Vehicle registration plates of South Africa

In South Africa, vehicle registration plates, known as number plates, are issued by the Department of Transport in each of its provinces. Each province has plates with unique designs, colour schemes, and alphanumeric patterns. For instance, the plates display combinations like AB 12 CD GP or CA 123-456, with distinct variations in layout and formatting across different regions of the country.
Until 1914, each municipality or local management board issued its own registration numbers, which naturally led to overlaps and confusion. The first national system was inspired by the British one, using white letters on a black background with each province using its own leading letter - major towns received two-letter combos, while smaller towns and municipalities used three-letter combinations.
From 1 February 2000, a process started to replace all number plates in South Africa to an aluminium number plate with an RFID tag containing a unique identification code, including the ability to identify the number plate in a foreign nation. This is termed an Intelligent Number Plate system. The system has been implemented for additional and circumstantial use. The numbering structure on plates will also then change. Concerning the foreign identification system within South Africa, foreigners are granted the permission to verify their number plate to the South African number plate system.
The Department of Transport in South Africa has set aside R25 million for the project during the 2015/2016 fiscal year. The Department of Transport in KwaZulu-Natal has set aside R1.5 million for vehicle registration plates for the province. A secure electronic mark will be used in the encryption of the code. The system can automatically generate the details of driving offences committed by a driver.
As of January 2022, new vehicles are, however, still being fitted with plastic plates and the system has still not been implemented.
New legislation also requires that a new vehicle's number plate be fixed to the body of the vehicle, or an approved number plate holder, with four 4 mm rivets.
Number plates are available in plastic or metal. Plastic is the preferred material used by the majority of the motorists. They are also more common than their metal counterpart and are issued as standard plates by car dealerships, except in Gauteng Province where, from 2013, newly issued plates must be metal.
The most common size is identical to the European number plates' size (113 mm × 520 mm (4.4 in × 20.5 in)) . However, a shorter plate is also common (120 mm × 440 mm (4.7 in × 17.3 in)). Most car dealerships now issue the former. Other shapes such as American and motorbike sizes are also available. Number plates can be made over the counter at registration/licensing stores in shopping centres, although the vehicle registration document may be required.
The standard annual non-personalised licence fee is between R250 and R600, depending on the province in which the vehicle is registered and the weight of the vehicle. A large number of heavy vehicles are registered in Northern and Eastern Cape where the licence fees per vehicle mass are low. The Western Cape has the most expensive annual licence fees, but as with Northern and Eastern Cape, it has few toll roads.
Vehicle owners can buy specific personalised registration numbers from registering authorities. The cost for a single digit registration e.g. CA 1 will be in the region of R6000 while a long number e.g. CA 12345 can be as low as R600.
Key:
After 1994, the Western Cape Province and KwaZulu-Natal Province are the only two provinces where the registration can be still linked to specific towns and cities. i.e. the pre-1980 system has largely been retained in these areas, so the first two or three letters at the start of each number plate identify where the vehicle was licensed.
In 1994, the Cape Province was subdivided into three provinces (Western, Eastern and Northern Cape provinces). The Eastern and Northern Cape changed their licensing system so the Cape Province registration prefixes used there, like CB (Port Elizabeth) and CC (Kimberley), were dropped. The homeland states of Ciskei and Transkei became part of the Eastern Cape. The Stellaland district (Vryburg) became part of North West Province. The current Western Cape Province list is essentially an abbreviation of the pre-1980 Cape Province list.
KwaZulu-Natal as of 1 December 2023 introduced new number plate numbering system. All new vehicles will be using the alphanumeric format (e.g BB 00 AA ZN). The colour of the licence plates is blue over white. The old town specific numbering system is being phased out over 21 months period beginning 1 March 2024. All motorist will be required to change over to the new numbering system by 31 March 2026. From 1 April 2026 motorist that have not changed over will be automatically switched. The new number plates in KwaZulu-Natal will in future use the alphanumeric format. For personalized plates, e.g. ND 1234 will in future be ND 1234 ZN. The old green personalised plates (ZN) will also have to be changed to blue over white plates.
The Free State is the only province in South Africa that places an expiry date on its registration plate. Every five years the owner is required to replace the plate irrespective of condition. This is only enforced in the Free State and if the owner uses the vehicle with "expired" plates in any other province he/she will not be prosecuted. This expiry is independent from the annual licence renewal required by national law. This is the only province in the country that has the same borders today as it did before the Boer War, although it has had three changes of name. It was the Orange Free State (a Boer republic), the Orange River Colony (1902-1910), the Orange Free State Province (Provinsie Oranje Vrystaat, 1910–1994) and is now simply the Free State.
A new numbering system was announced in December 2015, which would be implemented in February 2016.
All vehicles in South Africa, excluding motorcycles, are required to display a number plate on the front and the rear of the vehicle. For vehicles that cannot accommodate a full size plate in front, a plate with smaller dimensions may be fitted with permission from the registering authority.
The validation of a vehicle's registration number is indicated by a licence disc displayed inside the vehicle's windshield and must be visible from the passenger side of the vehicle. The vehicle's registration number, VIN and engine number as well as the licence expiry date, vehicle weight and number of passengers the vehicle is allowed to carry is indicated on the disc.
In the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, where the registration number is indicative of the town of registration, the registration number will not change when the owner of the vehicle relocates to another town in the same province. It is required of the owner to inform the authorities of a change of address within 21 days. However, if the owner relocates to another province, the owner has to register the vehicle in that province within 21 days. Whenever a vehicle is registered in a new owner's name, the vehicle will receive the registration of the new owner's town. If the vehicle is registered in the same town as the current registration, no change of registration number takes place.
When a vehicle changes ownership it is required that the vehicle be taken for a roadworthy test. The new owner is allowed to use a vehicle for a period of 21 days on the previous owner's registration before the vehicle has to be registered in the new owner's name. If the roadworthy result cannot be obtained within this period, the owner may register the vehicle without being roadworthy, however a licence disc will not be issued and the vehicle may not be used on a public road. A temporary permit must be obtained from the registering authority to drive the vehicle to the testing station or repair shop. The permit is valid for three days.
When a person buys a vehicle from a dealer in another province or town other than the one they live in, a temporary permit valid for three weeks is issued by the registration authorities. A vehicle can only be registered in the town the owner lives in. It is also not possible to renew the licence in any other town than the town the registered owner lives in.
The temporary permit is a cardboard "number plate" to be displayed in either the front or rear window of the vehicle.
When a vehicle's engine is replaced or the VIN and engine number needs to be verified for some legal reason, the vehicle needs to obtain police clearance. Since September 2012, a vehicle can only obtain a clearance if it was marked with a micro dot, or data dot system. This is a process where about 10,000 micro dots with a serial number on is sprayed with a resin onto all components of the vehicle. This serial number is linked to the vehicle's VIN on the national registration database. These dots can be found with an ultraviolet light and when magnified the serial number can be traced. New vehicles are treated in the factory and the dots carry the vehicle's VIN. This is to assist the authorities in identifying a vehicle or any part thereof when VIN and engine numbers are not legible, or have been removed.
Legislation is also on the table to have micro dotting made compulsory for all vehicles changing owners as well as requiring a 2-yearly roadworthy status for vehicles older than 10 years. The downside of this is that it might cause many poorer South Africans not to register vehicles in their name or to let licences lapse and just pay the fine when getting caught.
It is illegal in South Africa to alter or tamper with a vehicle's VIN or the factory stamped number on an engine in any way. Evidence of tampering will lead to the vehicles being confiscated and possibly destroyed.
Before 1994, South Africa had only four provinces: Cape Province, Natal Province, Orange Free State and Transvaal. Each province had its own identifying lettering: Cape – C, Natal – N, Orange Free State – O and Transvaal – T.
White letters on a black background were used across the country, including the military. For example: CC 147
Each town had a unique registration prefix followed by a number that was allocated sequentially from 1 (the mayor's vehicle) onward to 999 999. For trade plates (used by car dealers on un-licensed vehicles), the letters and numbers were swapped.
There were no personalised number plates.
Government vehicles used the letters GG (for Government Garage) as a prefix, followed by a sequential number. For example: GG 4321
Military vehicles used the letter U (for Union Defence Force) as a prefix until 1961, when U was replaced by R (for Republic of South Africa), followed by a sequential number. Examples: U 4321 R 54321 On armoured vehicles especially, the numbers were painted in white on the green paint of the bodywork, or in black on desert sand paint.
Police vehicles used the letters SAP as a prefix, followed by a sequential number. For example: SAP 4321
However, many police vehicles were registered locally and carried the registrations used in the four provinces.
Diplomatic vehicles used the letters DC as a prefix, followed by a sequential number. For example: DC 4321
The towns in the Cape Province were originally assigned two-letter prefixes for the principal cities and towns, with smaller centres allocated three-letter codes. CA represented the largest city, Cape Town, CB the second-largest, Port Elizabeth, CC was Kimberley, CD King William's Town, CE East London, CF Grahamstown, CG Oudtshoorn, CH Queenstown, CI Worcester, CJ Paarl, CK Malmesbury and CL Stellenbosch. By the middle of the 20th century it was realised that the letter I was easily confused with the figure 1 and Q with O and 0, while odd codes had been introduced with the small letter o tagged on. So the system was revised, eliminating the o codes, and extra two-letter codes were allocated: CM De Aar, CN Wellington, CO Calitzdorp, CR Hopefield, CS Bredasdorp, CT Ceres, CU Port Nolloth, CV Vredendal, CW Worcester, CX Knysna, CY Bellville and CZ Beaufort West. The full list of Cape Province prefixes (with present-day provinces in brackets) was:
A new numbering scheme had to be introduced in the Transvaal, after the Johannesburg series exceeded the number TJ 999-999 . An alphanumeric system was introduced in this province, which allowed more permutations with fewer characters. The reason given for this change was that it was necessary because the system was computerised, which was an argument only valid for a few years. Despite this, a trend towards centralisation of vehicle registries continued, despite its inconvenience to motorists. The series comprised three letters followed by three numbers and the letter T. All number plates used black text on a yellow background, for example: BCD 123 T .
From this point onward, a Transvaal vehicle's origin could no longer be narrowed down to a specific town or city. However the first letter of the registration indicated the date of first registration of a vehicle, as the sequence grew alphabetically. However, because the Transvaal used codes that coincided with those used in other provinces, traffic officers failed to notice the T at the end, and issued fines to Cape motorists whose registrations matched those of T vehicles passing through the Cape. The use of C and N codes ought to have been barred. O was not used, since the new system avoided the use of vowels.
At this time black text on yellow background became mandatory throughout South Africa so the other three provinces also adopted the new black on yellow number plates, but kept their existing numbering systems. Example: CR 7822. At this stage government plates adopted the same system as Transvaal. Example: BCD 123 M.
Towards 1994 this numbering system for the Transvaal was rapidly running out of permutations. However, in 1994 the four provinces were dissolved and nine new provinces were created. All the new provinces apart from the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal adopted the alphanumeric system. Due to public demand at this time, different text colour on white background was also allowed. The different provinces could decide on text colour for their plates. A white background is used in all provinces although some provinces place graphics on this background relevant to their province.
Towards 2012 Gauteng Province (GP) was running out of permutations and had to adopt a new system. This system used two letters, two numbers, two letters and the province indicator GP.
In many cases the districts of the province took their letters from the place names to determine the letters that are used to identify each region. Almost all of the areas remained unchanged since 1994, the Only province in South Africa not changing number plates or areas since 1994. This pattern does not always hold.
The town of Sasolburg, where oil is produced out of coal, received the very appropriate prefix OIL.
Under apartheid South Africa, each of the homelands had its own department of vehicle licensing.
Most of Bophuthatswana was absorbed into North West Province. Thaba Nchu returned to the Free State Province. The half-district Moretele 2 (east of the N1) became part of Mpumalanga.
Ciskei became part of the Eastern Cape Province.
Lebowa became part of Limpopo Province.
The letter W stands for the Witsieshoek district, where Qwaqwa was located. Retained the code OBW from the Orange Free State. It is once more part of the Free State.
KwaNdebele became part of Mpumalanga province.
Transkei became part of the Eastern Cape Province, apart from Umzimkhulu, which was transferred to KwaZulu-Natal in 2006.
Government
Venda became part of Limpopo Province.
The colony of Zululand lay to the north of the Tugela River (today Thukela) and was annexed to Natal in 1887. Its tribal territories fell under the Paramount Chief of the amaZulu.
KwaZulu was created to encompass the tribal territories of both Natal and Zululand, and also fell under the Paramount Chief (today the King) of the amaZulu.
In 1994 KwaZulu and Natal were merged as KwaZulu-Natal Province.
Ulundi was the capital of KwaZulu and shared the status of KwaZulu-Natal capital with Pietermaritzburg until 2004.