Vehicle registration plates in Hong Kong are managed by the Transport Department of Hong Kong. The vehicle registration system in Hong Kong is independent from those of Mainland China and Macau. Hong Kong's official UN road code is HK, as of June 2024.
Having been a British territory until 1997, number plates in Hong Kong comply with British Standard BS AU 145a, remaining similar to those of the United Kingdom. The physical number plates are not provided by the government but are made to order by garages.
Overview Each vehicle must display two registration plates: one at the front, and one at the rear of the vehicle. The front plate has black characters on a white background, and the rear plate has black characters on a yellow background. The height of the letters and numerals are not less than 8 cm (3.1 in) and not more than 11 cm (4.3 in). The plates should comply with British Standard B.S. 145a, and have permanently marked on the plate the specification number "B.S. AU 145a".Schedule 4 of the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374E) - td.gov.hkREQUIREMENTS FOR REGISTRATION PLATES - legislation.gov.uk
ImageDescriptionPrivate vehicles, Public transport: The standard format for these vehicles is "XX (#)###", where 'XX' are two letters from the Latin alphabet, and '(#)###' is a sequence of between three and four digits. The plate displayed on the front of the vehicle has a white background, while the one at the rear is yellow.Cross-border plates: A Hong Kong-registered vehicle must display a cross-border plate when entering Guangdong Province. The usual format of these is "粤Z·####港", where 粤Z is the prefix given to both Hong Kong and Macau, #### is a string of sequential digits and/or Latin letters, and the 港 suffix represents Hong Kong. These are produced to Mainland Chinese standards, but are white-on-black.Diplomatic vehicles: Unlike some other countries or territories (where diplomatic cars have special registration numbers), cars operated by foreign consulates, consular staff, and various international organisations simply display a "CC" (consular corps) badge, rendered in red on a white background. These are oval in shape, and are much smaller than the registration plate, but are affixed to the front and back of the vehicle.Diplomatic cars are registered in the same series as regular vehicles (although they are permitted to bear personalised registration plates).Military vehicles: The People's Liberation Army uses registration plates with the "ZG" prefix on their vehicles (Zhù Gǎng 駐港 means "stationed in Hong Kong"). Unusually, these plates use the same font as those in mainland China, but comply with British Standard B.S. 145a insofar as they feature black alphanumerics on a white background at the front of the vehicle, and black alphanumerics on a yellow background at the rear.
Numbering system
Vehicles of the Chief Executive do not have registration plates. Instead, they have the Emblem of Hong Kong in front and at the rear. During British administration, the vehicle of the Governor bore the St Edward's Crown emblem.
Usual numbers
Regular registrations consist of a two-letter prefix followed by a number between 102 and 9998 (refer to the Special Registration Marks section for a list of withheld numbers) without leading zeroes. The letters "I", "O" and "Q" are not used in prefixes to avoid ambiguity. +PrefixDateNotesNon-Prefixes (1903 - 1959)Non-prefix (1–9999)1903 - 19592 Letter Prefixes (1949 - 2025)HK, XX1949 - 1960In the 1950s and 1960s, some HK registration plates used HK to represent "Hong Kong" because there were not enough registration plates without prefixes.A*1964 - 1973Except for AM (only Government vehicles). Shortly prior to the handover of Hong Kong on 1 July 1997, the Advanced Detachment of the People's Liberation Army entered Hong Kong. Their vehicles were assigned a series of AD-prefixed registration plates, but continued to display their mainland Chinese registrations while in Hong Kong.B*1973 - August 1979BA and BF prefixes were skipped until 2003.C*August 1979 - August 1983D*August 1983 - October 1988E*November 1988 - January 1992F*January 1992 - May 1994FR, FT, FU and FV are typically issued to vehicles whose primary registration is abroad (usually Mainland China).G*May 1994 - January 1997H*January 1997 - March 1999Except for HK which was issued in the 1950s to 1960s.J*March 1999 - April 2001K*April 2001 - May 2003L*May 2003 - August 2005Except for LC (Legislative Council).M*August 2005 - September 2007N*September 2007 - November 2009P*November 2009 - September 2011R*September 2011 - May 2013S*May 2013 - October 2014T*October 2014 - March 2016U*March 2016 - September 2017V*September 2017 - March 2019VV is non-exclusively used for village vehicles.W*March 2019 - October 2020X*October 2020 - May 2022Except for XX which was issued in the 1950s to 1960s.Y*May 2022 - December 2023Z*December 2023 - April 2025ZG is for the People's Liberation Army in Hong Kong. ZM, ZN and ZP are issued to Macanese-registered vehicles in Hong Kong, and are the equivalent of Chinese cross-border plates2-Letter Plates Returned to Government, which are not allocated to any vehicles in the reversible order (From May 2025)W*May 2025 – March 2026Started from WA to WZV*March 2026 - presentStarts from VA Some prefixes are reserved and have special meanings.
From May 2025, the vehicle registration marks returned to Transport Department which were not allocated to any vehicles will be used, starting from the plates WA to WZ in reverse alphabetical order. In other words, VA to VZ will be used after registration marks beginning with WA to WZ have been allocated, and UA to UZ after exhaustion of plates beginning with VA to VZ and so on. Such arrangement is considered to be able to avoid the need of modifying existing computing systems and laws.
Motorcycles Formerly, motorcycles used a different set of registration marks. Like the marks for cars, the very first numbers had no prefixes. Later, marks with a single-letter prefix were issued. For example: "B 281", "C 367", &c.
The separate issuance system of registration marks for motorcycles has been discontinued and merged with the main system. Some registered motorcycles still bear the early marks. Hence, a unique registration mark without letter prefix could be found on two different types of vehicles.
Unusual numbers
One-letter prefixes "A" prefix for ambulances of the Fire Services Department of the government "F" prefix for fire engines and other vehicles of the Fire Services Department of the government "T" prefix for use by the motor trade, especially on vehicles that are still unlicensed. These plates are unusual in that they are not specific to any vehicle. They are red-on-white and usually displayed in a plastic holder attached temporarily to the vehicle by rubber straps. The 'T' is followed by up to five numerals.
Special prefixes "AM" is reserved for government vehicles. "LC" is reserved for Legislative Council vehicles. "ZG" (for Zhù Gǎng 駐港 which means "stationed in Hong Kong") is for the People's Liberation Army in Hong Kong. ZG plates are not issued with the standard fonts seen on civilian plates. The font used is the same as that of mainland Chinese plates. However, the plates are still black-on-white in the front and black-on-yellow in the rear. "ZM", "ZN" and "ZP" is used for vehicles registered in Macau which are permitted to enter Hong Kong via Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. formerly "UC" was reserved for the then Urban Council. Now available to civilian vehicles. formerly "RC" was reserved for the then Regional Council. Now available to civilian vehicles. formerly "HA" was reserved for the Hospital Authority. Now available to civilian vehicles.
Letter suffix "T" suffix for semi-trailers and have a prefix up to 5 digits.
Letters-only These are specific car numbers with no numbers, simply letters only "CJ" for the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal "CS" for the Chief Secretary for Administration "FS" for the Financial Secretary "SJ" for the Secretary for Justice
Other unusual numbers
"VV" non-exclusively for village vehicles; small vehicles on narrow paths where usual vehicles are prohibited. The numerals may have leading zeroes. They are used on Lantau Island and Lamma Island to take provisions from the wharf to the villages. VV stands for "village vehicle". They are also available to public. The registration marks used by vehicles of British Army in Hong Kong used the same format as British military vehicles elsewhere: two numbers, then two letters, and two numbers. For example, "15KL44".
Special registration marks
A car number is a special registration mark if it has no prefix; or its numerals are any of the following: (1-digit numbers) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (1 is reserved for the Commissioner of Police) (two repeated digits) 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99 (three repeated digits) 111, 222, 333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, 999 (four repeated digits) 1111, 2222, 3333, 4444, 5555, 6666, 7777, 8888, 9999 (multiples of 10) 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 (multiples of 100) 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 (multiples of 1000) 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000 123, 234, 345, 456, 567, 678, 789 1234, 2345, 3456, 4567, 5678, 6789 (other two digit) 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98 (two double digits) 1100, 1122, 1133, 1144, 1155, 1166, 1177, 1188, 1199, 2200, 2211, 2233, 2244, 2255, 2266, 2277, 2288, 2299, 3300, 3311, 3322, 3344, 3355, 3366, 3377, 3388, 3399, 4400, 4411, 4422, 4433, 4455, 4466, 4477, 4488, 4499, 5500, 5511, 5522, 5533, 5544, 5566, 5577, 5588, 5599, 6600, 6611, 6622, 6633, 6644, 6655, 6677, 6688, 6699, 7700, 7711, 7722, 7733, 7744, 7755, 7766, 7788, 7799, 8800, 8811, 8822, 8833, 8844, 8855, 8866, 8877, 8899, 9900, 9911, 9922, 9933, 9944, 9955, 9966, 9977, 9988 (4-digit palindromes) 1001, 1221, 1331, 1441, 1551, 1661, 1771, 1881, 1991, 2002, 2112, 2332, 2442, 2552, 2662, 2772, 2882, 2992, 3003, 3113, 3223, 3443, 3553, 3663, 3773, 3883, 3993, 4004, 4114, 4224, 4334, 4554, 4664, 4774, 4884, 4994, 5005, 5115, 5225, 5335, 5445, 5665, 5775, 5885, 5995, 6006, 6116, 6226, 6336, 6446, 6556, 6776, 6886, 6996, 7007, 7117, 7227, 7337, 7447, 7557, 7667, 7887, 7997, 8008, 8118, 8228, 8338, 8448, 8558, 8668, 8778, 8998, 9009, 9119, 9229, 9339, 9449, 9559, 9669, 9779, 9889 (3-digit palindromes) 101, 121, 131, 141, 151, 161, 171, 181, 191, 202, 212, 232, 242, 252, 262, 272, 282, 292, 303, 313, 323, 343, 353, 363, 373, 383, 393, 404, 414, 424, 434, 454, 464, 474, 484, 494, 505, 515, 525, 535, 545, 565, 575, 585, 595, 606, 616, 626, 636, 646, 656, 676, 686, 696, 707, 717, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 787, 797, 808, 818, 828, 838, 848, 858, 868, 878, 898, 909, 919, 929, 939, 949, 959, 969, 979, 989 (repeated two digits) 1010, 1212, 1313, 1414, 1515, 1616, 1717, 1818, 1919, 2020, 2121, 2323, 2424, 2525, 2626, 2727, 2828, 2929, 3030, 3131, 3232, 3434, 3535, 3636, 3737, 3838, 3939, 4040, 4141, 4242, 4343, 4545, 4646, 4747, 4848, 4949, 5050, 5151, 5252, 5353, 5454, 5656, 5757, 5858, 5959, 6060, 6161, 6262, 6363, 6464, 6565, 6767, 6868, 6969, 7070, 7171, 7272, 7373, 7474, 7575, 7676, 7878, 7979, 8080, 8181, 8282, 8383, 8484, 8585, 8686, 8787, 8989, 9090, 9191, 9292, 9393, 9494, 9595, 9696, 9797, 9898
Although unlisted above, some traditional lucky numbers may be reserved, especially numbers that contain 3 or 8, which are pronounced in Cantonese similarly to words that mean "long life" and "prosperity" respectively. For example, 168 is always a reserved number since its pronunciation in Cantonese means "Rich all-time".