All vehicles (four-wheelers and two-wheelers) must be registered with the RTO under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988. (Regional Transport Office). Driving an unregistered vehicle on public highways is against the law and can result in severe penalties. All registered vehicles must also have license plates that show the vehicle’s registration number. You may have seen vehicles with high-security registration plates and colored license plates, such as white, yellow, and green. So, what do these colors represent? Continue reading to learn about the many types of number plates in India.
Different Types Of Number Plates in India (colored license plates)
You may have noticed vehicles on the road with various colored license plates. Some car license plates in India are yellow, while others are white. Some automobiles also have green license plates. So, what do the various colors mean?
This section sheds light on India’s many types of automobile license plates.
1. WHITE NUMBER PLATE
In India, this is the most common license plate. The white number plates are required for all private or non-commercial vehicles (two and four). A car with a white license plate with black text is only for private/personal use. A vehicle with a white registration number plate cannot carry goods or passengers.
2. BLACK NUMBER PLATE
All self-driven or rented vehicles (two-wheelers and four-wheelers) in India must have a black number plate with yellow letters in India. These vehicles are commercially registered. On the other hand, driving a black number plate car does not require a business vehicle driving license. These license plates are typically available on rental and premium hotel vehicles.
3. YELLOW NUMBER PLATE
As you may have noticed, all auto-rickshaws, taxis, lorries, and buses have yellow number plates with black lettering. This is due to the requirement that all commercial vehicles display a yellow number plate. Commercial automobiles are taxed differently than private vehicles, not merely because of their color. Drivers of yellow number plate vehicles must also have a business vehicle driving license.
4. GREEN NUMBER PLATE
Green license plates are only available for electric vehicles (EVs). Green license plates are required for all EVs registered in India. However, the writing color varies depending on whether the vehicle is private or commercial. Private electric bikes, scooters, and cars have green license plates with white lettering, whereas commercial EVs receive green plates with yellow lettering.
5. BLUE NUMBER PLATE
A blue number plate in India identifies a vehicle designated for foreign ambassadors with white text. The alphabets on the blue number plates include CC (Consular Corps), UN (United Nations), DC (Diplomatic Corps), and so on. Furthermore, these license plates lack a state code. They instead display the diplomat’s country code.
6. RED NUMBER PLATE
In India, all newly manufactured automobiles are given a temporary registration number. The temporary registration number is shown in white writing on a red number plate in India. When registering your car in India, you can use the red number plate until you obtain your permanent registration number from the RTO. Once you’ve received your permanent number, you can change the red plate to a white/yellow/green number plate, depending on the color of your car.
The temporary license plate has a one-month validity period. However, certain Indian states prohibit red license plate vehicles on public roadways. For more information, go to the official website of your state’s transportation department or the Parivahan portal.
7. UPWARD ARROW NUMBER PLATE
All military vehicles registered with the Ministry of Defence have a distinct black number plate design in india. They have an upward arrow before or after the second character. A broad arrow is another name for an up-pointing arrow. The two digits after the upward arrow reflect the year of purchase; the alphabet next to the two digits represents the base code, and the numbers after the base code represent the serial number. The last letter on the license plate indicates the vehicle’s class.
8. PLAIN RED OR RED NUMBER PLATE WITH THE NATIONAL EMBLEM
The governors’ vehicles are marked with plain red number plates. A scarlet number plate with the golden national symbol indicates that the vehicle belongs to India’s President.
