The Crucial Role of Car Number Plates in India: Why They Matter

In India, a car number plate is not just a means to identify a vehicle but is also a legal requirement. The number plate is a unique identifier for a vehicle that helps the authorities keep track of it. Let's dive into the details of car number plates in India.

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Types of Car Number Plates in India

In India, there are the following types of car number plates:

1. White Number Plate

This type of number plate is for private vehicles. It consists of black lettering on a white background.

2. Yellow Number Plate

This type of number plate is for commercial vehicles. It consists of black lettering on a yellow background.

3. Green Number Plate

Electric cars can be identified by their green number plates, also used on road-legal electric buses and commercial electric vehicles.

4. Black Number Plate

Luxury hotel transports and certain commercial vehicles can be recognized by their black number plates, allowing drivers to operate without a commercial driving permit.

5. Red Number Plate

Red number plates signify that a new car has a temporary vehicle registration, valid for one month until it receives a permanent registration from the RTO. The rules for temporary number plates vary by state, and some states do not permit driving with them.

6. Blue Number Plate

Vehicles reserved for foreign diplomats display blue number plates with white letters, which include alphabets such as DC, CC, and UN, indicating their diplomatic status. Unlike regular license plates, they do not have a state code but use the country code of the diplomat instead.

Structure of Car Number Plates in India

The structure of a car number plate in India is standardized and contains the following information:

• The first two letters are to indicate the state or union territory where the vehicle is registered. For example, DL for Delhi, MH for Maharashtra, and KA for Karnataka.

• The next two digits represent the unique code for the Regional Transport Office (RTO) where the vehicle is registered.

• The next four digits are a sequential number assigned to the vehicle.

• Lastly, a single letter indicates the vehicle category, such as C for cars, T for trucks, and so on.

Rules and Regulations for Car Number Plates in India

The government of India has set specific rules and regulations for car number plates, some of which are:

• According to the latest update, driving new motor vehicles with a temporary registration number printed on paper is now considered an offense. 

• The previous color scheme for temporary license plates has been replaced, and they will now have red alphanumeric characters on a yellow background. 

• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has prohibited using characters other than basic English letters and Arabic numerals, including VIP numbers auctioned by states or Union Territories in any regional language.

• Moreover, the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) have been updated to include the size, thickness, and spacing between characters on the number plate. 

• The new rule specifies that the three parameters should be 65mm, 10mm, and 10mm, respectively, and applies to all motor vehicles except for two and three-wheeled vehicles.

• BS-VI four-wheelers are also subject to the new update and must have a 1cm green layer on their number plate and a sticker indicating whether they are running on diesel, CNG, or petrol. 

• Diesel vehicles will have an orange sticker, while CNG and petrol vehicles will have a blue sticker.