Vehicle registration plates of the Republic of Ireland Vehicle registration plates of the Republic of Ireland In the Republic of Ireland, vehicle registration plates (commonly known as "number plates") are the visual indications of motor vehicle registration – officially termed "index marks" – which it has been mandatory since 1903 to display on most motor vehicles used on public roads in Ireland. The alphanumeric marks (or "registration numbers") themselves were issued by the local authority in which a vehicle is first registered. The current specification for number plates is the format YYY–CC–SSSSSS. Those issued from 1987 to 2012 had the format YY–CC–SSSSSS. The components are: Since 1991, the
Vehicle registration plates of the Netherlands is the second letter, D to Z) will not be used, for the same reason. This list is not exhaustive. The Dutch Wikipedia article contains more exceptions. Since January 1, 2014, the Netherlands has an all plastic vehicle registration on credit card format. This and the driving licence (which is the same size) are the only things you have to carry with you while driving in the Netherlands. This registration looks the same (green) for every vehicle category, only the information on the card differs. It has a chip which contains more detailed information about the vehicle. All previously issued