Europe Vehicle Registration Codes
The country in which a motor vehicle's vehicle registration plate was issued may be indicated by an international licence plate country code, formerly known as an International Registration Letter or International Circulation Mark. It is referred to as the Distinguishing sign of the State of registration in the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic of 1949 and the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968.
The allocation of codes is maintained by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe as the Distinguishing Signs Used on Vehicles in International Traffic (sometimes abbreviated to DSIT), authorised by the UN's Geneva Convention on Road Traffic and the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Many vehicle codes created since the adoption of ISO 3166 coincide with ISO two- or three-letter codes. The 2004 South-East Asian Agreement ... for the Facilitation of Cross-Border Transport of Goods and People uses a mixture of ISO and DSIT codes: Myanmar uses MYA, China CHN, and Cambodia KH (ISO codes), Thailand uses T (DSIT code), Laos LAO, and Vietnam VN (coincident ISO and DSIT codes).
The Geneva Convention on Road Traffic entered into force on 26 March 1952. One of the main benefits of the convention for motorists is the obligation on signatory countries to recognize the legality of vehicles from other signatory countries. When driving in other signatory countries, the distinguishing sign of the country of registration must be displayed on the rear of the vehicle. This sign must be placed separately from the registration plate and may not be incorporated into the vehicle registration plate.
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Current Code(s) | Country | From | Previous Code(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
A | Austria | 1911 | - | Austria (Latin, English, ...) vs. Österreich (German); 1939-1945? |
ABH* | Abkhazia | 2006 | - | - |
AL | Albania | 1934 | - | - |
AM | Armenia | 1992 | SU | Formerly part of the Soviet Union |
AND | Andorra | 1957 | - | - |
AX | Åland Islands | 2002 | SF | Official code - FIN |
B | Belgium | 1910 | - | - |
BG | Bulgaria | 1910 | - | - |
BIH | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1992 | YU | Bosna i Hercegovina. Formerly part of Yugoslavia. |
BY | Belarus | 1992 (2004) | SU | Byelorussia; formerly part of the Soviet Union. The UN was officially notified of the change from SU to BY only in 2004. |
BZH* | Brittany | - | - | Region 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 | - | Confœderatio Helvetica (Latin) |
CY | Cyprus | 1932 | - | - |
CYM* | Wales | 1932 | - | Cymru |
CZ | Czech Republic | 1993 | CS | Formerly Československo (Czechoslovakia) |
D | Germany | 1910 | - | Deutschland (German); also used until 1974 by East Germany, which then used DDR until German reunification in 1990 |
DK | Denmark | 1914 | - | - |
E | Spain | 1910 | - | España (Spanish) |
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 | Eesti Vabariik (Estonian; old style Eesti Wabariik) |
F | France | 1910 | - | - |
FIN | Finland | 1993 | SF | Suomi / Finland (Finnish/Swedish) |
FL | Liechtenstein | 1923 | - | Fürstentum Liechtenstein (German, Principality of Liechtenstein) |
FO | Faroe Islands | 1996 | - | Føroyar |
GBA | Alderney | 1924 | - | United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland – Alderney |
GBG | Guernsey | 1924 | - | United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland – Guernsey |
GBJ | Jersey | 1924 | - | United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland – Jersey |
GBM | Isle of Man | 1932 | - | United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland – Isle of Man |
GBZ | Gibraltar | 1924 | - | United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland – Gibraltar (Z was assigned because G was already used for Guernsey) |
GE | Georgia | 1992 | SU | Formerly part of the Soviet Union. Older licence plates use "GEO" instead of "GE". Also used illegally by Equatorial-Guinea (Guinea Ecuatorial). |
GR | Greece | 1913 | - | - |
H | Hungary | 1910 | - | - |
HR | Croatia | 1992 | SHS 1919–29, Y 1929–53, YU 1953–92 | Hrvatska (Croatian). Formerly part of Yugoslavia. Immediately after Croatia's declaration of independence in 1991, it was common to see unofficial oval stickers with the letters "CRO". Despite the initial anticipation that Croatia's international vehicle registration code would be "CRO", Croatia opted for "HR" (Hrvatska) instead. SHS was for the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca). |
I | Italy | 1910 | - | - |
IRL | Ireland | 1992 | GB − 1910, SE − 1924, EIR − 1938, EIR/IRL − 1962 | - |
IS | Iceland | 1936 | - | Ísland (Icelandic) |
KN* | Greenland | 1910 | GRO | Kalaallit Nunaat. The official code is DK |
L | Luxembourg | 1911 | - | - |
LT | Lithuania | 1992 | SU 1940–1991 | - |
LV | Latvia | 1992 | LR 1927–1940, SU 1940–1991 | Latvijas Republika (Latvian) |
M | Malta | 1966 | GBY 1924–66 | - |
MC | Monaco | 1910 | - | - |
MD | Moldova | 1992 | SU − 1991 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union |
MNE | Montenegro | 2006 | MN 1913–1919, SHS 1919–29, Y 1929–53, 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 | - | - |
NMK | North Macedonia | 2019 | YU − 1992, MK 1992–2019 | Formerly part of Yugoslavia. Known as Republic of Macedonia until 2019. Mix of English North and Macedonian Makedonija |
P | Portugal | 1910 | - | Unofficially and illegally used by Palestine as well |
PL | Poland | 1921 | - | - |
PMR* | Transnistria | 1990 | - | - |
RKS | Kosovo | 2010 | SHS 1919–29, Y 1929–53, YU 1953–92, SCG 2003–2006, SRB 2006-2010 | Republic of Kosovo |
RO | Romania | 1981 | R - 1981 | - |
RSM | San Marino | 1932 | - | Repubblica di San Marino (Italian) |
RSO* | South Ossetia | - | - | - |
RUS | Russia | 1992 | SU | Formerly part of the Soviet Union |
S | Sweden | 1911 | - | - |
SCO* | Scotland | - | - | - |
SCV* | Vatican City | - | - | - |
SK | Slovakia | 1993 | CS 1919–39,1945–92, SQ 1939–45 | Formerly Československo (Czechoslovakia) |
SLO | Slovenia | 1992 | SHS 1919–29, Y 1929–53, YU 1953–92 | Formerly part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca, then part of Yugoslavia |
SRB | Serbia | 2006 | SB – 1919, SHS 1919–29, Y 1929–53, YU 1953–2003, SCG 2003–2006 | Formerly part of the Kingdom of Serbia. Then part of 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 |
UK | United Kingdom | 2021 | GB (1910–2021) | Before 1922, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Until 2021, "GB" was used, but from 28 September 2021 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland changed its international vehicle registration code from "GB" to "UK". (This does not affect territories for which the United Kingdom controls international relations outside Great Britain and Northern Ireland.) "UK" was and is the country code on British driving licences, even prior to 2021. |
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. |
* - unofficial code.