New Zealand vehicle registration plates
Encyclopedia
In New Zealand
, vehicle registration plate
s (usually called number plates) contain up to six alphanumeric characters, depending on the type of vehicle and the date of registration. Number plates display these characters on the back of powered vehicles and non-powered vehicles such as caravans and trailers authorised to travel on New Zealand roads. Most vehicles (i.e. cars, trucks, vans, etc) are required to display plates on the front as well.
By the end of 2000 this system had reached the end of the alphabet ("ZZ"). The series officially ended with plate "ZZ9989" - the sequence "ZZ999Ø" to "ZZ9999" had appeared as personalised plates years earlier. A new system began in April 2001, with three letters (starting with "AAA") followed by three numbers (format LLLnnn), with nnn starting at 1ØØ. Land Transport New Zealand
also issued "AAA1ØØ" to "AAA1Ø3" as personalised plates, officially meaning that the first plate in the new series read "AAA1Ø4".
Starting with "CEA", the number ranges started with 1, as in the old system. The authorities issued this series according to the first two letters — the third letter and numbers did not necessarily get issued in sequence. the registration pattern had reached "GD", followed by a third letter and one to three numbers (for example: "GDA123").
Unlike in many countries, observers cannot normally identify a location of registration by simply looking at the number-plate. One exception to this rule occurred when LLnnnn plates first appeared in 1964: most plates went to the regions in batches, starting with the "AA" series in Southland and moving progressively north. For some time one could reasonably infer that an "AF" plate hailed from Dunedin, an "AI" plate from South Canterbury, and so on. In some later instances issuers coded plates to the area of registration, such as in 1974-1976 with the allocation of plates beginning with "HB" to the Hawke's Bay region, in May 1989 with the allocation of plates beginning with "OG" to Wellington region, and in July 2000 with the allocation of plates beginning with "ZI" to Auckland region.
The previous system consisted of one or two numbers followed by three letters. The system incremented the number-sequence first, so after plate "12ABC" comes "13ABC", and "99ABC" precedes "01ABD". In July 2009, these plates had reached the "ZUU"-range.
Also, silver-on-black plates can have trailers with motorcycle plates before the "RNA" range in 1990.
Two older formats are the Lnnnn format and the nnnnL format which were still shown on black-on-white plates (e.g. 6176M, P8317)
Also, some silver-on-black plates had the format as shown above with nnnnI (e.g. 5727I)
: from 1941 plates remained valid for 5 years.
The issue of permanent registration-plates started in 1964. These new plates had silver letters and numbers on black aluminium plates, and started with "AA100". The LLnnnn system started at this time. An example, a 1969 police car with an FB plate, can be viewed at MOTAT Auckland.
Reflectorised white plates with black characters replaced silver-on-black plates in November 1986, officially starting with "NA1", though an earlier limited trial run had taken place during the "MX1-MX999" run some weeks earlier.
The old silver-on-black plates remain valid and in use, though only on older vehicles. Vehicle-owners in New Zealand do not have to change registration plates when ownership of a vehicle changes, which means one can buy a pre-1987 used car which still has old silver-on-black plates on it. If old silver-on-black plates on a vehicle become irreparably damaged, the newer black-on-white plates may supplant them.
The font used remained the same during the change from silver-on-black plates to black-on-white plates. From "PC1Ø" onwards, zeroes have a slash through them (e.g. PP52Ø9, UO8ØØØ).
Plates used sans-serif lettering until the start of the letter codes beginning "DFN" (March 2006), since when plates have used a heavier, partially serifed font, squarer and thicker-lined. WhatTheFont does not recognise the new "based on a German design" style. The free font Licenz replicates the style and spacing of this design. The authorities introduced the new font in order to foil attempts to cut out letters and put them back in upside-down when forging license plates.
Most plates come in rectangular form with all the code characters on a single horizontal line. Plates for motorcycles may split the code between two horizontal lines: on the front mudguards of motorcycles they can take the overall form of an arc.)
team, the All Blacks
, follows the LLnnnn system but with a leading zero after the letters "AB" (for "All Blacks"), giving them the format "ABØnnn".
In 1990 a special series of commemorative plates marked the country's sesquicentenary. These had the format nnnnNZ, with the lettering in red on white.
. The purchaser may acquire any unique combination that falls outside the standard numbering sequences (apart from derogatory or obscene combinations) or standard numbers that have fallen into disuse. New Zealand does not require associating the plate with a vehicle, and allows outright sale rather than just a periodic lease.
Although plate character/number combinations can contain "spaces", they do not form part of the unique identification and are typically not stored (for example, in Police computer-systems). Therefore if a personalised plate such as "I A I" exists an owner cannot purchase a combination such as "IAI", and vice versa.
The most sought-after combinations available as personalised plates (such as "A1" or "AAAAAA") became special "collector plates", with lettering in blue on white. These plates are often offered for sale at a significant premium to standard plates.
prospective buyers can order a personalised set of plates as:
promote identity and traditional graphic designs in frames.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, vehicle registration plate
Vehicle registration 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...
s (usually called number plates) contain up to six alphanumeric characters, depending on the type of vehicle and the date of registration. Number plates display these characters on the back of powered vehicles and non-powered vehicles such as caravans and trailers authorised to travel on New Zealand roads. Most vehicles (i.e. cars, trucks, vans, etc) are required to display plates on the front as well.
Standard numbering sequences
Cars and heavy vehicles
Private cars, taxis, and heavier road vehicles in New Zealand have number plates with up to six characters. Until 2001 these number plates had two letters followed by one to four numbers (format LLnnnn), the sequence having started with "AA100" and continuing through to "ZZ9989" chronologically (for example, XE3782 would have been issued in 1998). An observer could therefore ascertain the approximate date of first registration of a vehicle by means of the number plate.By the end of 2000 this system had reached the end of the alphabet ("ZZ"). The series officially ended with plate "ZZ9989" - the sequence "ZZ999Ø" to "ZZ9999" had appeared as personalised plates years earlier. A new system began in April 2001, with three letters (starting with "AAA") followed by three numbers (format LLLnnn), with nnn starting at 1ØØ. Land Transport New Zealand
Land Transport New Zealand
Land Transport New Zealand was a Crown entity in New Zealand, tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, and includes responsibilities such as driver and vehicle licensing...
also issued "AAA1ØØ" to "AAA1Ø3" as personalised plates, officially meaning that the first plate in the new series read "AAA1Ø4".
Starting with "CEA", the number ranges started with 1, as in the old system. The authorities issued this series according to the first two letters — the third letter and numbers did not necessarily get issued in sequence. the registration pattern had reached "GD", followed by a third letter and one to three numbers (for example: "GDA123").
Unlike in many countries, observers cannot normally identify a location of registration by simply looking at the number-plate. One exception to this rule occurred when LLnnnn plates first appeared in 1964: most plates went to the regions in batches, starting with the "AA" series in Southland and moving progressively north. For some time one could reasonably infer that an "AF" plate hailed from Dunedin, an "AI" plate from South Canterbury, and so on. In some later instances issuers coded plates to the area of registration, such as in 1974-1976 with the allocation of plates beginning with "HB" to the Hawke's Bay region, in May 1989 with the allocation of plates beginning with "OG" to Wellington region, and in July 2000 with the allocation of plates beginning with "ZI" to Auckland region.
Motorcycles and tractors
These vehicles use one of several five-character systems. Since 2009 the system has consisted of one letter, followed by one number followed by three letters; for example 'A2ATL'.The previous system consisted of one or two numbers followed by three letters. The system incremented the number-sequence first, so after plate "12ABC" comes "13ABC", and "99ABC" precedes "01ABD". In July 2009, these plates had reached the "ZUU"-range.
Caravans and trailers
, caravan and trailer number plates have the format LnnnL (e.g. A123A), reaching N881S by July 2009Also, silver-on-black plates can have trailers with motorcycle plates before the "RNA" range in 1990.
Two older formats are the Lnnnn format and the nnnnL format which were still shown on black-on-white plates (e.g. 6176M, P8317)
Also, some silver-on-black plates had the format as shown above with nnnnI (e.g. 5727I)
History
Before 1925 vehicle registration took place on a regional rather than on a country-wide basis. Vehicles displayed their registration numbers on the right-hand side of the vehicle, often painted on. From 1925, the authorities issued steel plates to vehicle-owners annually. This system changed when steel supplies became limited during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
: from 1941 plates remained valid for 5 years.
The issue of permanent registration-plates started in 1964. These new plates had silver letters and numbers on black aluminium plates, and started with "AA100". The LLnnnn system started at this time. An example, a 1969 police car with an FB plate, can be viewed at MOTAT Auckland.
Reflectorised white plates with black characters replaced silver-on-black plates in November 1986, officially starting with "NA1", though an earlier limited trial run had taken place during the "MX1-MX999" run some weeks earlier.
The old silver-on-black plates remain valid and in use, though only on older vehicles. Vehicle-owners in New Zealand do not have to change registration plates when ownership of a vehicle changes, which means one can buy a pre-1987 used car which still has old silver-on-black plates on it. If old silver-on-black plates on a vehicle become irreparably damaged, the newer black-on-white plates may supplant them.
The font used remained the same during the change from silver-on-black plates to black-on-white plates. From "PC1Ø" onwards, zeroes have a slash through them (e.g. PP52Ø9, UO8ØØØ).
Plates used sans-serif lettering until the start of the letter codes beginning "DFN" (March 2006), since when plates have used a heavier, partially serifed font, squarer and thicker-lined. WhatTheFont does not recognise the new "based on a German design" style. The free font Licenz replicates the style and spacing of this design. The authorities introduced the new font in order to foil attempts to cut out letters and put them back in upside-down when forging license plates.
Design
Later plates with a white background may feature a holographic pattern on the white field, observed from the XDnnnn-series. This design, visible only from certain angles and under appropriate lighting-conditions, displays strips of silver roundels with a stylised silver fern pattern in silhouette.Most plates come in rectangular form with all the code characters on a single horizontal line. Plates for motorcycles may split the code between two horizontal lines: on the front mudguards of motorcycles they can take the overall form of an arc.)
Plate series with approximate year issued
| 1969 | EV EW EX EY EZ FB FC FD FE |
| 1970 | FF FG FH FI FJ FK FL FM |
| 1971 | FN FP FQ FR FS FT FV FW |
| 1972 | FX FY FZ GA GB GC GD GE GF GH GJ |
| 1973 | GG GI GK GL GM GN GO GP GQ GR GS GT GU GX GY |
| 1974 | GW GZ HA HC HD HE HF HG HH HJ HK |
| 1975 | HB HI HL HM HN HR HS HT HU |
| 1976 | HO HP HQ HW HX HY HZ IA IB IC ID IF IH IJ |
| 1977 | IE IG IK IL IM IN IP IR |
| 1978 | IQ IS IT IU IW IX IY JA JB |
| 1979 | IZ JC JD JE JF JG JI JJ JT |
| 1980 | JH JK JL JM JN JO JP JQ JR JS JU JW JX |
| 1981 | JY JZ KA KB KC KD KE KF KG KH KI KL |
| 1982 | KJ KK KM KN KO KP KQ KR KS KT KY |
| 1983 | KU KW KX KZ LA LB LC LD LE LF LG LH LI LJ LK LL LM LN |
| 1984/85 | LO LP LQ LR LS LT LU LW LX LY LZ MA MB MC MD ME MF MG MH MJ MK |
| 1985/86 | MI ML MM MO MP MQ MR MS MT MU MW MX MY MZ NE NG |
| 1987 | NA NB NC ND NF NH NI NJ NK NL NM NN NP |
| 1988 | NO NQ NR NS NT NU NW NX NY NZ OA OB |
| 1989 | OC OD OE OF OG OH OI OJ OK OL OM ON OO OP OQ OS |
| 1990 | OR OT OU OW OX OY OZ PA PB PC PD PE PF PG PH PI PJ PK PL PO |
| 1991 | PM PN PP PQ PR PS PT PU PW PX PY PZ RA RB RC RD |
| 1992 | RE RF RG RH RI RJ RK RL RM RN RO RP RQ RR RT |
| 1993 | RS RU RW RX RY RZ SA SB SC SD SE SF |
| 1994 | SG SH SI SJ SK SL SM SN SO SP SQ SR SS ST SU SW SX SY SZ TA |
| 1995 | TB TC TD TE TF TG TH TI TJ TK TL TM TN TO TP TQ TR TS TT TW TX |
| 1996 | TU TY TZ UA UB UC UD UE UF UG UH UI UJ UK UL UM UN UO UP UQ UR US UT |
| 1997 | UU UW UX UY UZ WA WB WC WD WE WF WG WH WI WJ WK WL WM WN WO WP WQ WR WS |
| 1998 | WT WU WW WX WY WZ XA XB XC XD XE XF XG XH XI XJ XK XL XM XN XO XP XQ |
| 1999 | XR XS XT XU XW XX XY XZ YA YB YC YD YE YF YG YH YI YJ YK YL YM YN YO YP YQ YR YS |
| 2000 | YT YU YW YX YY YZ ZA ZB ZC ZD ZE ZF ZG ZH ZI ZJ ZK ZL ZM ZN ZO ZP ZQ ZR ZS ZT ZU |
| 2001 | ZW ZX ZY ZZ AAA-AKK |
| 2002 | AKL-BAK |
| 2003 | BAL-BSS |
| 2004 | BST-CKY |
| 2005 | CKZ-DCZ |
| 2006 | DDA-DRG |
| 2007 | DRH-EHC |
| 2008 | EHD-EUE |
| 2009 | EUF-FFZ |
| 2010 | FGA-FSZ |
| 2011 | FTA- |
Commemorative plates
In general, numbers in the systems do not have leading zeroes, starting with 1000 in the LLnnnn system and 100 and later 1 in the LLLnnn system. A commemorative series of plates celebrating New Zealand's national rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team, the All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
, follows the LLnnnn system but with a leading zero after the letters "AB" (for "All Blacks"), giving them the format "ABØnnn".
In 1990 a special series of commemorative plates marked the country's sesquicentenary. These had the format nnnnNZ, with the lettering in red on white.
Personalised plates
Rights to unique combinations of up to six characters can be purchased from a private company licensed by the New Zealand Transport AgencyNew Zealand Transport Agency
The New Zealand Transport Agency is a New Zealand Crown entity tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including the responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing and investigating rail accidents. It was created on 1 August 2008 by the Land Transport Management Amendment...
. The purchaser may acquire any unique combination that falls outside the standard numbering sequences (apart from derogatory or obscene combinations) or standard numbers that have fallen into disuse. New Zealand does not require associating the plate with a vehicle, and allows outright sale rather than just a periodic lease.
Although plate character/number combinations can contain "spaces", they do not form part of the unique identification and are typically not stored (for example, in Police computer-systems). Therefore if a personalised plate such as "I A I" exists an owner cannot purchase a combination such as "IAI", and vice versa.
The most sought-after combinations available as personalised plates (such as "A1" or "AAAAAA") became special "collector plates", with lettering in blue on white. These plates are often offered for sale at a significant premium to standard plates.
prospective buyers can order a personalised set of plates as:
- normal black-and-white plates
- "Fashion" plates (red or blue lettering, blue or black silver fern, flame, flower, rugby or New Zealand logos)
- "Graphic" plates (with a picture either top or bottom)
- Euro-style plates (European style and 520 x 112 mm size, with a graphic either side)
- mini Euro-style plates (440mm x 112mm with a graphic on either the left or right)
- message plates (with a small message above and/or below the license number)
- branded plates (with a car marque such as Audi, VW or Jaguar)
Number-plate accessories
A number of companies provide alternatives to the standard message plate. Number-plate frames attach to the plate and provide space for messages above and/or below the license number, thus potentially perpetrating advertising. Several Maori iwiIwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
promote identity and traditional graphic designs in frames.
External links
- Collection of New Zealand numberplates from many eras
- Licenz - a font that allows the replication of NZ number plates
- 2010 news item referring to plates and prefixes deemed offensive by NZTA