What do the different colours of number plates signify in India? 

You might have seen different coloured license plates for vehicles while travelling within and outside India. Some of them are brightly coloured, some plain, some with the country’s emblem on them and so on. What do these colours symbolise? Ever wondered? Well, you must know that the different colours and styles have their own significance.  

In India, vehicle number plates contain alphanumeric characters. The first two letters of the licence plate indicate the state of registration the second two digits denote the RTO code (which differs for each district) and the third component includes the four alphanumeric characters. Each vehicle has a unique code, but the combination may vary. And this is not it, the colour of number plates varies as well, with each indicating whom the vehicle belongs to! So, let us go through the different license plates in India and understand the story behind them. 

White 
This is the most common kind of vehicle registration number plate and is only used on private two and four-wheeler vehicles. In other words, you cannot utilise vehicles with white registration plates for passenger transport, goods transport or any commercial activity. This colour scheme of white plate with black alphanumeric characters for private vehicles was brought into effect in 2000. Earlier, the scheme was a black plate with white text on it.  

Yellow 
You might have noticed that all the buses, trucks, taxis and auto-rickshaws have yellow licence plates with black letters. Such licence plates are for vehicles permitted for commercial use. The colour scheme for commercial licence plates was also changed in 2000 from black to yellow plate with black alphanumeric text over it. In fact, a driver must also possess a commercial driver’s licence to drive such vehicles. 

Green 
Any green licence plate you see on the road indicate electric vehicles (EV). These indicate that this vehicle supports the ‘go green’ initiative! These can be used on both commercial electric cars and electric buses. However, the colour of text on the plate varies depending on whether the vehicle is private or commercial. For example, commercial EVs have a green number plate with yellow text, whereas all private EVs receive a green plate with white text. Isn’t the system amazing! 

Black 
In India, a black license plate with yellow text is needed for all self-driven or leased cars (including two and four-wheelers), owing to their commercial registrations. In short, you will typically find these licence plates on rental cars. In addition, high-end luxurious hotels owning rental vehicles widely use these kinds of licence plates. Unlike commercial vehicles, such cars with a black number plate and yellow text do not require a commercial driving licence. 

Red 
The red number plate signifies that the brand-new vehicle is still waiting to receive a permanent registration plate. The Indian Regional Transport Office assigns a temporary registration number to each new vehicle. The temporary registration number is written on a red licence plate in white letters. In India, you can drive a vehicle with a red number plate until you receive a permanent registration number from the RTO after registering your vehicle.  

The validity of a temporary car registration is one month. Each state has its regulations regarding temporary licence plates for vehicles. For instance, red licence plate vehicles are prohibited from operating on public highways in some Indian states. For further information, you can visit the Parivahan portal or the official website of the transport department in your state. In addition to this, the governors of states have vehicles with simple red number plates. Moreover, the vehicle of the Indian President has a red number plate with the national emblem in gold. 

Blue  
A car designated only for foreign diplomats is given a blue number plate with white letters. These licence plates have numbers with alphabets, such as UN (United Nations), CC (Consular Corps) and DC (Diplomatic Corps), on them. Such license plates come with the diplomat’s country code rather than a state code. For instance, 11 is code for Great Britain, 17 for China, 52 for the Netherlands, 73 for Turkey, 75 for Russia and 77 for the USA.  

So, the next time you see a license plate, you know what the vehicle is and whom it belongs to!