Vehicle registration plates of Malta
Maltese registration plates are the number plates used within Malta to uniquely identify motor vehicles. Since 1995, the three letter, three number system (ZZZ 999) has been in use in Malta for vehicle registration. The characters are always printed in black on a white background, and to the left one can find a blue box with the Flag of Europe and the letter M (for Malta) underneath it in white. The typeface used on Maltese registration plates is FE-Schrift which is also the typeface used on German vehicle registration plates. Privately owned vehicles. All  privately owned vehicles are allocated randomly chosen marks, except that the first letter shows in which month the vehicle's annual tax disc is due for renewal. The following is a table of letters by month: These plates may be also personalised in two ways: Either in the XXX999 format (€200) Or any combination from one to ten characters and/or numbers which would cost €1500. History. 1800s. A calesse, a type of horse carriage, had to be registered at the Castellania by the 19th century and use registration plates with black and white colours. Motor vehicles were introduced  in Malta around World War I in 1914. These were considered commodities and only the few people could purchase. The main people who owned the first cars were the British and the then higher class of Maltese. By 1919 most Brits started to sell their used cars to Maltese with an affordable price but were mainly used as taxis and for work-related needs such as the transport of goods. 1952 - 1979. From 1952 to 1979, all number-plates in Malta used the format 99999 (5 numbers). Until 1959, plates with red circle permitted to drive in Valletta. Unlike the  post-1979 system, they have 7 characters. Special plates: 1979 - 1995. From 1979 to 1995, all number-plates in Malta used the format Z-9999 (a letter and 4 numbers, with a hyphen between the letter and the first number). Towards the right there was the letter M (for Malta) in a circle. Although all characters were printed in black, the background colour varied according to the vehicle's use: