Vehicle registration plates of Albania

Current plates from 2011

In Albania, vehicle registration plates are issued by the regional directorates of transport.

Format

The new format is no longer based on regional district abbreviations, while old plates are still valid

A new format similar to the post-1994 Italian and post-2009 French plate designs has been introduced since 16 February 2011.^[1] The plates start with a blue strip at the left with 'AL' and redesigned double-headed eagle in white, 2 serial letters, security hologram, 3 digits, 2 serial letters on a rectangular white background, and end on the right with year of registration and regional code in white on a blue strip. It has been observed that the last two identification elements are de facto not included while the font is more emphasized than the post-2002 one.^[2] Plates of all vehicles would experience a similar change.^[3] Critics claim that the color of the double headed eagle and strip is not representative of red and black colors of the Albanian flag.

History

1958-1993

Pre-1990 diplomatic plate. Notice the red star, People's Socialist Republic of Albania initials clockwise around the star (RPSSH), and overall plate material

During communism, plates of trucks would be painted upon on the sides with district name initials and a five digit serial number (in 1991 two digits followed with district name initials and three digits). State vehicles bared a white plate with the communist red star, district initials and serial number in black or white. Once private ownership was re-established after the fall of Communism, a new format with standard size was introduced similar to the post 1993 model but with different font and missing national identification strip.

1993-2011

Plate with smaller font and regional code issued from 2002 to 2011. 'KO' stands for Korçë District. Old plates are still valid even though new plates were introduced

Plate with DIN 1451 font issued from 1995 to 2002. 'TR' stands for Tirana District. Note the inclusion of the national identification strip on the left

The old 1993 format is still valid even though the new 2011 plates were introduced in February 2011. The old 1993 format was introduced around 1993 with the addition of the national identification strip (in 1995) on the left and a new bigger DIN 1451 font. Spacing between characters changed numerous times and a security hologram was added. The format starts with a two-letter abbreviation of an Albanian district name. For instance, the abbreviation for Korçë District is KO. A four-digit number follows with a serial letter indicating the order of allocation of each series of numbers. Thus, a plate ending in "B" will have been more recently released than one ending in "A" in the same district. Since 2002, a smaller font was introduced while plates with the older font are still valid.

The numbers and letters running on a Latin alphabet system show the number of vehicles registered in a district. If the last letter of a plate is "U", it means that a particular district has ~200 000 (two hundred thousand) registered cars.^[4]

District abbreviations

Map of regional codes

Code	District
BC	Tropojë
BR	Berat
BZ	Bulqizë
DI	Dibër
DL	Delvinë
DR	Durrës
DV	Devoll
EL	Elbasan
ER	Kolonjë
FR	Fier
GJ	Gjirokastër
GR	Gramsh
HS	Has
KJ	Kavajë
KO	Korçë
KR	Krujë
KU	Kukës
KV	Kuçovë
LA	Kurbin
LB	Librazhd
LE	Lezhë
LU	Lushnjë
MA	Malësi e Madhe
MK	Mallakastër
MR	Mirditë
MT	Mat
PE	Peqin
PG	Pogradec
PR	Përmet
PU	Pukë
SH	Shkodër
SK	Skrapar
SR	Sarandë
TP	Tepelenë
TR	Tirana
VL	Vlorë

Other types

Type	Serial format	Notes
Diplomatic	CD 00-00 A	Green serial and border.
Taxi	AA 000 T	Red serial and border. Blue contour left and right.
Police Car	MB 000 A	"MB"(Ministria e Brendshme-Albanian) means Ministry of Interior

Diplomatic license plate codes:

Code	Country or Organization
01	Austria
02	United Kingdom
03	Bulgaria
04	N/A
05	Czech Republic
06	Egypt
07	France
08	Greece
09	Germany
10	Hungary
11	Italy
12	Iran
13	Serbia
14	China
15	Croatia
16	N/A
17	Macedonia
18	Palestine
19	Poland
20	Romania (Honorary Consulate)
21	Russia
22	N/A
23	United States
24	Turkey
25	Switzerland
27	Saudi Arabia
28	Sweden
29	Spain
33	UNESCO
41	European Union
42	United Nations
43	UNICEF
44	N/A
45	WHO (World Health Organisation)
48	World Bank
52	Kuwait
55	Kosovo
56	Netherlands
60	Denmark
66	Slovakia
77	Brazil
79	Israel
81	Qatar

References

↑ "Targat e reja të makinave, nisi sot vënia në qarkullim". TV Klan. 16 February 2011.
↑ "Targat e reja, me stemen e BE". Koha Jone. 2 September 2010.
↑ "Konferencë për shtyp e Drejtorit të DPSHTRR-së, z. Kreshnik Bozdo". MPPT. 2 September 2010.
↑ 20 (letters) x 10 000 (9999 cars) [letters "O", "Q", "V", "X", and "Y" are not used, while "Z" is reserved for government vehicles].

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to License plates of Albania.

Vehicle registration plates of Europe

Sovereign states	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City

States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Kosovo Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria

Dependencies and other territories	Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Svalbard

Other entities	European Union Sovereign Military Order of Malta

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