The Canadian province

Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...

 of Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

first required its residents to register their motor vehicle

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...

s and display licence plates in 1920.

The last complete re-registration of all registered vehicles in Newfoundland was in 1981, with a switch from a numerical system (which reached a high of approximately 250000) to an alphanumeric system.

All plates issued since 1982 (beginning AAA-001) remain valid today. Plates remain with the vehicle to which they are originally registered, rather than with the owner. Used vehicles with expired plates are issued new licence plates - used vehicles with valid plates retain their original licence plate.

Since 1985, the province has not issued the letters Q, U, I or Y on licence plates. One exception exists: on the 1996-1997 Cabot 500 base, the HAY series was issued, and some of these plates can still be observed on the road today.

Since September 1997, the province requires only a rear plate for most registrations, except for B, C, E and G plates (see below). Some older cars still display both front and rear plates. Some early "World of Difference" and Cabot 500 base plates were issued in duplicate for the front and rear.

On Newfoundland licence plates, the first letter (or two letters) designates the registration class of the vehicle. For example, HMT-999 would belong to a passenger car, while TZD-019 would belong to a trailer.

Vehicle class

First letter(s)	Vehicle type	Notes on use/expiration/issue
A	Private car	Reached end at AZZ-999 in 1999. Front and rear plates required until 1997.
B	Bus Bus A 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	BAx for public-use buses, BPx for private use (tour buses, for example). Front and rear plates required.
C	Truck/heavy vehicle	Applies to pickup trucks, SUVs and large vans. Inconsistent issuance - some vans and trucks have C plates, some have H. Front and rear plates required. CRx indicates large mobile crane units that are generally overwidth and need special permits and escort on public roadways.
D	Dealer	Issued to auto dealers for test driving and transporting cars.
E	ambulances	Other emergency vehicles (fire trucks or police cars) are registered as provincial or municipal, as private ambulance companies operate in NL. Front and rear plates required.
F	Farm vehicle	Infrequently issued. FTx series exists for farm trucks that operate on roads.
G	Government vehicles	GMx on municipal vehicles, GPx on provincial, GFx on federal. Municipal/provincial still issue 2001 flag series, federal only has 2003 series. None on 2002 issue. Front and rear plates required. In 2010 provincial government vehicles started featuring 2007 type plates.
H	Private car	Issued as next available letter after A series. Began HAA-001 on Cabot 500 base.
M	Motorcycle	Began at MCA-001.
PR	Apportioned International Registration Plan The International Registration Plan is a registration reciprocity agreement among the contiguous United States and Canadian provinces which provides payment of registration fees on the basis of total distance operated in all jurisdictions...	Issued to transport trucks, began at PRP-001 on 1993 issue.
T	Trailer Trailer (vehicle) A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....	For some reason, during the 2003 flag series, the province suddenly stopped (around TEx) and began issuing backward from TZZ.
TX	Licenced taxi Taxicab A 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	Supplemented with a municipal taxi licence sticker.
W	Tow truck Tow truck A tow truck is a vehicle used to transport motor vehicles to another location , or to recover vehicles which are no longer on a drivable surface.Towing services are generally provided by an emergency road service operator... s	Tow trucks display a second plate (in addition to a C series). Infrequently issued.
X	Heavy machinery	Issued to tractors, backhoes, forklifts, etc.

Passenger baseplates 1981 to present

Image	First issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1981	blue and red on reflective white	none	ABC-123	AAA-001 to ASZ-999
	1994	red on reflective white	A World of Difference	ABC-123	ATA-001 to HEP-999
	2001	red on reflective white with provincial flag	none	ABC-123	HER-001 to HFO-999
	2002	red on reflective white with provincial flag	none	ABC-123	HFP-001 to HGZ-999
	2003	red on reflective white with provincial flag	none	ABC-123	HHA-001 to HMT-999
	2007	blue on reflective white with provincial wordmark (pitcher plant Pitcher plant Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over... )	none	ABC-123	HMV-001 to present

External links

• Newfoundland and Labrador licence plates 1969-present