The country in which a motor vehicle's vehicle registration plate was issued may be indicated by an international vehicle registration code, also called Vehicle Registration Identification code or VRI code, formerly known as an International Registration Letter or International Circulation Mark. It is referred to as the Distinguishing sign of the State of registration in the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic of 1949 and the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968.

The allocation of codes is maintained by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe as the Distinguishing Signs Used on Vehicles in International Traffic (sometimes abbreviated to DSIT), authorised by the UN's Geneva Convention on Road Traffic and the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Many vehicle codes created since the adoption of ISO 3166 coincide with ISO two- or three-letter codes. The 2004 South-East Asian Agreement ... for the Facilitation of Cross-Border Transport of Goods and People uses a mixture of ISO and DSIT codes: Myanmar uses MYA, China CHN, and Cambodia KH (ISO codes), Thailand uses T (DSIT code), Laos LAO, and Vietnam VN (coincident ISO and DSIT codes).

The Geneva Convention on Road Traffic entered into force on 26 March 1952. One of the main benefits of the convention for motorists is the obligation on signatory countries to recognize the legality of vehicles from other signatory countries. When driving in other signatory countries, the distinguishing sign of the country of registration must be displayed on the rear of the vehicle. This sign must be placed separately from the registration plate and may not be incorporated into the vehicle registration plate.

History

1909 Paris Convention The display of a national distinctive mark on a white oval plate, with black letters was first introduced by the 1909 International Convention with respect to the Circulation of Motor Vehicles signed in Paris. The plate was required to be affixed to the rear of the vehicle, separate from the number plate displaying the vehicle's national registration mark. The 1909 convention only allowed distinctive marks to be of one or two Latin letters.

+ 1909 Paris Convention distinctive marks State Mark A B BG F D GB GR H I MC MN NL P RO R SB E S CH US

1924 Paris Convention The term distinguishing mark was adopted by the 1924 International Convention Relative to Motor Traffic signed in Paris, which extended the maximum length of mark from two to three Latin letters, and permitted distinguishing marks not just for states, but also for non-sovereign territories which operated their own vehicle registration systems.

+ 1924 Paris Convention distinguishing marks State or territory Mark Notes GBA A B BR BI BG RCH RC CO C CS DA DK IN EQ ET Current code is EG. EST SF From Finnish , Swedish . The latter because Swedish is the second official language in Finland. , Algeria and Tunis F F D For GBZ GB GR G Guernsey GBG RH H SE Part of the United Kingdom at the time of the 1909 convention. Initials stand for Irish . I GBJ LV FL For LT L GBY MEX MC F NL PY Current code is PA PA Current code is PY PE PR PL P R SA League of Nations mandate SHS SM E For S CH Syria and Lebanon LSA French League of Nations mandate TR SU Russia had been a party to the 1909 convention. US U Current code is ROU

Location Since the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic entered into force on 21 May 1977, in signatory countries it replaces previous road traffic conventions, including the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, in accordance with its Article 48. According to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, the distinguishing sign of the country of registration must be displayed on the rear of the vehicle. The sign may either be placed separately from the registration plate as a white oval plate or sticker, or be incorporated in the vehicle registration plate. When the distinguishing sign is incorporated in the registration plate, it must also appear on the front registration plate of the vehicle.

The requirement to display a separate distinguishing sign is not necessary within the European Economic Area, for vehicles with license plates in the common EU format, which satisfy the requirements of the Vienna Convention, and so are also valid in non-EU countries signatory to that convention. Separate signs are also not needed for Canada, Mexico and the United States, where the province, state or district of registration is usually embossed or surface-printed on the vehicle registration plate, though neither of these countries are parties to the Vienna Convention.

Current codes

CodeCountryFromPreviouscode(s)NotesA1911 Austria in English or in FrenchAFG1971Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code.AL1934Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.AM1992SUFormerly part of the Soviet Union. Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.AND1957Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code. Used on plates since 2011, name fully spelt out since 1958.AUS1954Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code.AX2025FINFormerly FIN and SF like the rest of Finland. Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.AXA1997GBAZ1993SUFormerly part of the Soviet Union. Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.B1910BD1978PAKFormerly East PakistanBDS1956BF1990RHV / HVUntil August 2003, 1984; (Upper Volta)BG1910BULCoincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.BH1938Formerly British Honduras. Still officially registered as BH as of June 2024. New driving licenses appear to have 'BZ' instead of 'BH' as Belize's code. Belize License Plates have always displayed full name of the country since name change in 1973.BIH1992SHS 1919–29Y 1929–53YU 1953–92 / .Formerly part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , then part of Yugoslavia. Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code. May appear stylized as BiH.BOL1967Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code.BR1930Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code. Displayed on license plates since 2018 alongside full name.BRN1954BRU1956BS1950Fully name displayed since the 1970sBVI1910BW2003BPOfficially used by Botswana since 2003. Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code. Formerly RB (Republic of Botswana) until 2004; Bechuanaland Protectorate before 1966.BY1992 (2004)SUBelarus; formerly part of the Soviet Union. The UN was officially notified of the change from SU to BY only in 2004. Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.CAM1952F & WANFormerly a territory of France, plus a strip of territory from eastern Nigeria (WAN). Unofficially using CMR on their plates.CDN1956CACDN for "Canada Dominion"CGO1997CB, RCL, ZRE , , Congo (Kinshasa), , CH1911. Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.CI ()1961FFormerly a territory of France. Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.CL1961Formerly Ceylon. However, "SL" is being used on current driver licenses.CO1952Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.CR1956Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.CU1930Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.CY1932Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.CZ1993CSFormerly (Czechoslovakia). Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.D1910 ; also used until 1974 by , which then used DDR until German reunification in 1990DK1914Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.DOM1952Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code.DY1910Part of AOF() − 1960Dahomey (name until 1975). Uses RB unofficially ()DZ1962F − 1911 (); formerly part of France. Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.E1910 EAK1938East Africa KenyaEAT1938EAT & EAZEast Africa Tanzania; formerly East Africa Tanganyika and East Africa Zanzibar, EAZ used on plates issued in Zanzibar since 2008.EAU1938East Africa UgandaEAZ1964East Africa ZanzibarEC1962EQCoincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.EG2024ET 1927–2024Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.ER1993AOI . Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.ES1978EST1993EW 1919–1940 & 1991–1993SU 1940–1991 (Estonian; old style ). Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code.ETH1964AOI − 1941 . Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code.F1910FIN1993SF / (Finnish/Swedish). Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code.FJI1971Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code.FL1923 (German: 'Principality of Liechtenstein')FO1996FR . Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.G1974ALEF − 1960 . Unofficially using RG on their license plates.GBA1924GB 1923–1924(United Kingdom of) Great Britain & Northern Ireland – AlderneyGBG1924GB 1914–1924(United Kingdom of) Great Britain & Northern Ireland – GuernseyGBJ1924GB 1914–1924(United Kingdom of) Great Britain & Northern Ireland – JerseyGBM1932(United Kingdom of) Great Britain & Northern Ireland – Isle of ManGBZ1924GB 1911–1924(United Kingdom of) Great Britain & Northern Ireland – Gibraltar (Z was assigned because G was already used for Guernsey)GCA1956GGuatemala, CentroAmérica in Spanish / Guatemala, Central AmericaGE1992SUFormerly part of the Soviet Union. Older license plates use "GEO" instead of "GE". Also used unofficially and illegally by Equatorial-Guinea (). Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.GH1959WAC − 1957West Africa Gold Coast − 1957. Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.GR1913Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.GUY1972BRGFormerly British Guiana − 1966. Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code.H1910HK1961Hong Kong remains in the United Nations list of country road codes. Reattached to the People's Republic of China in 1997 with a strong autonomy.HKJ1966JORHashemite Kingdom of JordanHN2018Unofficial: no other code found for Honduras. Coincides with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code. Full name used on license plates.HR1992SHS 1919–29 Y 1929–53YU 1953–92 . Formerly part of Yugoslavia. Immediately after Croatia's declaration of independence in 1991, it was common to see unofficial oval stickers with the letters "CRO". Despite the initial anticipation that Croatia's international vehicle registration code would be "CRO", Croatia opted for "HR" () instead.