land vehicle that struck a friends car. No country of flag markings on the plate; AR 38116
07867680490

22 octobre 2024

i need to know the if this registration is still avalalable it is a lorry in poland wai 965g
Bill

9 octobre 2024

8632 ZW 14 Where does it come from ?

Eplaque

10 octobre 2024

This is and "old" French number plate. This numbering has been replaced by the actual system in 2009. "14" at the end corresponds to the department where the owner lives, Calvados.

Jason

2 octobre 2024

I am buying an imported car the plate is 5476 MSM. Where did it originate from?

Eplaque

3 octobre 2024

Looks like it comes from Spain.

Medina

12 septembre 2024

where does number plate MP 379 A come from?

Eplaque

13 septembre 2024

Hard to say without further details, but it could be a French plates for motorcycle.
Medina

13 septembre 2024

Hello, that number plate i from a car, not a motorcycle. Is it maybe from east europe?

Eplaque

16 septembre 2024

We don't see anything that matches that pattern, at least for regular registrations.

David

5 septembre 2024

I have number plate PC59641. Black characters on a white background. On the back is a small stamped number 880131 and on the front there is a small stamped code V88. Plate measures 49 cm long and 11 cm wide. Thanks for your help.

Eplaque

5 septembre 2024

All right, but what do you want to know?

Brian Hill

4 août 2024

hi, looking to identify reg number GC 9859 - P on an imported BMW motorcycle in the 80's
Martin

3 août 2024

What country would VIE04170 be from Year would be 1991 Many thanks Martin.

Eplaque

5 août 2024

This number plate structure is quite unusual, we have no idea where it could come from.

Angela

29 juillet 2024

Reg plate P 7472 BD K saw in Ireland cannot verify country

Eplaque

30 juillet 2024

We're sorry, but we have no idea what it could be.

Rob Knut

26 juillet 2024

Hello I saw a number plate today in France... PE No numbers, just PE as the number plate! Which country do you think that could be please?

Eplaque

29 juillet 2024

It's impossible to say, the best clue would be the country identifier on the left of the plate. Many countries have personalized number plates. If it's red on white, it's from Belgium.

MIKE W

30 juin 2024

where does number plate ER-89-ZF come from? or it could be FR-89-ZF

Eplaque

1 juillet 2024

If it's a yellow number plate, must be from the Netherlands.

Jim

26 juin 2024

S UQ. next to it why?

Eplaque

27 juin 2024

Sorry we don't get it, could you be more specific?

Ricky M.

23 juin 2024

Hello: I have a yellow plate with black letters, starting with GN-----GN-88-62. I found it randomly and have no idea of the counbtry.

Eplaque

24 juin 2024

This is most probably a Dutch plate.

Craig Johnson

14 juin 2024

Do you know what nation issued plate number 3222 WF 31? Base - black with red border 0.5 cm wide and white letters on aluminum metal. Size is 51 cm x 11 cm. I assume it is not a passenger plate. It seems similar to a dealer plate from France. But it has a red border. Thanks for your help.

Eplaque

17 juin 2024

It doesn't ring a bell, sorry.

Theri

31 mai 2024

What is a KA license plate?

Eplaque

3 juin 2024

No country uses "KA", see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_vehicle_registration_code

Vlad

17 mai 2024

LNR DNR car numbers?? ... In the picture, you show two car license plates on the right of a Ukrainian plate. They belong to a terrorist state. Do you support terrorism, people killing, war, and all this crap? Seriously?

Eplaque

20 mai 2024

We are sorry if you felt offended. This is an apolitical map of plates that exist in Europe, its sole purpose is to help people identify the origin of the car. We don't support invasions and conflicts.

Nick

14 mai 2024

Where abouts is the registration number SZ 129138 from?

Eplaque

15 mai 2024

It's a plate from Switzerland, more specifically from Schwyz (SZ).

George

5 mai 2024

Where abouts is the registration number ROWHA68 from on a motorcycle

Eplaque

6 mai 2024

Looks like a vanity plate, which makes it very hard to know the country without seeing it.

R Petru

25 avril 2024

What country is this plate from? xxx It is an emergency because I think there is ahigh chance that someone is in danger, in relation tot this car. Thank you for your help.

Eplaque

25 avril 2024

It doesn't ring a bell. If the T was a 1, it would match a Belgian plate structure. Looking at the country code in the blue strip would help identify the country more easily.

Brenda

27 mars 2024

I have a photo from 1984 that I am trying to figure out which European country this is in. It was the last trip my mother took before she died, covering 19 countries. It is a dark blue plate with white lettering, St and 6 numbers.

Eplaque

28 mars 2024

Could you upload the picture somewhere and send us the link (we won't publish it)?

Filipe Estevens Correia

20 mars 2024

Hello! any ideia of the country of origin of: R257 LWO

Eplaque

21 mars 2024

It's a British license plate, online tools even give us info about it, like it didn't pay tax and doesn't have MOT :) : https://www.checkcardetails.co.uk/cardetails/R257%20LWO

Jessica

8 mars 2024

What is the European number plate rd

Eplaque

11 mars 2024

RD is not related to any country, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_vehicle_registration_code
Louis

16 avril 2024

Where’s the location of « UL »v

Steven M. Barnett

26 février 2024

VS-DX 914 any idea the country?

Eplaque

27 février 2024

No, sorry.

Deb

23 février 2024

8803 TY 30 1960s euro license plate from?

Eplaque

23 février 2024

This could be a French plate, more specifically registered in the Gard department.

Magnus

12 janvier 2024

Saw a vehicle with a license plate W-538-LV in Sweden, where would this car be registered? It was a test vehicle, perhaps they have special plates?

Eplaque

15 janvier 2024

It could actually be a French plate, although if it was the case it would illegally drive there, since W plates are dealer plates that can only be used in France. Swedish test or dealer plates are green.

Ladd L Wikstrom

8 janvier 2024

What country is license plate LJ with blue shield then X1-809

Eplaque

8 janvier 2024

LJ is not a country code, so no idea. Could be Slovenian (LJ for Ljubljana), but apparently they don't have standard blue plates (only for police, starts with P).

Nick

31 décembre 2023

Hi, on the picture what is the plate above gb please?

Eplaque

2 janvier 2024

Those are from the Isle of Man.

jamice

16 octobre 2023

what does N on the liscense plate mean

Eplaque

17 octobre 2023

N denotes Norway.

D

12 octobre 2023

We saw a car that had a OX As the country (left) of their plate it wqs blue & white like the reste of Europe. Which country is it THANK YOU

Eplaque

13 octobre 2023

OX doesn't correspond to anything, it must me someone who personalized this area. Which is not legal.

Tanisha Herrington

11 octobre 2023

What does SFA with a blue strip on the left represent?

Eplaque

11 octobre 2023

SFA doesn't match any official country ISO code.

KARISHMA SHARMA

28 septembre 2023

Could you please identify the following number plate XXXX?

Eplaque

29 septembre 2023

As explained in the article, we do not have the authority to disclose such information; only law enforcement agencies can do so.

Lee

15 septembre 2023

Can you identify the following number plate VI723652?

Eplaque

18 septembre 2023

At first I thought it's a Swiss plate, but since there is no VI canton and no special serial starting with VI, it cannot be. There is no other European standard plate format with 2 letters and 6 digits.

Dan Goldstein

6 août 2023

Liechtenstein is FL, not LI. Was there last summer.

Eplaque

7 août 2023

You are right, although their 2 letter ISO code is LI, they use FL on license plates. We have corrected that entry, thanks.

FERGUSON Charles

28 juillet 2023

Je viens de trouver une vieille plaque que je voudrais identifier. Elle est émaillée noire avec un K rouge et les chiffres 144-284 en blanc. Pouvez-vous me dire d'où elle vient, et quel âge elle a? Merci d'avance.

Eplaque

31 juillet 2023

Nous l'ignorons, désolé.
Y980577

5 janvier 2024

Where is this plate from y980577

Eplaque

8 janvier 2024

Doesn't look like a standard European plate, maybe a special issuance or non EU.

Andrey

27 juillet 2023

Montenegro's code is "MNE".

Eplaque

28 juillet 2023

You're right, it's corrected!

Maria de la Torre

21 juillet 2023

Your English entry for the Ukraine is incorrect. It should be UA and not AU.

Eplaque

21 juillet 2023

You are right, it's now corrected. Thanks for the notification.

Maria

17 juillet 2023

Serbia/SRB seems to be missing from the list.

Eplaque

17 juillet 2023

Yep you are right, we have added it. Thanks for the notification!