Singapore licence plates
Encyclopedia
Motor vehicle
licence plates
in Singapore
are administered by the Land Transport Authority
.
number plate typeface used in the UK, from thinner looking variants used commonly by SBS buses, taxis and goods vehicles, and even the FE-Schrift
font used in Germany can sometimes, though rarely, be seen - though this is prohibited by LTA.
When 'S' was exhausted at SY, in January 1972, Private cars started with E, Motorbikes with A and Goods Vehicles under 3 tonnes with Y. E was followed by EA, EB with the letters EC in 1973 up to EZ. From 1984, the "S" series of number plates was launched again, but now with two serial suffix letters, starting from SBA. Currently, as of this writing, the SKD series is in issue for private cars.
Other classes of vehicles have registration numbers beginning with specific letters:
In addition, the following are controlled for specific types of vehicles, including:
Special prefixes were used for specific events, such as:
of Sabah
state in Malaysia has been using the SA sequence.
s) or letter combinations like SGD. Full vanity plates are not available in Singapore, only the number combination like Germany.
In the case where owners of private vehicles choose to run on the roads on weekdays during office hours, they are required to buy an e-licence for $20 either online or through major post offices. Car owners have up to 24 hours on the following day to purchase the e-licence. Failure to do so first time offenders may be fined up to $5,000 for failing to display a valid day coupon or using an invalid day coupon, and fined up to $10,000 for using an altered day coupon when the OPC is used during the restricted hours.
Off-peak vehicles pay a relatively lower road tax (a discount of up to $500) as compared to other private vehicles and are also given rebate of $17,000 which can be offset against COE and ARF.
Even so, the majority of the people in Singapore do not use Off-peak vehicles.
"Classic Car
" collectors' vehicles display a normal registration but with white lettering on a half-red over half-yellow background, with seal affixed on number plate by an authorised inspection centre. Motorcycles registered as these vehicles also use these.
"Hazardous Cargo" plates were introduced in 2005, using normal commercial vehicle registrations, often in the 'Y' code, but with, unusually, with black figures on a reflective orange background. These trucks are permitted to carry fuel, gas canisters and chemicals (inflammables), and are not permitted to enter tunnels, nor the city areas unless route arrangements have been pre-made with the fire services.
"Research and Development" vehicles display a plate with a diagonal yellow over blue pattern with prefix 'RD'
Motor Dealers and Traders use white on blue plates using code S, preceded by up to 4 numerals for their test drive vehicles.
Motor vehicle
A motor vehicle or road vehicle is a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not operate on rails, such as trains or trolleys. The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually by an internal combustion engine, or an electric motor, or some combination of the two, such as hybrid...
licence plates
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...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
are administered by the Land Transport Authority
Land Transport Authority
The Land Transport Authority is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Singapore Government.-History:...
.
Current scheme
In general, all licence plates numbers in Singapore come with the vehicular registration number, suffixed by the official reference in the form of a letter of the alphabet. Two colouring schemes are in use: the black on white(front) with black on yellow(rear) scheme or the older white on black scheme. The number plate has to be made of a reflective plastic or metallic with textured characters made of black (for white-yellow) or white or silver (for black ones). No standardised typeface is used and all are based on the Charles WrightCharles Wright
Charles Wright may refer to:*Charles Wright , American botanist*Charles Frederick Wright , U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania*Charles Wright , Nottinghamshire and England cricketer*C. S...
number plate typeface used in the UK, from thinner looking variants used commonly by SBS buses, taxis and goods vehicles, and even the FE-Schrift
FE-Schrift
' or ' has been the only typeface used on new vehicle registration plates of Germany since November 2000, except for plates issued to military-registered vehicles, which still use the former DIN 1451 typeface...
font used in Germany can sometimes, though rarely, be seen - though this is prohibited by LTA.
- S - Private vehicle (since 1984)
- BA - Alphabetical series
- 1234 - Numerical series
- A - Checksum letter (the characters "F", "I", "N", "O", "Q", "V" and "W" are never used as check digits.)
Types of numbers
Private car licence plate numbers began in the early 1900s when Singapore was one of the four Straits Settlements, with a single prefix 'S', then adding a suffix letter S 'A' to S 'Y', but skipping a few like S 'H' and S 'Z' (reserved for taxis and buses), S 'D' (reserved for municipal vehicles), and S 'G' for goods vehicles large and small. No changes were made when Singapore became independent in 1965. Later, the suffix was added. Previously there was no suffix, for example, SS1234, as in the vehicle registration plates of Malaysia.When 'S' was exhausted at SY, in January 1972, Private cars started with E, Motorbikes with A and Goods Vehicles under 3 tonnes with Y. E was followed by EA, EB with the letters EC in 1973 up to EZ. From 1984, the "S" series of number plates was launched again, but now with two serial suffix letters, starting from SBA. Currently, as of this writing, the SKD series is in issue for private cars.
Other classes of vehicles have registration numbers beginning with specific letters:
- A_ series: MotorcycleMotorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s (used until 1980) - CB series: Company or school busBusA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es - F_ series: MotorcycleMotorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s - FB_ series: MotorcycleMotorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s [Ex. FBA, FBB...], m/cycle plate started in end of December 2005 - G _ _ series: Goods vehicles (class 3) [GA-GZ,GBA..GBB]etc
- P series: Private busBusA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es (PA, PB, PC, PH, PZ were used to separate Private bus, Pte Hire etc, subsequently they were not issued and all are issued under PA - Q _ _ series: Company vehicles (QBx, QCx etc, except QX and QY)
- SH_ series: TaxiTaxicabA taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
s or Street Hire vehicles (SJE - Singapore-Johore Express) - W_ series: Engineering Plant vehicles (Class 5) (Currently issuing WD)
- X_ series: Very Heavy vehicles - not constructed to carry any load (prime movers/class 5) (Currently issuing XD)
- Y_ series: Goods vehicles (class 3/4/5)
In addition, the following are controlled for specific types of vehicles, including:
- CSS: City Shuttle Service buses
- LTA: Land Transport AuthorityLand Transport AuthorityThe Land Transport Authority is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Singapore Government.-History:...
, formerly known as ROV, Registry of Vehicles - MID: Singapore Armed ForcesSingapore Armed ForcesThe Singapore Armed Forces is the military arm of the Total Defence of the Republic of Singapore; as well as the military component of the Ministry of Defence. The SAF comprises three branches: the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Air Force and the Republic of Singapore Navy...
vehicles (suffix), originally stood for Ministry of Interior and DefenceMinistry of Interior and DefenceThe Ministry of Interior and Defence of Singapore was set up in 1965, with Dr. Goh Keng Swee as the first Minister. The Ministry was responsible for both internal and external security, controlling both the Police Force and the Armed Forces.... - MP: Vehicles operated by the Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command (formally SAFPU prefix)
- PU: Tax-exempt, restricted for exclusive use (with permission) on the island of Pulau UbinPulau UbinPulau Ubin is a small island situated in the north east of Singapore, to the west of Pulau Tekong. Granite quarrying supported a few thousand settlers on Pulau Ubin in the 1960s, but only about a hundred villagers live there today...
- QX: Emergency & Law-enforcement agencies (Singapore Police ForceSingapore Police ForceThe Singapore Police Force is the main agency tasked with maintaining law and order in the city-state. Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police , it has grown from an 11-man organisation to a 38,587 strong force...
, Singapore Civil Defence ForceSingapore Civil Defence ForceThe Singapore Civil Defence Force is the main agency in charge of the provision of emergency services in Singapore during peacetime and emergency.A uniformed organisation under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the main role of SCDF is to provide...
, Immigration and Checkpoints AuthorityImmigration and Checkpoints AuthorityThe Immigration and Checkpoints Authority is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Singapore Government.-Overview:...
, etc) - QY: Quasi-Government / Statutory Boards
- RD: Research & Development (like fuel-cell cars, smart car rental cars)
- ROV: Defunct; Registry of Vehicles, now known as LTA [Land Transport Authority]
- RU: Restricted Use vehicles, a special category where taxes are not paid. A vehicle with such a licence restricted to certain areas, for example a pushbackPushbackIn aviation, pushback is an airport procedure during which an aircraft is pushed backwards away from an airport gate by external power. Pushbacks are carried out by special, low-profile vehicles called pushback tractors or tugs....
truck within Singapore Changi AirportSingapore Changi AirportSingapore Changi Airport , Changi International Airport, or simply Changi Airport, is the main airport in Singapore. A major aviation hub in Southeast Asia, it is about north-east from the commercial centre in Changi, on a site....
grounds or shuttle buses on SentosaSentosaSentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay , is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year...
Island. - S/CC: Vehicles of the Consular Corps
- S/CD: Vehicles of the Diplomatic Corps
- S/TE: "Technical Employment" vehicles
- S1 to S10: "State Cars" - VIP vehicles for ferrying official government guests and dignatries.
- SBS: BusBusA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es operated by SBS TransitSBS TransitSBS Transit Limited is a public transport operator in Singapore. Its major competitor in Singapore's duopoly transport system is SMRT Corporation, which also operates bus, rail, taxi and other transport services.... - SEP: "Singapore Elected President" - The Official Car of The President of the Republic of Singapore (SEP 1)
- SJ: Supreme Court Justices - With the Chief Justice's car displaying plate number "SJ 1", and so on.
- SMB: BusBusA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es operated by SMRT BusesSMRT BusesSMRT Buses is a public bus transport operator in Singapore. Singapore currently hosts a duopoly transport system in which SMRT's only competitor is SBS Transit, which also operates bus services in Singapore...
, used in tandem with the TIB series. - SP: "Speaker of Parliament" (SP 1)
- SPF: Police commissionerPolice commissionerCommissioner is a senior rank used in many police forces and may be rendered Police Commissioner or Commissioner of Police. In some organizations, the commissioner is a political appointee, and may or may not actually be a professional police officer. In these circumstances, there is often a...
of the Singapore Police ForceSingapore Police ForceThe Singapore Police Force is the main agency tasked with maintaining law and order in the city-state. Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police , it has grown from an 11-man organisation to a 38,587 strong force...
(SPF1) - SZ/SZA: Rental vehicle. No new issues. New Hire/Rental cars use same series as normal cars
- TIB: BusBusA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es operated by SMRT BusesSMRT BusesSMRT Buses is a public bus transport operator in Singapore. Singapore currently hosts a duopoly transport system in which SMRT's only competitor is SBS Transit, which also operates bus services in Singapore...
, originally stood for Trans Island Bus Services (TIBS) - TP: MotorcycleMotorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s of the Traffic Police Department, Singapore Police ForceSingapore Police ForceThe Singapore Police Force is the main agency tasked with maintaining law and order in the city-state. Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police , it has grown from an 11-man organisation to a 38,587 strong force...
Special prefixes were used for specific events, such as:
- WTO: For vehicles used during the World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade OrganizationThe World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
's inaugural Ministerial ConferenceWTO Ministerial Conference of 1996The World Trade Organisation's Ministerial Conference of 1996 was held in Singapore on December 9 - December 13, 1996. The inaugural meeting for the organisation since its formation...
held in SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in December 1996 - IOC: For vehicles used during the International Olympic CommitteeInternational Olympic CommitteeThe International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
's 117th Session117th IOC SessionThe 117th International Olympic Committee Session was held for the first time in Singapore from 2 July to 9 July 2005. The meeting was particularly significant as two important decisions were made through voting during the session - namely the selection of the hosting city for the 2012 Summer...
held in SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in July 2005 - NDP: For vehicles used during the National Day Parade, 2005National Day Parade, 2005The National Day Parade, 2005 was a national ceremony in Singapore on August 9, 2005 to commemorate Singapore's 40 years of independence....
, on August 9, 2005 - SAA: For vehicles used during Asian AerospaceAsian AerospaceAsian Aerospace is an international trade fair for the aerospace business. Currently based in Hong Kong, it was held in Singapore since 1981 until disagreements between co-organisers Reed Exhibitions and Singapore Technologies in 2006 forced its relocation from 2007.-History:Asian Aerospace was...
- APEC: For vehicles used during the APEC Annual Meetings in November 2009.
- YOG: For vehicles used during the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
Checksum
The checksum letter is calculated by converting the letters into numbers, i.e. where A=1 and Z=26, potentially giving 7 individual numbers from each registration plate. However, only two letters of the prefix are used in the checksum, for now, so the first letter is discarded for a three-letter prefix. SBA 1234 would therefore give 2, 1, 1, 2, 3 and 4 (note that "S" is discarded). For three-digit numbers, a "0" is appended to the front of the number. Each individual number is then multiplied by 6 fixed numbers (14, 2, 12, 2, 11, 1). These are added up, then divided by 19. The remainder corresponds to one of the 19 letters used (A, Y, U, S, P, L, J, G, D, B, Z, X, T, R, M, K, H, E, C), with "A" corresponding to a remainder of 0. In the case of SBA 1234, the final letter should be a G.Middle letter exceptions
There was some speculation as to whether the Singapore government would continue the SDZ series to its next logical sequence - i.e. SEA and then on to SEY etc.. Apparently the government decided to adopt the policy of using no vowels in the middle digit to avoid meaningful 3 letter word combinations. Indeed there was never an SA sequence issued (the S—sequence started with SBA), although this was because the West Coast DivisionWest Coast Division
West Coast Division is an administrative division of Sabah, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It occupies the northwest portion of Sabah. With an area of 7,588 square kilometres, it occupies 10.3% of Sabah's territory...
of Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
state in Malaysia has been using the SA sequence.
Personalised registrations
The Land Transport Authority has announced they may begin implementing the use of personal registration licence plates (Vanity plates) as early as late 2007, and are currently working on the details of the plan. These licence plates may take up to 12 characters compared to the current eight. For now, there is a thriving trade in the sale of number plates that have significant digits (i.e. lucky numberLucky number
In number theory, a lucky number is a natural number in a set which is generated by a "sieve" similar to the Sieve of Eratosthenes that generates the primes.Begin with a list of integers starting with 1:...
s) or letter combinations like SGD. Full vanity plates are not available in Singapore, only the number combination like Germany.
Off-peak Vehicles
Vehicles registered as "Off-peak Vehicles", affectionately known as "Weekend Cars", pay a cheaper road tax as compared to normal private cars, although COE charges apply as usual. They display number plates with white characters on a red background. These vehicles are only allowed to run on the roads in Singapore after office hours (7pm-7am) on weekdays, full day on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays.In the case where owners of private vehicles choose to run on the roads on weekdays during office hours, they are required to buy an e-licence for $20 either online or through major post offices. Car owners have up to 24 hours on the following day to purchase the e-licence. Failure to do so first time offenders may be fined up to $5,000 for failing to display a valid day coupon or using an invalid day coupon, and fined up to $10,000 for using an altered day coupon when the OPC is used during the restricted hours.
Off-peak vehicles pay a relatively lower road tax (a discount of up to $500) as compared to other private vehicles and are also given rebate of $17,000 which can be offset against COE and ARF.
Even so, the majority of the people in Singapore do not use Off-peak vehicles.
Commercial vehicles
Light Goods Vehicles and Goods Passenger Vehicles uses the G series prefix. From G to GA through GZ, and the GBA, current issue is GBB.Other categories
"Restricted Use" vehicles display a number plate with a diagonal red over emerald green pattern with white letters with the two lead characters "RU". Motorcycles registered as these vehicles also use these."Classic Car
Antique vehicle registration
Antique vehicle registration is a special form of motor vehicle registration for vehicles that are considered antique, classic, vintage, or historic...
" collectors' vehicles display a normal registration but with white lettering on a half-red over half-yellow background, with seal affixed on number plate by an authorised inspection centre. Motorcycles registered as these vehicles also use these.
"Hazardous Cargo" plates were introduced in 2005, using normal commercial vehicle registrations, often in the 'Y' code, but with, unusually, with black figures on a reflective orange background. These trucks are permitted to carry fuel, gas canisters and chemicals (inflammables), and are not permitted to enter tunnels, nor the city areas unless route arrangements have been pre-made with the fire services.
"Research and Development" vehicles display a plate with a diagonal yellow over blue pattern with prefix 'RD'
Motor Dealers and Traders use white on blue plates using code S, preceded by up to 4 numerals for their test drive vehicles.