International vehicle registration code
The country in which a motor vehicle's vehicle registration plate was issued may be indicated by an international vehicle registration code, also called Vehicle Registration Identification code or VRI code, formerly known as an International Registration Letter or International Circulation Mark. It is referred to as the Distinguishing sign of the State of registration in the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic of 1949 and the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968.
The allocation of codes is maintained by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe as the Distinguishing Signs Used on Vehicles in International Traffic, authorised by the UN's Geneva Convention on Road Traffic and the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Many vehicle codes created since the adoption of ISO 3166 coincide with ISO two- or three-letter codes. The 2004 South-East Asian Agreement ... for the Facilitation of Cross-Border Transport of Goods and People uses a mixture of ISO and DSIT codes: Myanmar uses MYA, China CHN, and Cambodia KH, Thailand uses T, Laos LAO, and Vietnam VN.
The Geneva Convention on Road Traffic entered into force on 26 March 1952. One of the main benefits of the convention for motorists is the obligation on signatory countries to recognize the legality of vehicles from other signatory countries. When driving in other signatory countries, the distinguishing sign of the country of registration must be displayed on the rear of the vehicle. This sign must be placed separately from the registration plate and may not be incorporated into the vehicle registration plate.
History
1909 Paris Convention
The display of a national distinctive mark on a white oval plate, with black letters was first introduced by the 1909 International Convention with respect to the Circulation of Motor Vehicles signed in Paris. The plate was required to be affixed to the rear of the vehicle, separate from the number plate displaying the vehicle's national registration mark. The 1909 convention only allowed distinctive marks to be of one or two Latin letters.| State | Mark | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Austrian Empire|empire1924 Paris ConventionThe term distinguishing mark was adopted by the 1924 International Convention Relative to Motor Traffic signed in Paris, which extended the maximum length of mark from two to three Latin letters, and permitted distinguishing marks not just for states, but also for non-sovereign territories which operated their own vehicle registration systems.File:VW Golf I Åland.JPG|thumb|Volkswagen Golf Mk1 with both International vehicle registration codes, the Åland Islands and Finland
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Alderney
ZanzibarECUEGYERInative name|it|Africa Orientale ItalianaSLVESTlang\|et|Eesti Vabariiklang\|et|Eesti WabariikETHnative name|it|Africa Orientale ItalianaFRAFINlang\|fi|Suomilang\|sv|FinlandFJILIElang\|de|Fürstentum LiechtensteinFROlang\|fo|FøroyarGABlang\|fr|Afrique Équatoriale Française