Vehicle registration plates of Latvia
Encyclopedia
Vehicle registration plates of Latvia consist two letters (trailers plates have one letter), a hyphen
and one to four numbers (depending on the age of registration) e.g. AB-1234, or AB-123, or AB-12 or AB-1.
got its independence in 1991 and till 2004 a small Latvian national flag with the initials LV would have been used on the left-side of the plate. Ever since Latvia
joined the European Union
, the EU blue label has been included on the license plate with the initials LV.
Front number plates are 520 mm x 111 mm in size. Rear plates may be:
script. Most noticeable changes include alternate forms of the 6 and 9 and rounded corners.
. In 2006 CSDD decided to increase price from 542,80 LVL
to 2500 LVL, because old price became too affordable. Personalized plates can consist from two to eight symbols: letters, numbers or spaces. Same symbol can be repeated maximum 3 times without breaks (for example there is existing number "XXXIXXX"). Plate can't include only numbers, so minimum requirement is one letter and one number (for example plate number "4O" (forty) consist of 4 and letter O
).
Hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. The hyphen should not be confused with dashes , which are longer and have different uses, or with the minus sign which is also longer...
and one to four numbers (depending on the age of registration) e.g. AB-1234, or AB-123, or AB-12 or AB-1.
Colour and dimensions
Current plates have black characters on white reflective material for both front and rear plates. Since LatviaLatvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
got its independence in 1991 and till 2004 a small Latvian national flag with the initials LV would have been used on the left-side of the plate. Ever since Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
joined the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, the EU blue label has been included on the license plate with the initials LV.
Front number plates are 520 mm x 111 mm in size. Rear plates may be:
- 520 mm x 111 mm (Standard)
- 285 mm x 203 mm (Square, used mostly on SUVs)
- 320 mm x 111 mm (Small, used mostly on American and some Japanese RHDRHDRHD may refer to:* Rabbit haemorrhagic disease, a disease caused by the Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus* Red Hand Defenders, an illegal paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland* "Remove hidden data" tool in Microsoft Office Word...
cars that have small place for plate). This type of plate can only include 4 symbols without hyphen e.g. AB12, however hyphen is included on front plate.
Typeface
All Latvian plates use unknown custom typeface based on old German DIN 1451DIN 1451
DIN 1451 is a realist sans-serif typeface that is widely used for traffic, administration and business applications. It has been defined by the German standards body Deutsches Institut für Normung since 1936.-Overview:...
script. Most noticeable changes include alternate forms of the 6 and 9 and rounded corners.
Car designations
Latvian license plates do not have any particular designation coding. However, Latvian army cars and trucks have LA letters on plates meaning Latvijas Armija.Personalized plates
Some years ago Latvian government allowed registering personalized platesVanity plate
A vanity plate or personalized plate , prestige plate, private number plate, or personalised registration or custom plate or personalised plate is a special type of vehicle registration plate on an automobile or other vehicle...
. In 2006 CSDD decided to increase price from 542,80 LVL
Latvian lats
The lats is the currency of Latvia. It is abbreviated as Ls. The lats is sub-divided into 100 santīmi ....
to 2500 LVL, because old price became too affordable. Personalized plates can consist from two to eight symbols: letters, numbers or spaces. Same symbol can be repeated maximum 3 times without breaks (for example there is existing number "XXXIXXX"). Plate can't include only numbers, so minimum requirement is one letter and one number (for example plate number "4O" (forty) consist of 4 and letter O
O
O is the fifteenth letter and a vowel in the basic modern Latin alphabet.The letter was derived from the Semitic `Ayin , which represented a consonant, probably , the sound represented by the Arabic letter ع called `Ayn. This Semitic letter in its original form seems to have been inspired by a...
).
Special plates
- On taxis, the plate would be coloured black letters on a yellow background, and would consist of two letters, a hyphen and one to four numbers. The two letters would be TX, meaning Taxi. After all numbers within TX range were used, TE letters were used.
- On trailers and semi-trailers, the license plates consist of one letter, a hyphen and four numbers, and are coloured black letters on a white background.
- On 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, the license plates have the same colours as the ordinary plates, but the shape and font size is different, also letters would be TA, or TB, or TC etc. - On diplomatic corps, the coding also consists of two letters, a hyphen and four numbers. The plates would be coloured black letters on a red background. The first two letters would be CD, meaning Corps DiplomatiqueDiplomatic corpsThe diplomatic corps or corps diplomatique is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body.The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission who represent their countries in another state or country...
(one letter C also is used). And the first two numbers would represent which country it is in (e.g. 18 = NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, 33 = RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
49 = European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
).
External links
- Numurzimes.lv - largest photo gallery with Latvian V.I.P. personalized car number plates.
- Numur1.lv (Number1) - main and largest Latvia's car number plate dealing center
- Olav's plates Latvia
- Photolife.lv - biggest gallery with Latvian personalized plates.
- oHo.lv Q_mode's gallery - gallery with Latvian personalized plates.