Vehicle registration plates of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display licence plates in 1920.

In 1956, the U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that fixed the size for licence plates for vehicles, except those for motorcycles, at six inches in height by twelve inches in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the province's first licence plate that complied with these standards.

The last complete re-registration of all registered vehicles in Newfoundland was in 1981, with a switch from a numerical system (which reached a high of approximately 250000) to an alphanumeric system.

All plates issued since 1982 (beginning AAA-001) remain valid today. Plates remain with the vehicle to which they are originally registered, rather than with the owner. Used vehicles with expired plates are issued new licence plates — used vehicles with valid plates retain their original licence plate.

Since 1985, the province has not issued the letters I, Q, U, or Y on licence plates. At least one exception exists: on the 1996-1997 Cabot 500 base, the HAY series was issued, and some of these plates can still be observed on the road today. More recently, the letter I has been seen in the TGI series (issued to trailers). The letter O, however, is still used in all positions.

Since September 1997, the province requires only a rear plate for most registrations, except for B, C, E and G plates (see below). Some older cars still display both front and rear plates. Some early "World of Difference" and Cabot 500 base plates were issued in duplicate for the front and rear.

On Newfoundland licence plates, the first letter (or two letters) designates the registration class of the vehicle. For example, HMT-999 would be assigned to a passenger car, while TZD-019 would be assigned to a trailer.

Vehicle class

First letter(s)	Vehicle type	Notes on use/expiration/issue
A	Private car	Began at AAA-001 in 1982; ended at AZZ-999 on World of Difference base in 1998. Front and rear plates required until 1997.
B	Bus	BAx for public-use buses, BPx for private-use buses (e.g. tour buses). Front and rear plates required.
C	Truck/heavy vehicle	Issued to pickup trucks, SUVs and large vans. Began at CAA-001 in 1982. Front and rear plates required. CRx indicates large mobile crane units that are generally overwidth and need special permits and escort on public roadways. Some trucks and vans may now be registered as private cars.
D	Dealer	Issued to auto dealers for test driving and transporting cars.
E	Emergency vehicle	Emergency vehicles (fire trucks or police cars) are registered as provincial or municipal, as private ambulance companies operate in NL. Front and rear plates required. Also used by search and rescue vehicles.
F	Farm vehicle	FAx for farm tractors, FEx for farm equipment, FTx for farm trucks that operate on roads. Infrequently issued.
G	Government vehicle	GMx on municipal vehicles, GPx on provincial, GFx on federal. Municipal/provincial still issue 2001 flag series, federal only has 2003 series. None on 2002 issue. Front and rear plates required. In 2010 provincial government vehicles started featuring 2007 type plates.
H	Private car	Issued as next available letter after A series. Began at HAB-001 on Cabot base in fall of 1996; issued on World of Difference base from 1998; ended at HZZ-999 on pitcher plant base in summer of 2013.
J	Private car	Issued as next available letter after H series. Began at JAA-001 on pitcher plant base in summer of 2013.
M	Motorcycle	Began at MCA-001.
PR	Apportioned	Issued to transport trucks, began at PRP-001 on 1993 issue.
T	Trailer	Began at TAA-001 in 1982; jumped from TET-999 to TVT-001 when flag base was introduced in 2001; reached TZZ-999 then jumped back to TEV-001 on pitcher plant base in 2008. TXx reserved for taxi plates.
TX	Licensed taxi	Supplemented with a municipal taxi licence sticker.
W	Tow truck	Tow trucks display a second plate (in addition to a C series). Infrequently issued.
X	Heavy machinery	Issued to tractors, backhoes, forklifts, etc.

Passenger baseplates 1967 to present

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1967	Embossed green numbers on white plate with border line; "NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR" and "1967" embossed in green block letters centred above and below numbers respectively	"CANADA CENTENNIAL" embossed in green block letters between numbers and year	1-234 12-345	1-001 to approximately 79-000
	1968	Embossed red numbers on white plate with border line; "NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR" embossed in red block letters above numbers; "19" embossed in bottom left corner and "68" in bottom right corner	"CANADA'S HAPPY PROVINCE" embossed in two lines of red block letters centred below numbers	1-234 12-345	1-001 to approximately 87-000
	1969	Embossed blue numbers on white plate with border line; "NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR" and "1969" embossed in blue block letters centred above and below numbers respectively, with an embossed blue lightning bolt either side of year	"THE MIGHTY CHURCHILL" embossed in curving line of blue block letters between numbers and year	1-234 12-345	1-001 to approximately 88-000
	1970–72	Embossed green numbers on white plate with border line; "NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR" and "1970" embossed in green block letters centred above and below numbers respectively	none	1-234 12-345 123-456	1-001 to approximately 136-000
	1973–75	Embossed red numbers on white plate; border line around plate and around sticker spots in bottom corners; "NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR" and "1973" embossed in red block letters centred above and below numbers respectively	none	1-234 12-345 123-456	1-001 to approximately 165-000
	1976–82	Embossed blue numbers on orange plate; border line around plate and around sticker spots in bottom corners; "NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR" and "1976" embossed in blue block letters centred above and below numbers respectively	none	1-234 12-345 123-456	1-001 to approximately 259-000
	1982 – mid 1993	Embossed blue numbers on white plate; "NEWFOUNDLAND" and "AND LABRADOR" embossed in red block letters centred above and below numbers respectively	none	ABC-123	AAA-001 to ASZ-999
	mid 1993 – September 1996	Embossed red numbers on white plate; graphic screened at bottom featuring a Viking ship with a red sail against a yellow sunset; "Newfoundland & Labrador" screened in red serifed letters above numbers	"A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE" screened in two wavy lines of red serifed letters below and to right of graphic	ABC 123	ATA 001 to AZF 999
	September 1996 – September 1997	Embossed red numbers on light blue and white gradient plate; screened red graphic of John Cabot centred at bottom; "Newfoundland & Labrador" screened in blue serifed letters above numbers	"CABOT" screened in blue cursive letters to right of graphic, and "Celebrate 500 Years" in black serifed letters to left	ABC 123	HAB 001 to HBC 999	Commemorated the 500th anniversary of Cabot's voyage to Newfoundland.
	September 1997 – October 2001	As 1993–96 base	"A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE" as from 1993–96	ABC 123	AZG 001 to AZZ 999; HBD 001 to HEP 999
	October 2001 – July 2002	Embossed red numbers on white plate; screened provincial flag centred slightly below numbers; "NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR CANADA" screened in three lines of red serifed letters below flag	none	ABC 123	HER 001 to HFO 999
	July 2002 – September 2003	As above, but with "NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR" in two lines centred above numbers, and "CANADA" increased in size			HFP 001 to HGZ 999
	September 2003 – April 2007	As above, but with flag graphic revised and increased in size, "Newfoundland & Labrador" in one line above numbers, and "CANADA" removed			HHA 001 to HMT 999
	April 2007 – present	Embossed blue numbers on white plate; screened provincial wordmark centred at bottom, consisting of "Newfoundland" and "Labrador" in blue stylized serifed letters, and a pitcher plant	none	ABC 123	HMV 001 to JFA 999 (as of October 14, 2016)

Non-passenger types

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Motorcycle	1982– 2004	Similar design to 1982 passenger base; debossed sticker box in bottom left corner	M/C A-123	M/C A-001 to M/C X-999
		2004–07	Embossed red numbers on white plate; border lines around plate and around sticker box in bottom left corner; "NEWFOUNDLAND" embossed in red block letters above numbers; "& LABRADOR" embossed in same letters in bottom right corner	MAB-123	MDA-001 to MDE-999
		2007– present	Similar design to pitcher plant passenger base; debossed sticker box in bottom left corner		MDF-001 to MEE-999 (as of February 20, 2015)
	Trailer	1982–94	As 1982 passenger base	TAB-123	TAA-001 to TDE-999
		1994–96	As World of Difference passenger base	TAB 123	TDF 001 to TDR 999
		1996–97	As Cabot passenger base		TDS 001 to TDX 999
		1997–2001	As World of Difference passenger base		TDZ 001 to TET 999
		2001–02	As 2001 flag passenger base		TVT 001 to TVV 999
		2002–03	As 2002 flag passenger base		TVW 001 to TWE 999
		2003–07	As 2003 flag passenger base		TWF 001 to TWZ 999; TZA 001 to TZC 999
		2007– present	As pitcher plant passenger base		TZD 001 to TZZ 999; TEV 001 to TJD 999 (as of August 14, 2015)
	Truck	1982–95	As 1982 passenger base	CAB-123	CAA-001 to CHV-999
		1995–96	As World of Difference passenger base	CAB 123	CHW 001 to CJH 999
		1996–97	As Cabot passenger base		CKL 001 to CKR 999
		1997– 2003	As World of Difference passenger base		CJJ 001 to CKK 999; CKS 001 to CMS 999
		2003–04	As 2001 flag passenger base		CMT 001 to CNE 999
		2004–07	As 2003 flag passenger base		CNF 001 to COS 999
		2007– present	As pitcher plant passenger base		COT 001 to CXP 999 (as of November 3, 2015)	Serials CRA through CRZ reserved for mobile crane units.

External links

• Newfoundland and Labrador licence plates 1969-present