We explain what all the letters of the Spanish license plates mean, in addition to their colors and formats.
In Spain, we have been registering cars since October 31, 1900. It was back then, when a Clement brand quadricycle in the name of a certain Jose Sureda Fuentes was in charge of giving the starting signal to license plates in our country. Curiously, it did not happen in one of the main cities of the country, but in Santa Catalina, Mallorca, where the registration was made.
A lot has happened since 1900, a year in which only a total of three vehicles were registered. Without going any further, in 2019, a year before the pandemic plunged the country into a strict halt in activity, registered 1.25 million units. To put order in all this barrage of registrations, the DGT has some special plates, preventing all vehicles from falling into the same bag. Do you want to know them all? Read on to discover the most curious license plates in our country.
All Spanish license plates
Spanish number plates have their singularities. Get to know them all here
In the following screenshot of the DGT website, the designs of the main Spanish license plates are shown.
These are the main license plates in Spain, according to the DGT
By consulting the information in this article and taking a look at the image, you will be able to identify the license plates when you see them on the street.
What do the colored license plates mean in Spain?
Let’s review all existing license plates in our country and review in which cases each of them is assigned.
standard license plate
It is the one used for most vehicles. You will see it in cars, motorcycles over 49 cm³, trucks, buses and the rest. There are some curious aspects regarding this registration that you should know:
- Prohibited characters. Neither the vowels, nor the Ñ nor the Q are used. For this reason, the first license plates of each series begin with the B.
- Embedded country code. Currently, the country code is embedded in the European blue band, on the far left of the plate. In the case of Spain it is an E.
- Registration format. 0000 GXP
- Colors. White background with black letters.
Registration for taxis and VTC (blue)
assigned to taxis and cars with VTC license up to 9 seats. This is what you should know about them:
- They are very recent. They began to be implemented as of 2018. They serve to confirm that the service provided by the taxi driver or driver is legal.
- The numbering is the same as the standard. In fact, on the front, these vehicles carry a standard number plate.
- Includes the European band. The Spanish code is E.
- Registration format. 0000 GXP
- Colors. Blue background with white letters.
Historic license plate (white)
It is used when registering a car as historical. Here are the details:
- Always start with the letter of historical.
- Not awarded to all vehicles. According to the DGT, they are only available for vehicles that are at least 30 years old and have a “special interest for having participated in an important event or belonging to a personality and/or according to the uniqueness of the vehicle due to its scarcity (collection vehicles)”. The qualification is granted by the Autonomous Communities.
- Enrollment is indefinite.
- Registration format. H0000GXP
- Colors. White background with white letters without the European band.
Temporary license plate (green and red)
In this case, there are two categories:
- Assigned to individuals. With a P 0000 BBB format, green in color and white letters, they last up to 60 days.
- Assigned to companies. With a V 0000 BBB format, red in color and with white letters, they are assigned to registered and non-registered vehicles. Within the temporary license plates for companies, the expiration date of the license plate is included.
Diplomatic license plate (red, green, yellow and blue)
We find four types of plates in this category:
- red. With CD 10 001 format, vehicles for the Diplomatic Mission are identified.
- Green. With CC 50 001 format, they are plates for consular bodies.
- Yellow. With TA 315 001 format, they are assigned to members of the technical-administrative staff of the Diplomatic Mission.
- Blue. With OI 311 001 format, they are used for vehicles of an international organization.
Trailer license plate (red)
With the red background, the black letters and the format R 0000 XYZare granted to trailers and semi-trailers.
Quad license plate (white with red letters)
In Spain there is a specific plate for quad bikes over 400kg. It has a white background with red letters. The format is as follows: E 2023 BDC. Quads weighing less than 350 kg that do not exceed 45 km/h use the moped license plate. Those between 350 and 400 kg, the standard license plate of the rest of the vehicles.
License plate for mopeds (yellow)
Plate, generally vertical, with a yellow background and black letters. It is suitable for all vehicles (not just motorcycles) up to 50 cc that do not exceed 45 km/h. The format is this: CO 336 BBB.
Special plates for State forces
The different state security forces have their own license plates. Its appearance is similar to that of the standard plate, but they have some special characters at the beginning. This is the complete list, according to the DGT:
- PGC: Civil Guard vehicles.
- CNP: National Police Corps vehicles.
- ET: Land Army vehicles.
- EA: Air Force vehicles.
- FN: naval forces vehicles.
- Gothic E and a number: Ertzaintza vehicles.
- CGPC with red band: Canarian police vehicles.
History of license plates in Spain
Historical and current formats of standard license plates
License plate formats don’t last forever. When the combinations run out, it is necessary to make the leap to a new model. These are all those that have existed since vehicles began to be registered in Spain:
- From 1900 to 1971. Format: B – 123412. It was used in 5.4 million cars and included the province of registration.
- From 1971 to 2000. Format: V – 0000 – FN. It was used in 29.86 million cars.
- From 2000 to the present. Format: 1234 BCN. Combination with the potential to register up to 80 million vehicles.
Old plates: provincial codes
It is still possible to see some license plates belonging to the first and second groups. The provincial codes for license plates are as follows:
- Alava ➜ VI
- Lleida ➜ L
- Albacete ➜ AB
- Lugo ➜ LU
- Alicante ➜ A
- Madrid ➜ M
- Almeria ➜ AL
- Malaga ➜ MA
- Asturias ➜ OR
- Murcia ➜ MU
- Avila ➜ AV
- Navarre ➜ NA
- Badajoz ➜ BA
- Ourense ➜ OU
- Barcelona ➜ B
- Las Palmas ➜ GC
- Caceres ➜ CC
- Pontevedra ➜ PO
- Cadiz ➜ AC
- La Rioja ➜ IT
- Cantabria ➜ S
- Salamanca ➜ SA
- Castellon ➜ CS
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife ➜ TF
- Ciudad Real ➜ CR
- Segovia ➜ SG
- Cordoba ➜ CO
- Seville ➜ SE
- A Coruna ➜ C
- Soria ➜ SW
- Basin ➜ CU
- Tarragona ➜ T
- Girona ➜ GI (also GE, from Girona)
- Teruel ➜ TE
- Grenada ➜ GR
- Toledo ➜ TO
- Guadalajara ➜ GU
- Valencia ➜ F
- Gipuzkoa ➜ SS
- Valladolid ➜ VA
- Huelva ➜ H
- Biscay ➜ BI
- Huesca ➜ HU
- Zamora ➜ AZ
- Balearic Islands ➜ IB
- Saragossa ➜ Z
- Jaen ➜ J
- Ceuta ➜ EC
- Leon ➜ LE
- Melilla ➜ ML
