All motorised vehicles (and trailers) plying on public roads in India are tagged with a unique registration or licence number. The vehicle registration plate (known colloquially as number plate) is issued by a Regional Transport Office (RTO), the district-level authority on vehicular matters in the respective state or Union Territory. Registration plates are also issued by Indian Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs where applicable. The number plates are mandatory on both front and rear of the vehicle and are required to be in modern Hindu-Arabic numerals with latin letters. Complete specification of registration plates are specified under the rules.
The international vehicle registration code for India is IND.
Colour coding Registration plates are specified in multiple combinations of text colour and background colour to distinctively identify different categories of vehicles.
Following combinations have been specified: +Vehicle CategorySub-category (if any)Text ColourBackground ColourExamplePermanent RegistrationPrivate -BlackWhiteAN 01 Z 0123ElectricWhiteGreenAN 01 Z 0123Commercial (Transport) -BlackYellowAN 01 Z 0123ElectricYellowGreenAN 01 Z 0123Commercial (Rental) -YellowBlackAN 01 Z 0123ElectricYellowGreenAN 01 Z 0123Indian Armed Forces -WhiteBlack↑24B 123456ZElectricGreen↑24B 123456Z Military PoliceRedWhite↑24B 123456ZDiplomatic missionEmbassy, United Nations, or international organisationWhiteBlue199 CD 99 99 UN 99 99 IOD 99ConsulateYellow199 CC 0123Non-permanent RegistrationTemporary (awaiting permanent) -RedYellowT0124AN0123ATrade(Manufacturers, dealers etc.) -WhiteRedAN01C0123TC0123
For colour coding no longer in use, refer section .
Permanent registration format
Private and commercial vehicles The current format for the registration of private and commercial came into force on 1 July 1989 as part of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The format consists of four parts: ; two letters which indicates the State or Union Territory in which the vehicle is registered. ; a two-digit number allocated to a district RTO within the respective state or Union Territory. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, unique numbers may be allocated to multiple RTOs within a single district. ; consists of one, two or three letters or may not exist at all. These show the ongoing registration series of respective RTO and can indirectly indicate the number of registered vehicles (in some cases, also indicate vehicle type). The letters 'I' and 'O' are not used here to avoid confusion with digits 1 or 0. ; issued sequentially and unique to each registration. Leading zeros are included.
The advantage with this format is that the state and district where vehicle has been registered is immediately identifiable with initial few characters.
Vintage series (VA) and Bharat series (BH) registration have their own unique format. For formats prior to 1 July 1989, refer section .
VA (Vintage) series
On 15 July 2021, the Ministry of Road Transport issued a notification regarding a special registration process for vintage vehicles. It was introduced to provide exemption from various pollution and scrappage norms and thus, facilitate promotion of heritage of vintage vehicles. A vehicle is eligible for this registration process if it fulfils following criteria: Two-wheeler or car (specifically, categories L1, L2 and M1) More than 50 years have passed since first registration Vehicle is maintained in its original form
Vintage series registration however restricts free usage of the vehicle. Vehicle may only be used for specific purposes on public roads (e.g. vintage car rally) and not for generic private or commercial use. VA-series registration has a unique format: +Vintage Registration Format AB VA XX 1234 Characters are representative of following: 'AB': ; two letters which indicates the State or Union Territory in which the vehicle is registered 'VA': Short for ‘Vintage’ 'XX': Two letter sequence, starting from ‘AA’, followed by ‘AB’ and so on. 'O' and 'I' are not used here to avoid confusion with the digits 0 or 1 '1234': with leading zeros
BH (Bharat) series
On 26 August 2021, the Ministry of Road Transport issued a notification regarding a unified pan-India registration of private vehicles. This special registration process was introduced to ease inter-state mobility by eliminating the hassles of re-registering a vehicle when its owner relocates to a new state or Union Territory.
BH-series registration can be issued to public sector employees of central and state governments, and also to private sector employees of firms with offices in four or more states or union territories. BH-series registration follows a unique format: +Bharat Registration Format 12 BH 3456 XX Characters are representative of following: '12': Represents the last two digits of the year in which the vehicle was registered, e.g. '22' for a vehicle registered in 2022 'BH': Short for Bharat (coequal name for India) '3456': Unique number between 1 and 9999, with leading zeros 'XX': One or two letters. Sequence starting from ‘A’, followed by ‘B’ and so on. 'O' and 'I' are not used here to avoid confusion with the digits 0 or 1
Vehicles of Indian Armed Forces
Registration of vehicles belonging to Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) is administered by Indian Ministry of Defence. Following registration format is used: +Armed Forces Registration Format ↑ 01Z 012345A
Characters are representative as following: '↑': The first character is an upward-pointing Broad Arrow, its usage is a legacy of the UK Board of Ordnance '01': Represents the last two digits of the year in which the armed forces procured the vehicle, e.g. '22' for a vehicle procured in 2022. 'Z': Represents the type or class of vehicle: A - Motorised two-wheelers (e.g. motorcycles) B - LMV i.e. Light Motor Vehicle (e.g. passenger cars) C - Truck (<3 tonnes) or pick-up truck D - Truck (>3 tonnes) E - High Mobility vehicle (i.e. Multi-axle driven trucks: 4x4, 6x6 and so on) F - Light specialist vehicle (e.g. ATVs, Mahindra Armado, ATOR N1200) G - Trailer H - Truck with material handling capability (e.g. Tata LPTA 2038C) J - Snow removal vehicle K - Ambulance P - Generic support vehicles (e.g. Bus, Fire Truck, Tanker, Recovery Vehicle etc.) Q - Construction vehicles (e.g. Backhoe loader) R - Customised Vehicles for niche application (e.g. Mine Protected Vehicle, missile launchers, tactical communication equipment etc.) X - Active Combat Vehicle (e.g. tank, armoured personnel carrier) '012345': Six digit unique serial number 'A': Last character is a check letter.
Vehicles of diplomatic missions
Registration of vehicles belonging to diplomatic missions is administered by Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Following registration format is used: +Diplomatic Mission Registration Format 123 XX 4567 Characters are representative of following: '123': Unique number of at most 3 digits allocated to the diplomatic mission by the Ministry of External Affairs (see list below). Leading zero is not used. 'XX': Represents the type of mission to which the vehicle is registered: 'CD' which is short for corps diplomatique, for vehicles registered to an embassy 'CC' which is short for corps consulaire, for vehicles registered to a consulate 'UN' which is short for United Nations, for vehicles registered to a UN organisation or one of its specialised agencies 'IOD' which is short for 'International Organisation Diplomat', for vehicles registered to international organisations (excluding UN agencies) which are recognised by Ministry of External Affairs. List of these organisations is available here '4567': Unique number of atmost 4 digits issued sequentially (leading zeroes are not used) Number '1' is reserved for vehicle(s) used by the head of respective diplomatic mission e.g. an ambassador. To distinguish multiple vehicles of the head of mission, a suffix is added e.g. '1A', '1B' and so on.
Vehicles belonging to diplomatic missions are granted the level of diplomatic immunity or consular immunity corresponding to whom the vehicle has been attributed to by the Ministry of External Affairs. Immunity is void if a UN, CD or CC vehicle is driven in absence of an accredited member of the diplomatic or consular corps.
Unique numbers allocated to different diplomatic missions for the CD and CC registrations: NumberCountry1234567891011 Britain (United Kingdom) 1213141516171819202122232425262728293031Holy See (Vatican City)3233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798084858789939495979899102105104106109111112113117119120121122123125126128133134135137141145147149152153155156157159160
Format for private and commercial vehicles
Here is a detailed overview of the format for permanent registration of private and commercial vehicles.
Part 1: Two-letter state code
All Indian states and Union Territories have a designated two-letter code. This code referencing came into force on 1 July 1989 as part of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Before that, both state and district had to be decoded from a three letter code which led to a fair degree of confusion on a national level and format was not sustainable.
A specific state or union territory maybe chosen to register a vehicle due to differences in the amount of taxes involved in registration process. One such example is of Puducherry, where many luxury cars have been known to be registered by residents of other states, sometimes fraudulently, leading to crackdowns by those states.
Current codes Two-letter codes currently in use for different states and union territories are as follows:
CodeState or Union TerritoryANAndaman and Nicobar IslandsAPAndhra PradeshARArunachal PradeshASAssamBRBiharCGChhattisgarhCHChandigarhDDDadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and DiuDLDelhiGAGoaGJGujaratHPHimachal PradeshHRHaryanaJHJharkhandJKJammu and KashmirKAKarnatakaKLKeralaLALadakhLDLakshadweepMHMaharashtraMLMeghalayaMNManipurMPMadhya PradeshMZMizoramNLNagalandODOdishaPBPunjabPYPuducherryRJRajasthanSKSikkimTGTelanganaTNTamil NaduTRTripuraUKUttarakhandUPUttar PradeshWBWest Bengal
Former codes Codes no longer in use for new registrations but still the valid code for already registered vehicles:
In Active UseCodeState or Union TerritoryReason for change22 November 2000 - 31 October 2007UAUttaranchalState renamed from 'Uttaranchal' to Uttarakhand [UK]1 July 1989 - 30 August 2012OROrissaState renamed from 'Orissa' to Odisha [OD]1 July 1989 - 25 January 2020DNDadra and Nagar HaveliErstwhile UT merged to create new UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu [DD]18 June 2014 - 14 March 2024TSTelanganaState code reverted to original proposal [TG]
Part 2: RTO number
As all states have at least two districts, the district's RTO is the authority for registering vehicles. A vehicle can be registered in a particular district if the owner has a registered residence or business entity in that district. Each RTO is allotted unique two digit number(s) and vehicles registered with a specific RTO have the corresponding RTO number as part of their registration number. Thus, in most cases, district of registration can be uniquely identified from the registration number. Andhra Pradesh follows a separate format and a common district number (AP 39 as of 2023) is used across all districts/RTOs in the state.
Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration in highly populated districts, multiple RTOs may operate within that district, with each RTO being allotted a unique number. As an example, Chennai has 15 RTOs in different parts of district, each with distinct numbers: TN 01, TN 02, TN 03, TN 04, TN 05, TN 07, TN 08, TN 09, TN 10, TN 11, TN 12, TN 13, TN 14, and TN 22. In such cases, each number corresponds to a specific region within a single district.