Vehicle registration plates of New Zealand

In New Zealand, vehicle registration plates contain up to six alphanumeric characters, depending on the type of vehicle and the date of registration. To be operated on any public road, most types of motor vehicles and trailers must be registered and display the corresponding registration plate. One plate must be affixed to the rear of the vehicle, and except in the case of a motorcycle, moped, tractor, or trailer, a second plate must be affixed to the front of the vehicle.
If the visibility of a regular number plate is obstructed, for example by a bike rack mounted to a car's trailer hitch, a supplementary plate with the same registration number must be obtained and affixed to the obstruction such that it will be visible from the same direction as the regular number plate would have been.

Standard numbering sequences

Cars and heavy vehicles

1964–1987: AAnnnn
1987–2001: AAnnnn
2001–present: AAAnnn

Private cars, taxis, and heavier road vehicles in New Zealand have number plates with up to six characters. From 1964 until March 2001 these number plates had two letters followed by one to four numbers, the sequence having started with AA1 and continuing through to ZZ9989 chronologically. An observer can therefore ascertain the approximate date of the first registration of a vehicle using the number plate.
By the end of 2000, this system had reached the end of the alphabet. The series officially ended with plate ZZ9989 the sequence ZZ9990 to ZZ9999 had appeared as personalized plates years earlier. A new system began in April 2001, with three letters followed by three numbers starting at 100. Land Transport New Zealand also issued AAA100 to AAA103 as personalized plates, officially meaning that the first plate in the new series read AAA104.
Starting with CEA, the number ranges started with 1, as in the old system. The authorities issued this series according to the first two letters – the third letter and numbers did not necessarily get issued in sequence.
Unlike in many countries, observers cannot normally identify a location of registration by simply looking at the number plate. One exception to this rule occurred when Ln plates first appeared in 1964: most plates went to the regions in batches, starting with the AA series in Southland and moving progressively north. For some time one could reasonably infer that an AF plate hailed from Dunedin, an AI plate from South Canterbury, and so on. In some later instances issuers coded plates to the area of registration, such as in 1966 with the allocation of plates beginning with CE to the Manawatu-Wanganui region, in 1974–1976 with the allocation of plates beginning with HB to the Hawke's Bay region, in May 1989 with the allocation of plates beginning with OG to Wellington region, and in July 2000 with the allocation of plates beginning with ZI to Auckland region.

Motorcycles and tractors

These vehicles use one of several five-character systems. Since 2009 the system has consisted of one letter, followed by one number followed by three letters; for example A2ATL.
The previous system consisted of one or two numbers followed by three letters. The system incremented the number sequence first, so after plate 12ABC came 13ABC, and 99ABC preceded 1ABD. In July 2009, these plates had reached the ZUU range.

Caravans and trailers

, caravan and trailer number plates have the format nLLnn . The previous formats were, in order:,,, and.
Two older formats are the Lnnnn format and the nnnnL format which were issued on black-on-white and silver-on-black plates. Some black-on-white plates issued in 2002 have the format , in preparation of the new LnnnL format launched later that year. Also, silver-on-black plates were issued to trailers with motorcycle plates before the RNA range in 1990.

History

Before 1925 vehicle registration took place on a regional rather than on a country-wide basis. Vehicles displayed their registration numbers on the right-hand side of the vehicle, often painted on. From 1925, the authorities issued steel plates to vehicle-owners annually. The first plates were United States-made green with white numbers prefixed with NZ. The 1926–1927 year was black with white numbers with the following plates black with orange numbers. This system changed when steel supplies became limited during World War II: from 1941 plates remained valid for five years.
In 1961, the last non-permanent plates were issued. They were yellow with black numbers in the format nnn•nnn. Plates were issued in numerical order starting from Wellington and progressing up the North Island to Whangarei, before jumping to Blenheim and progressing down the South Island to Invercargill.

Area	From	To	Total plates
Whangarei	422•601	441•700	19,100
Auckland	302•601	422•600	120,000
Thames	273•101	302•600	29,500
Hamilton	208•901 238•001	236•999 273•100	63,199
Gisborne	195•001	208•000	13,000
Napier	165•501	195•000	29,500
New Plymouth	136•001	165•500	29,500
Wanganui	116•001	136•000	20,000
Palmerston North	80•501	116•000	33,500
Masterton	70•001	80•500	10,500
Wellington	10•001	70•000	60,000
Blenheim	600•001	607•800	7,800
Nelson	607•801	622•400	14,600
Westport	622•401	624•400	2,000
Greymouth	624•401	630•500	6,100
Christchurch	630•501	710•500	80,000
Timaru	710•501	726•400	15,900
Oamaru	726•401	733•000	6,600
Dunedin	733•001	771•000	38,000
Invercargill	771•001	802•500	31,500

Issuance of permanent registration plates commenced in 1964. These new plates were made of aluminium and had silver serials on a black background. Serials consisted of two letters and up to four numbers, and were issued sequentially, the first serial being AA100. Certain two-letter series were banned or reserved for government or diplomatic use, while use of the letter V was discontinued after 1971 and later, Q was not used as the first letter.
In November 1986, the plate design officially changed to black serials on a reflectorised white background, following a trial run some weeks earlier. The first official plate of this design had the serial MX100. Silver-on-black plates remain valid and in use, and it is possible to buy a pre-1987 used car with such plates, as vehicle owners in New Zealand do not have to change plates when ownership of a vehicle changes. However, black-on-white plates may be used to replace silver-on-black plates that are irreparably damaged. The serial font initially remained unchanged following the design change. In mid-1990, a slash was added to the zero character; the first plate to feature a slashed zero had the serial PC10.
In September 2022, Kiwi Plates announced the relaunch of black number plates. After extensive work with Waka Kotahi and the New Zealand Police to ensure the plates were compatible with traffic and toll cameras, the new plates were approved with black backgrounds and an option of silver or white lettering. All new black plates include an 'NZ' hologram to allow officers to confirm validity on the road.
Plates used sans-serif lettering until the letter code DFN. Plates since then use a thicker-lined partially-seriffed font based on FE-Schrift. The authorities introduced the new font in order to foil attempts to cut out letters and put them back in upside-down when forging licence plates.

Design

Most plates come in rectangular form with all the characters of the serial on a single horizontal line. Plates for motorcycles may split the serial between two horizontal lines, or may be a smaller version of the car plate. Plates on the front mudguards of motorcycles can take the overall form of an arc, although this form is no longer issued. All plates consist of a pressed aluminium plate with the characters and a surrounding border embossed, rather than printed. Only plates issued by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and its agents are legal. Plates purchased anywhere else are unacceptable.
Later plates with a white background may feature a holographic pattern on the white field, observed from the XD series of serials onwards. This design, visible only from certain angles and under appropriate lighting conditions, displays strips of silver roundels with a stylised silver fern pattern in silhouette.
Newly launched black number plates feature a black background with white or silver lettering. Unlike white plates, these do not feature a holographic pattern on the background field, and instead use a small 'NZ' logo at the bottom righthand corner to confirm validity.
The alphanumeric characters on current standard car plates measure 78 mm tall by 45 mm wide. The previous series of black on white plates and the earlier silver on black plates shared the same font, with characters that were 84 mm tall by 48 mm wide.