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 plate Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon, registration plates are currently only required on the rear of the vehicle. The remaining provinces—British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Ontario—require the registration plates to be mounted on both the front and rear of the vehicle. In 1956, all North American passenger vehicle registration plates, except for French-controlled St. Pierre and Miquelon, were standardized at a size of , although a smaller size is used for certain vehicle classes, such as motorcycles, and for the state of Delaware's historic alternate black and white plates, which