Fascinating facts

Motor vehicle registration plates

History

How vehicle registration first started

William McLean imported the first motor vehicles into New Zealand in 1898. Under existing law they had to be treated like traction engines - traveling at walking pace and with men ahead and behind.

To overcome this problem William McLean sponsored a new act of parliament: the McLean Motor Car Act, 1898.

McLean allowed to charge a levy

Funding the Act cost McLean 400 pounds. The government decided to allow MacLean to charge a levy on importing vehicles. They didn’t think there would ever be enough vehicles on the road for McLean to recover the full amount.

As a consequence all motor vehicles were charged a levy and required to display identification on the vehicle. This was the earliest form of motor vehicle registration and licensing in New Zealand.

Registration before 1925

Prior to 1925, local bodies maintained motor vehicle registers. They allocated numbers that the motorist was required to display on the right-hand side of the vehicle.

Sometimes the number was painted directly on to the vehicle, sometimes on to plates made of metal or wood.

Registration from 1925 to 1964

Between 1925 and 1941, each vehicle was issued with new steel plates every year.

With a shortage of steel during World War II, new plates were issued at five yearly intervals from 1941.

Registration from 1964

In 1964 New Zealand Post started to issue permanent registration plates to all vehicles in New Zealand.

Annual licensing (on 1 July each year) was also introduced between 1963-1965.

The permanent registration plates featured silver characters on black plates. Made with aluminium, the plates were intended to remain with the vehicle for all of its useful life.

These plates started with AA100 and finished with ZZ9989.

(Plates ZZ9990 through ZZ9999 had all been purchased as personalised plates.)

Reflectorised plates (black characters on white plates) were introduced in November 1986.

In 1986 external licensing labels were introduced for all vehicles, spreading relicensing throughout the year.

In 1988 personalised plates were introduced to produce a source of revenue for road safety research and associated projects.

The last registration plate in the two-letter series was issued in Wellington in April 2001. The first plate of the new three letter series was AAA104 (AAA100 to 103 had already been purchased as personalised plates).

Six types of registration plates

Six types of registration plates The six types of registration plates are:

• general purpose plates (cars, trucks, vans etc)
• single plates (motorcycles, trailers, tractors, caravans etc)
• trade plates
• diplomatic plates
• personalised plates
• overseas visitors licence plates.
  

General purpose plates (cars, trucks, vans etc)

Issuing plates for private cars with two letters and up to four digits began on July 1, 1964. The series was extended to commercial vehicles and other on-road machines in 1965. There were approximately 6.7 million possible combinations. The new series of three letters and three digits has about 17.6 million possible combinations.

Some plates weren’t issued as the combinations might have been offensive.

The letter V was also excluded (after the FV series) because it was difficult to distinguish from the letter U.
The letters I and O were not used in some cases as they were difficult to distinguish from the numbers one and zero.
The European style 0 (with a stroke through it) was introduced in the early 1990s because of confusion between 0 and O following the introduction of personalised plates in 1988.

The series MN1-MN9999 was sent to the Cook Islands in 1984/85.

AA1 - AA9999 ongoing to ZZ1 - ZZ9999 (completed approx. March 2001)
AAA104 ongoing to ZZZ999 (current series).

• Issue dates for registration plates: table showing general purpose plates issued from 1970 to 2003
  

Single plates (motorcycles, trailers, tractors, caravans etc)

Single plates were divided into two plate series in 1988:

• Those for motorcycles, mopeds and tractors: one or two numbers followed by three letters, starting at 1RLH.
• Those for trailers with one, two, three or four numerals followed by one letter and starting at A1 onwards, with the exception of D and X as these series are used for trade plates.

1 - 80000 (completed)
1AA - 999AA to 1ZZ - 999ZZ (completed)
1AAA - 99AAA ongoing to 1ZZZ to 99ZZZ
A1 to A9999 ongoing to Z1 - Z9999 (completed)
1A to 9999A ongoing to 1Z - 9999Z (completed)
A111A to Z999Z (current series)

Trade plates

Trade plates are used mainly by manufacturers, assemblers of motor vehicles or Licensed Motor Vehicle Dealers.

Trade plate users must qualify under provisions of the Transport (Vehicle and Driver Registration and Licensing) Act 1986.

The trade plate also acts as a licence and is renewed each year. In 1986 black characters on yellow plates were introduced, showing the last two digits of the year the plate was purchased.

1D - 9999D D1-D9999 (previous series)
1X-9999X X1 - X9999 (current series)

Diplomatic plates

These plates are only issued to vehicles owned by diplomatic missions, consular missions and cars used for ministerial purposes.

The ranges are:
CC1 - CC9999, 1CCC - 99CCC, CR1 - CR9999
DC1 - DC9999, 1DCC - 99DCC, CROWN
FC1 - FC9999, 1FCC - 99FCC

Personalised plates

Personalised registration plates were introduced in 1988.

A personalised plate can have up to six numbers or letters (other than those reserved for standard issue, single plates, trade or diplomatic plates).

Some personalised plates have blue or red characters on a white background.

The sale and marketing of personalised registration plates is contracted to Personalised Plates Limited.

Overseas visitors’ licence plates

Visitors to New Zealand can bring their vehicles in and drive without paying registration and licensing fees (but they do pay the ACC levy). While in New Zealand the vehicle displays the plates from its home country.

This is allowed under the Transport (Convention of Road Traffic) Regulations 1968. The vehicle must originate from a country that’s a party to the Convention of Road Traffic 1949 or 1968.

The vehicle must remain licensed in its own country, but have a current New Zealand Warrant of Fitness (WoF) or Certificate of Fitness (CoF).

Vehicles are only exempt from New Zealand registration and licensing fees for 18 months or until the vehicle is sold. The exemption ends if the visitor becomes a permanent resident in New Zealand.

Description of registration plates issued from 1925

1925-1926	Symbol n (square) Mid-Centre. White numerals on green background. Manufactured in USA.
1926-1927	Symbol - (hyphen) Mid-Centre. White numerals on black background.
1927-1928	Symbol ? (star) Mid-Centre. Orange numerals on black background.
1928-1929	Symbol u (diamond) Mid-Centre. White numerals on brown background.
1929-1930	Symbol l (circle) Mid-Centre. White numerals on blue background.
1930-1931	Symbol : (colon). White numerals on black background.
1931-1932	Symbol (triangle) Mid-Centre. Orange numerals on black background.
1932-1933	Symbol - (hyphen) Low. Black numerals on orange background.
1933-1934	Symbol ? (star) Lower-Centre. White numerals on dark brown background.
1934-1935	Symbol u (diamond) Lower-Centre. White numerals on oxford blue background.
1935-1936	Symbol , (comma) Lower-Centre. White numerals on bronze green background.
1936-1937	Symbol (inverted triangle) Lower-Centre. Black numerals on yellow background.
1937-1938	Symbol (escutcheon) Lower-Centre. White numerals on black background.
1938-1939	Symbol V (maltese cross) Lower-Centre. White numerals on green background.
1939-1940	Symbol (pentagon). Black numerals on orange blackground.
1940-1941	Symbol (triangle) Lower-Centre. White numerals on venetian red background
1941-1946	Symbol u (diamond) Lower-Centre. White numerals on black background.
1946-1951	Symbol - (hyphen) Mid-Centre. Black numerals on mid-buff background.
1951-1956	Symbol , (comma) Lower-Centre. White numerals on black background.
1956-1961	Symbol ? (star) Mid-Centre. White numerals on venetian red background.
1961-1966	Symbol l (circle). Black numerals on yellow background.
1967-1986	no symbol. Silver numerals on black background.
1986-now	Black numerals on white background (reflectorised).

Registration plates - Q & As

Are plates re-pressed and re-issued after a car is demolished?

No - only personalised and diplomatic or consular plates can be re-manufactured. The aluminium is recycled, but not specifically for making new registration plates.

When was the zero with the stroke through it issued?

The stroke was introduced in early 1990s because of increasing confusion following the introduction of personalised plates in 1988.

Can plates from the standard series be reserved as personalised plates?

Yes, the request needs to be made to Personalised Plates Limited.

What is the oldest plate on a vehicle currently being driven?

The oldest plate currently registered is AA100.

Approx year issued	PLATE SERIES
1970	FG FH FI FJ FK FL FM FN
1971	FP FQ FR FY FZ GA
1972	FS FT FW FX GB GC GD GE GF GH GJ
1973	GG GI GK GL GM GN GP GR GU GX GY GZ
1974	GO GQ GS GT GW GZ HA HC HE HF HG HH HJ HK
1975	HB HI HL HM HN HR HS HT HU HZ
1976	HO HP HQ HW HX HY IA IB IC ID IF IH IJ
1977	IE IG IK IL IM IN IP IR
1978	IQ IS IT IU IW IX IY IZ JA JB JC
1979	JD JE JF JG JI JJ JM JT
1980	JH JK JL JO JP JQ JR JS JW JX
1981	JN JU 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
1984/85	LT 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 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 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 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 TU TW TX
1996	TY TZ UA UB UC UD UE UF UG UH UI UJ UK UL UM UN UO UP UQ UR US UT
1997	UW UX UY UZ WA WC WD WE WF WG WH WI WJ WL WM WN WO WP WQ WR WS
1998	WT WU WX WY WZ XA XB XC XD XE XF XG XH XI XJ XK XL XM XO XP XQ
1999	XR XS XT XU XW XX XY XZ YA YB YC YD YE YF YG YH 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

We wish to thank Pablo Serazio for permission to use his photographs of old registration plates.

Last updated: 4 May 2005