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Vehicle registration plates of Poland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vehicle registration plates of Poland indicate the region of registration of the vehicle given the number plate.

Detailed example of a Polish license plate in current design

Law

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According to Polish law, the registration plate is tied to the vehicle, not the owner. There is no possibility for the owner to keep the licence number for use on a different car, even if it's a cherished registration. The licence plates are issued by the powiat (county) of the vehicle owner's registered address of residence, in the case of a natural person. If it is owned by a legal person, the place of registration is determined by the person's address. Vehicles leased under operating leases and many de facto finance leases will be registered at the address of the lessor. When a vehicle changes hands, the new owner must apply for new vehicle registration document bearing their name and registered address. The new owner may obtain a new licence plate although it is not necessary. In such a situation the licence plates are usually carried over to the new owner, because the change carries an additional cost. Upon purchasing a vehicle from another person, if the vehicle has an EU plate, the new owner must replace it with a registration for their address and area, and give the EU plate to their powiat licensing authority to free up numbers in the future. If the car has a plate dated before May 1, 2006, the owner is free to do whatever they wish with it, as long as it is legal under Polish law. The plaque cannot be replaced if destroyed. The change of the whole set is required.

The change in system shown below in 2001 is related to the reduction in the previous year of the number of voivodeships in Poland from 49 to 16, based on the country's historic regions. The pre-2001 licence plates (white letters on black background) can be used indefinitely, but since they are obsolete they have to be replaced in case of change of vehicle's ownership.

In the pre-2001 model, there were not sufficient letters in the Polish alphabet for each of the old voivodeships to have a single letter. Only the standard latin alphabet was used (excluding Q), and the specific Polish characters with diacritics were excluded. Therefore, two letters had to be used to indicate the vehicle's origin (the middle administrative level of powiat was not introduced until 1999). Since the change, the first letter has always denoted the new voivodeship. One additional letter is used in cities with rights of powiat (this applies to 47 of 49 capitals of the old voivodeships, the exceptions being Ciechanów and Sieradz, and numerous major cities). Two additional letters are used in any other powiat.

It is not necessary for EU citizens to immediately re-register the vehicles they have brought with them if they are duly registered and taxed elsewhere in the EU, when living in Poland. This emerges from European law, although local regulations have to date not been changed to reflect the law, leading to officials locally sometimes giving incorrect advice on this point. When in doubt, motorists are recommended to refer to their respective embassies.

Format

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Stickers and security measures

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A holographic, rectangular sticker resembling a standard license plate. It reads WA92829
The windshield plaque (not issued since September 2022)

The licence plates are invalid without two adhesive stickers with holograms placed on the license plates, and, before 2022,[1] an adhesive plaque bearing the same number as the plates inside the windshield. If the vehicle uses only one licence plate then the second sticker must be attached to the registration documents.

Licence plate types and combinations

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Regular license plate with PL symbol and EU stars reading WA6642E
Polish license plates from Warsaw, current design since 2006

Each powiat uses a unique two or three letter code, with the first letter denoting the voivodeship. The number pools listed below are not used in any particular order, although one pool is usually depleted before the next one is used. A visible gap exists between the area code and series, but there is no possibility of confusion if the number is written down without it.

The following characters are used in licence plate examples:

  • X – voivodeship code
  • XY, XYZ – powiat code
  • J, K, L – any allowed letter
  • digits
Polish voivodeship divison with a letter attached to each one.
Polish voivodeship licence plate codes. First letter indicates the voivodeship.

The letters used in licence plates include all standard Latin alphabet letters outside of Q (not used at all in the Polish language). The letters B, D, I, O, and Z cannot be used in series area (on the right, after the gap), because they could be confused with similarly-looking digits. Custom plates are allowed to include these letters though. The leading 0 in numbers is part of the code and is never omitted.

Due to the pool of license plates combinations possibly running out in some areas,[2] in 2022 the Ministry of Infrastructure issued a directive under which extra leading characters were introduced for several of the voivodeships:[3]

Reportedly, the Warsaw district of Mokotów was the first to start issuing AE registration plates following the new directive.[4]

Cars, trucks, and buses

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Format:

  • XY 12345
  • XY 1234J
  • XY 123JK
  • XY 1J345
  • XY 1JK45
  • XYZ J234
  • XYZ 12JK
  • XYZ 1J34 (first digit cannot be 0)
  • XYZ 12J4 (last digit cannot be 0)
  • XYZ 1JK4 (neither digit can be 0)
  • XYZ JK34
  • XYZ 12345
  • XYZ 1234J
  • XYZ 123JK

The number of available unique numbers with these mentioned formats is 1,100,000 for each two-letter powiat code, and 872,400 for each three-letter powiat code. The combinations "XYZ 1234" and "XYZ 123J" are not used, because they would lead to creation of numbers identical to these in the old system. Also, the two-letter powiat codes must be followed by a leading digit, "XY 1...", to avoid confusion with the "XYZ ..." scheme, as the gap is not significant. Electric vehicles have green background on their license plates.

Motorcycles, mopeds, and agricultural vehicles

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Two-line, squarish license plate reading CB3745
Motorcycle plate. "CB" indicates Bydgoszcz

Format:

  • XY 1234
  • XY 123J
  • XY 1J34 (first digit cannot be 0)
  • XY 12J4 (last digit cannot be 0)
  • XY 12JK
  • XY JK12
  • XYZ J234
  • XYZ 12JK
  • XYZ 1J34 (first digit cannot be 0)
  • XYZ 12J4 (last digit cannot be 0)
  • XYZ 1JK4 (neither digit can be 0)
  • XYZ JK34
  • XYZ J23K
  • XYZ J2KL (a digit cannot be 0)

Cars – reduced size

A squarish license plate reading C009. Its width mimics U.S. license plates' size, but it's shorter vertically.
A reduced-size plate from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship.

Format:

  • X 123
  • X 12J
  • X 1J2
  • X J12
  • X 1JK
  • X JK1
  • X J1K

The plates are designed for cars imported from USA and Japan. Reduced size plates are the same width as US plates.

Classic cars

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Yellow orange plate reading SZ08A. A vintage car symbol is visible next to the number. Polish national flag is in the top-left corner
Polish classic car's plate from Zabrze
Yellow orange plate reading CBR7C. A vintage car symbol is visible next to the number. EU stars are present instead of the Polish flag
Polish classic car's plate (since May 1, 2006) from Brodnica County

Format:

  • XY 12J
  • XY 123
  • XYZ 1J
  • XYZ 12
  • XYZ J1

These plates use black text on yellow background with an additional picture of a vintage car on the right side. Vehicles are required to meet three criteria:[5]

  • manufactured at least 30 years ago
  • the particular model must be out of production for at least 15 years
  • consist of at least 75% of original parts

These criteria, however, can be waived for special cases, such as prototype vehicles that were never mass-produced, cars of considerable historical value, or models representing technological breakthroughs. As such, issuing of these plates is always handled on a case-by-case basis by the conservation officer. Registered classic cars are not required to undergo yearly technical checkup unless used for transportation services, such as taxi.

Temporary and export plates

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A rectangular plate reading D33313 in red.
Polish temporary plate from the Lower Silesian Voivodeship

Format:

  • X1 2345
  • X1 234J

These plates use red text on a white background. The plates wear a seal with month and year of validation. The windshield plaque is not issued with it.

Electric car plates

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A rectangular plate with green background reading DWR6004H
Polish electric/hydrogen car plate issued in Wrocław County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship.

Introduced on 1 January 2020, they are issued to battery-electric and hydrogen vehicles. They are similar to regular plates but the background colour is light green instead of white. Such vehicles are allowed to drive on bus lanes, therefore visibly different registration plates allow the police to establish whether a vehicle is doing so legally. Electric plates are also used in "American" plates with reduced space.[6]

Testing vehicles

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A rectangular plate reading S0715B in red
Polish testing plate from the Silesian Voivodeship

Format:

  • X1 234 B

These plates use red text on a white background. The last character is always the letter B (which stands for badawcza, or "research type"). Only car manufacturers and automobile R&D centres are issued these plates.

Custom plates

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A rectangular plate reading P0KAZIK
Custom licence plate from the Greater Poland Voivodeship. "Kazik" may be a person's nickname.

Format:

  • X1 JKLMN

These plates use standard black letters on a white background. Each custom number starts with the letter denoting voivodeship and a single digit, followed by the gap. This digit and next characters can be picked by the owner. Outside the availability the following constrains are used:

  • after the gap between 3 and 5 characters can be used
  • the first character must be a letter
  • no more than 2 last characters can be digits
  • all letters come before digits (i.e. they cannot be intermixed)
  • any standard Latin letter outside Q can be used (unlike common licence plates)
  • resulting plate must not contain or resemble offensive contents

Professional plates

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A single-row registration plate reading P27-00P05 in green-tinted letters.
Professional registration plate issued in Poznań. Note the green tint on the letters.

Format:

  • X12 34P56 (second letter is always "P")

Since July 2019 dealers of new cars can apply for special number plates with green letters on white background specifically for doing test drives. Those plates are issued exclusively for the company itself and not for a specific vehicle. This means they can be applied to multiple vehicles when needed. Only car retailers can obtain these and such cars can be driven only by the car dealer, owner of the company, their employees or customers, but only when accompanied by an employee.

Diplomatic plates

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A dark blue plate reading W005765
Polish diplomatic plate issued for the diplomatic personnel of the consulate (which is indicated by 765) for Germany (indicated by 005).

Format:

  • X 123456

White symbols on dark blue background. The leading character is reserved for voivodeship, but in practice all vehicles are issued W and registered by the Masovian voivode no matter the physical location of the mission.[7] The first three digits indicate a country or organization as listed in the table below.

Code Country
001  United States
002  United Kingdom
003  France
004  Canada
005  Germany
006  Netherlands
007  Italy
008  Austria
009  Japan
010  Turkey
011  Belgium
012  Denmark
013  Norway
014  Greece
015  Australia
016  Algeria
017  Afghanistan
018  Argentina
019  Brazil
020  Bangladesh
021  Egypt
022  Ecuador
023  Finland
024  Spain
025  Iraq
026  Iran
027  India
028  Indonesia
029  Colombia
030  Malaysia
031  Libya
032  Morocco
033  Mexico
034  Nigeria
035  Pakistan
036  Portugal
037  Palestine
038  Syria
039  Sweden
040   Switzerland
041  Tunisia
042  Thailand
043  Venezuela
044  Uruguay
045  Peru
046  Yemen
047  Costa Rica
048  Democratic Republic of Congo
049  Israel
050  Nicaragua
051  Chile
052  Holy See
053  South Korea
054 European Union European Commission
055  Ireland
056 World Bank
057 International Monetary Fund
058  Philippines
059 International Finance Corporation
060  South Africa
061 Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
062  Cyprus
063  Kuwait
064  United Nations
065  Russia
066  Slovakia
067  Czech Republic
068  Bulgaria
069  Hungary
070  Romania
071  Vietnam
072  Serbia
073  North Korea
074  Cuba
075  Albania
076  China
077  Mongolia
078 International Labour Organization
079 Organization for Cooperation of Railways
080 Diplomatic Club
081  Laos
082  Angola
083  Ukraine
084 European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
085  Lithuania
086  Belarus
087  Latvia
088  Croatia
089  Lebanon
090  Slovenia
091  Guatemala
092  Estonia
093  Macedonia
094  Moldova
095  Israel
096  Armenia
097  Sri Lanka
098  Kazakhstan
099  Saudi Arabia
100  Georgia
101  Uzbekistan
102 United Nations Human Settlements Programme
103  New Zealand
104  Azerbaijan
105  Sovereign Military Order of Malta
106  Cambodia
107 Frontex
108  Luxembourg
109  Bosnia and Herzegovina
110  Panama
111  Qatar
112  Malta
113  United Arab Emirates
114  Montenegro
115  Senegal

On top of the origin of the diplomatic mission, the vehicle's function can also be determined by the latter three digits:[8]

  • 001–199 – embassy diplomatic personnel private vehicles
  • 200–299military attaché private vehicles
  • 300–499 – embassy non-diplomatic personnel private vehicles
  • 500–501chief of mission official vehicles
  • 502–699 – embassy's other official vehicles
  • 700–799 – consulate's diplomatic personnel private vehicles
  • 801consul official vehicles
  • 800, 802–899 – consulate diplomatic personnel official vehicles
  • 900–999 – consulate's other official vehicles

Diplomatic vehicles are also required to carry a sticker with CD (corps diplomatique) or CC (corps consulaire).[9]

Service plates

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A rectangular plate reading HWAA105
Polish border guard plate
A rectangular plate reading HPPE057
Polish police plate

Format:

  • H#J K234
  • H#J 12KL

Vehicles utilised used by the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration use licence plates beginning with "H", instead of the voivodeship code. The second letter denotes the service, for example "HP" is used by the Polish Police. Any standard Latin letter outside Q can be used (unlike common licence plates). These services are also allowed to use common licence plates.

Codes:

  • HA# – Central Bureau of Anticorruption
  • HB# – Government Protection Bureau
  • HC# – Customs Service
  • HK# – Internal Security Agency, Foreign Intelligence Agency
  • HM# – Military Counterintelligence Agency, Military Intelligence Agency
  • HP# – Police
  • HS# – Fiscal Control
  • HW# – Border Guard

Military plates

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A rectangular plate reading UA03271
Polish military plate
Visibly painted-on plate reading UB02142 on a military transporter.
Military plates can also be painted on.

Format:

  • U# 12345
  • UC 1234T
  • UK 1234

The Polish military uses licence plates beginning with "U" instead of the voivodeship code. The following letter denotes the usage of the vehicle. For example, military trucks have licence plates beginning with "UC". The trailing T in the number denotes a tracked vehicle. The military are not obliged to use the standard licence plates on tracked vehicles, armoured cars and armoured personnel carriers — they can be painted on the vehicle itself or applied as a sticker.

Codes:

  • UA# – Cars, offroad vehicles and specialistic vehicles based on cars or off-roaders
  • UB# – Armoured personnel carriers
  • UC# – Military trucks
  • UD# – Buses
  • UE# – Trucks
  • UG# – Special trucks
  • UI# – Transport trailers
  • UJ# – Special trailers
  • UK# – Motorcycles

Cost of purchasing registration plates

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  • Regular: 80 PLN
  • Motorcycles: 40 PLN
  • Mopeds: 30 PLN
  • Custom Regular: 200 PLN
  • Custom Motorcycles: 140 PLN
  • Classic Cars: 100 PLN
  • Temporary: 30 PLN

District indicators

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Lower Silesian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship Lublin Voivodeship

DBWałbrzych (city county)
DBAWałbrzych County
DBLBolesławiec County
DDZDzierżoniów County
DGLGłogów County
DGRGóra County
DJJelenia Góra (city county)
DJAJawor County
DJEJelenia Góra County
DKAKamienna Góra County
DKLKłodzko County
DLLegnica (city county)
DLBLubań County
DLELegnica County
DLULubin County
DLWLwówek Śląski County
DMIMilicz County
DOAOława County
DOLOleśnica County
DPLPolkowice County
DSRŚroda Śląska County
DSTStrzelin County
DSWŚwidnica County
DTRTrzebnica County
DW, DXWrocław (city county)
DWLWołów County
DWRWrocław County
DZAZąbkowice Śląskie County
DZGZgorzelec County
DZLZłotoryja County

CALAleksandrów Kujawski County
CBBydgoszcz (city county)
CBRBrodnica County
CBYBydgoszcz County
CCHChełmno County
CGGrudziądz (city county)
CGDGolub-Dobrzyń County
CGRGrudziądz County
CINInowrocław County
CLILipno County
CMGMogilno County
CNANakło County
CRARadziejów County
CRYRypin County
CSESępólno County
CSWŚwiecie County
CTToruń (city county)
CTRToruń County
CTUTuchola County
CWWłocławek (city county)
CWAWąbrzeźno County
CWLWłocławek County
CZNŻnin County

EBEBełchatów County
EBRBrzeziny County
EKUKutno County
EL , EDŁódź (city county)
ELAŁask County
ELCŁowicz County
ELEŁęczyca County
ELWŁódź East County
EOPOpoczno County
EPPiotrków Trybunalski (city county)
EPAPabianice County
EPDPoddębice County
EPIPiotrków Trybunalski County
EPJPajęczno County
ERARadomsko County
ERWRawa Mazowiecka County
ESSkierniewice (city county)
ESISieradz County
ESKSkierniewice County
ETMTomaszów Mazowiecki County
EWEWieruszów County
EWIWieluń County
EZDZduńska Wola County
EZGZgierz County

LBBiała Podlaska (city county)
LBIBiała Podlaska County
LBLBiłgoraj County
LCChełm (city county)
LCHChełm County
LHRHrubieszów County
LJAJanów Lubelski County
LKRKraśnik County
LKSKrasnystaw County
LLBLubartów County
LLEŁęczna County
LLUŁuków County
LOPOpole Lubelskie County
LPAParczew County
LPUPuławy County
LRARadzyń Podlaski County
LRYRyki County
LSWŚwidnik County
LTMTomaszów Lubelski County
LULublin (city county)
LUBLublin County
LWLWłodawa County
LZZamość (city county)
LZAZamość County

Lubusz Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship Masovian Voivodeship (incl. Warsaw) Opole Voivodeship

FGGorzów Wielkopolski (city county)
FGWGorzów Wielkopolski County
FKRKrosno Odrzańskie County
FMIMiędzyrzecz County
FNWNowa Sól County
FSDStrzelce-Drezdenko County
FSL - Słubice County
FSUSulęcin County
FSWŚwiebodzin County
FWSWschowa County
FZZielona Góra (city county)
FZAŻary County
FZGŻagań County
FZIZielona Góra County

KBCBochnia County
KBRBrzesko County
KCHChrzanów County
KDADąbrowa Tarnowska County
KGRGorlice County
KLILimanowa County
KMIMiechów County
KMYMyślenice County
KNNowy Sącz (city county)
KNSNowy Sącz County
KNTNowy Targ County
KOLOlkusz County
KOSOświęcim County
KPRProszowice County
KR, KKKraków (city county)
KRAKraków County
KSUSucha Beskidzka County
KTTarnów (city county)
KTATarnów County
KTTTatra County
KWAWadowice County
KWIWieliczka County

WAWarsaw (Białołęka district)
WBWarsaw (Bemowo district)
WBRBiałobrzegi County
WCICiechanów County
WDWarsaw (Bielany district)
WEWarsaw (Mokotów district)
WFWarsaw (Praga-Południe district)
WGGarwolin County
WGMGrodzisk Mazowiecki County
WGRGrójec County
WGSGostynin County
WHWarsaw (Praga-Północ district)
WIWarsaw (Śródmieście district)
WJWarsaw (Targówek district)
WKWarsaw (Ursus district)
WKZKozienice County
WLLegionowo County
WLILipsko County
WLSŁosice County
WMMińsk Mazowiecki County
WMAMaków Mazowiecki County
WMLMława County
WNWarsaw (Ursynów district)
WNDNowy Dwór County
WOOstrołęka (city county)
WOROstrów Mazowiecka County
WOSOstrołęka County
WOTOtwock County
WPPłock (city county)
WPIPiaseczno County
WPLPłock County
WPNPłońsk County
WPRPruszków County
WPUPułtusk County
WPYPrzysucha County
WPZPrzasnysz County
WRRadom (city county)
WRARadom County
WSSiedlce (city county)
WSCSochaczew County
WSESierpc County
WSISiedlce County
WSKSokołów Podlaski County
WSZSzydłowiec County
WTWarsaw (Wawer district)
WUWarsaw (Ochota district)
WW ****(last K, L, M, N, V, R, S) – Warsaw (Włochy district)
WW ****(last F, G, H, J, W) – Warsaw (Wilanów district)
WW ****(last A, C, E, X, Y) – Warsaw (Rembertów district)
WWEWęgrów County
WWL, WVWołomin County
WWYWyszków County
WXWarsaw (Żoliborz district)
WX ***Y#Warsaw (Wesoła district)
WYWarsaw (Wola district)
WZWarsaw West County
WZUŻuromin County
WZWZwoleń County
WZYŻyrardów County

OBBrzeg County
OGLGłubczyce County
OKKędzierzyn-Koźle County
OKLKluczbork County
OKRKrapkowice County
ONANamysłów County
ONYNysa County
OOLOlesno County
OPOpole (city county)
OPOOpole County
OPRPrudnik County
OSTStrzelce Opolskie County

Podkarpackie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship

RBIBieszczady County
RBRBrzozów County
RDEDębica County
RJAJarosław County
RJSJasło County
RKKrosno (city county)
RKLKolbuszowa County
RKRKrosno County
RLAŁańcut County
RLELeżajsk County
RLSLesko County
RLULubaczów County
RMIMielec County
RNINisko County
RPPrzemyśl (city county)
RPRPrzemyśl County
RPZPrzeworsk County
RRSRopczyce-Sędziszów County
RSASanok County
RSRStrzyżów County
RSTStalowa Wola County
RTTarnobrzeg (city county)
RTATarnobrzeg County
RZRzeszów (city county)
RZERzeszów County

BAUAugustów County
BBIBielsk Podlaski County
BGRGrajewo County
BHAHajnówka County
BIBiałystok (city county)
BIABiałystok County
BKLKolno County
BLŁomża (city county)
BLMŁomża County
BMNMonki County
BSSuwałki (city county)
BSESejny County
BSISiemiatycze County
BSKSokółka County
BSUSuwałki County
BWMWysokie Mazowieckie County
BZAZambrów County

GAGdynia (city county)
GBYBytów County
GCHChojnice County
GCZCzłuchów County
GDGdańsk (city county)
GDAGdańsk County
GKAKartuzy County
GKSKościerzyna County
GKWKwidzyn County
GLELębork County
GMBMalbork County
GNDNowy Dwór Gdański County
GPUPuck County
GSSłupsk (city county)
GSLSłupsk County
GSPSopot (city county)
GSTStarogard Gdański County
GSZSztum County
GTCTczew County
GWEWejherowo County

SBBielsko-Biała (city county)
SBEBędzin County
SBIBielsko-Biała County
SBLBieruń-Lędziny County
SCCzęstochowa (city county)
SCICieszyn County
SCZCzęstochowa County
SDDąbrowa Górnicza (city county)
SGGliwice (city county)
SGLGliwice County
SHChorzów (city county)
SISiemianowice Śląskie (city county)
SJJaworzno (city county)
SJZJastrzębie-Zdrój (city county)
SKKatowice (city county)
SKLKłobuck County
SLRuda Śląska (city county)
SLULubliniec County
SMMysłowice (city county)
SMIMikołów County
SMYMyszków County
SOSosnowiec (city county)
SPIPiekary Śląskie (city county)
SPSPszczyna County
SRRybnik (city county)
SRBRybnik County
SRCRacibórz County
SRSRuda Śląska (city county)
STTychy (city county)
STATarnowskie Góry County
STYTychy County
SWŚwiętochłowice (city county)
SWDWodzisław Śląski County
SYBytom (city county)
SZZabrze (city county)
SZAZawiercie County
SZOŻory (city county)
SZYŻywiec County

Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship West Pomeranian Voivodeship

TBUBusko-Zdrój County
TJEJędrzejów County
TKKielce (city county)
TKAKazimierza Wielka County
TKIKielce County
TKNKońskie County
TLWWłoszczowa County
TOPOpatów County
TOSOstrowiec Świętokrzyski County
TPIPińczów County
TSASandomierz County
TSKSkarżysko-Kamienna County
TSTStarachowice County
TSZStaszów County

NBABartoszyce County
NBRBraniewo County
NDZDziałdowo County
NEElbląg (city county)
NEBElbląg County
NELEłk County
NGIGiżycko County
NGOGołdap County
NILIława County
NKEKętrzyn County
NLILidzbark Warmiński County
NMRMrągowo County
NNINidzica County
NNMNowe Miasto Lubawskie County
NOOlsztyn (city county)
NOEOlecko County
NOG – former Olecko-Gołdap County (Powiat olecko-gołdapski [pl]): divided into Olecko County (NOE) and Gołdap County (NGO) in 2002
NOLOlsztyn County
NOSOstróda County
NPIPisz County
NSZSzczytno County
NWEWęgorzewo County

PCHChodzież County
PCT - Czarnków-Trzcianka County
PGNGniezno County
PGOGrodzisk Wielkopolski County
PGSGostyń County
PJAJarocin County
PKKalisz (city county)
PKAKalisz County
PKEKępno County
PKLKoło County
PKNKonin County
PKO, PNKonin (city county)
PKRKrotoszyn County
PKSKościan County
PLLeszno (city county)
PLELeszno County
PMIMiędzychód County
PNTNowy Tomyśl County
PO, PYPoznań (city county)
POBOborniki County
POSOstrów Wielkopolski County
POTOstrzeszów County
POZ, PZPoznań County
PPPiła County
PPLPleszew County
PRARawicz County
PSEŚrem County
PSLSłupca County
PSRŚroda Wielkopolska County
PSZSzamotuły County
PTUTurek County
PWAWągrowiec County
PWLWolsztyn County
PWRWrześnia County
PZPoznań County
PZLZłotów County

ZBIBiałogard County
ZCHChoszczno County
ZDRDrawsko Pomorskie County
ZGLGoleniów County
ZGRGryfino County
ZGYGryfice County
ZKKoszalin (city county)
ZKAKamień Pomorski County
ZKLKołobrzeg County
ZKOKoszalin County
ZLOŁobez County
ZMYMyślibórz County
ZPLPolice County
ZPYPyrzyce County
ZSSzczecin (city county)
ZSDŚwidwin County
ZSLSławno County
ZSTStargard Szczeciński County
ZSWŚwinoujście (city county)
ZSZSzczecinek County
ZWAWałcz County

A detailed map of county codes. Couple hundred are visible.
Letters on Polish license plates according to districts County

History

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A vintage car bearing KL72993 plates
Polski Fiat 508 with 1922–1937 numbers (Kielce voivodeship)
A vintage military car bearing W12183 plates
Polski Fiat 508/518 with 1937 military plates

1922–1937

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From July 1922 Polish car number plates had two letters denoting voivodeship (being an abbreviation of its name), or single letter W denoting capital city of Warsaw, and up to five digits. Except for letter identifier, each voivodeship had own range of numbers (except for autonomic Silesian Voivodeship, which used ŚL identifier and own numbers from 1). Plates were white, with red letters and black digits, separated with red dash.

There were also temporary plates with PR letters and presidential plates with WZK letters (for President of Poland chancellery). Military plates had only four white digits on black background.

1937–1939

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From 1937 there was a new different system of registration numbers introduced, with white letters on black plates. There was one letter denoting vehicle type, two-digit number denoting voivodeship, and three-digit individual number after a dash. Letters A, B, C, D, E, H, K, L, X, Y, Z were used for cars, trucks and buses, T for taxicabs, M, N, P, R, S, U for motorcycles and W for military vehicles. A range of numbers 00 to 19 meant capital city of Warsaw, 20 to 24 indicated Białostok Voivodeship, and so on, in alphabetical order, up to 95 to 99 for Wołyńskie Voivodeship.

During World War II there were plates introduced by occupants.

1944–1956

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From 1946 Polish car number plates had the LNN-NNN format, with L being a letter and N being a digit. The full name of the province was located at the bottom.[10]

1956–1976

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Black-and-white plate reading BC6823
1958 plate from Białystok Voivodeship

From June 19, 1956, Polish car number plates had 2 letters and 4 digits, and after May 13, 1964, letters could stand after digits.[citation needed]

Individual elements meant:

  • first letter: code of voivodeship,
  • second letter: code of powiat,
  • digits: code of vehicle.

Codes of voivodeships:[citation needed]

  • A – Białystok Voivodeship
  • B – Bydgoszcz Voivodeship
  • C – Kielce Voivodeship
  • EKoszalin Voivodeship
  • F – Łódź Voivodeship
  • G – Gdańsk Voivodeship
  • H – Opole Voivodeship
  • I – city of Łódź
  • K – Kraków Voivodeship
  • L – Lublin Voivodeship
  • M – Szczecin Voivodeship
  • O – Olsztyn Voivodeship
  • P – Poznań Voivodeship
  • R – Rzeszów Voivodeship
  • S – Katowice Voivodeship
  • T – Warsaw Voivodeship
  • W – capital city of Warsaw
  • X – Wrocław Voivodeship
  • Z – Zielona Góra Voivodeship

Codes of special forces:

  • Y – Citizen's Militia
  • D – army (cars)
  • U – army (other vehicles)
  • N – Border Guard

1976–2000

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Black-and-white plate reading ZEI8449
1990s plate. "ZE" indicates Zielona Góra Voivodeship, while the "I" indicates Nowa Sól County
Squarish black-and-white plate reading ZED0334
1990s double-row plate. "ZE" indicates Zielona Góra Voivodeship, while the "D" and number between 0001 and 7000 indicates Zielona Góra

Plates from the 1976–2000 series are still valid. They have white letters on black background. The coding used was three letters and four digits (XYZ 1234) or three letters, three digits and one letter (XYZ 123A), although at the beginning the configuration with a letter in the end was used for public cars only.

The following coding was used for the 49 regions of the country:

A map of the dated division of Poland with region codes visible
First letters on series 1976–2000 indicate area

The following codes were used for special forces:

  • Militia/Police: MO
  • Military: U
  • Border Guard: HW
  • "Nadwislanskie" Troops of the Interior Ministry: HN
  • Foreigner plates (in green background): I
  • Test plates (in red background): X

Special plates:

  • Diplomatic: XY 12 345, The first two numbers are denoting the region of ambassador (e.g. 02 - Germany) and blue background.
  • Temporary: X 12 34 56, with yellow font.

2000–present

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Since the year 2000 Polish car plates have black letters pressed onto white reflective blanks with an EU stripe and country code. The switch was made to conform with other EU countries and to increase visibility. The licence plates issued until May 1, 2006, bear a Polish national flag. Plates issued after that date have the 12 EU stars instead of the flag.[dubiousdiscuss]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Od kiedy brak nalepki na szybie?". moto.infor.pl. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  2. ^ Kobylarz, Krzysztof (2023-06-11). "Przyszłość tablic rejestracyjnych w Polsce: Nowe regulacje i zmiany". Obserwator logistyczny (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  3. ^ "Rozporządzenie Ministra Infrastruktury z dnia 31 sierpnia 2022 r. w sprawie szczegółowych czynności organów w sprawach związanych z dopuszczeniem pojazdu do ruchu oraz wzorów dokumentów w tych sprawach". isap.sejm.gov.pl. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  4. ^ "A jak Warszawa, XD w Gdańsku. Zaskakujące tablice rejestracyjne". TVN Warszawa (in Polish). 2023-06-13. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  5. ^ Autobaza.pl (2022-04-30). "Samochód zabytkowy – definicja pojazdu zabytkowego, tablice, ubezpieczenie". Autobaza.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  6. ^ "Electric vehicle plates". Matriculasdelmundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  7. ^ "Tablice dyplomatyczne" (in Polish). 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  8. ^ "Tablice dyplomatyczne" (in Polish). 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  9. ^ "Tablice dyplomatyczne" (in Polish). 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  10. ^ "Home". worldlicenseplates.com.
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