Vehicle registration plates of Saudi Arabia

Vehicle registration plates of Saudi Arabia are manufactured by Government Printing Press in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has taken action to ensure that all people residing within its borders register their vehicles in Saudi Arabia and display a rear as well as a front license plate.

front plate
2014 style front plate

The plates consist of three letters and up to four numbers in Arabic. Both letters and numbers are also translated into the Latin alphabet and into the Western Arabic numerals, respectively. On the right side (or in the centre since 2014[1]), the plate contain the Saudi Arabia coat of arms and the international code KSA letters written vertically (horizontally since 2014) . The lower sticker is the official seal. The standard plates always have four numbers and if necessary they are padded by zeroes. Personalised plates or earlier registrations may contain one, two or three numbers with or without zero padding. The letter translation into the Latin alphabet is done from left to right, although Arabic letters are read from right to left. Furthermore, the translation is not always correct. There are only 17 Arabic letters used on the registration plates.

Overview

The following Arabic letters are used on Saudi registration plates.

Arabic

Letter

 Translation Actual transliteration

(if different)

اA
بB
حJḥ
دD
رR
سS
صXṣ
طT
عE‘
قGq
كK
لL
مZm
نN
هـH
وU
ىVā / ỳ

All plates have a white background, but several vehicle types may have a different background on the Strip which contains the coat of arms, the country name abbreviation and official seal. The strip is on the right hand side for 335x155 mm (US Size) License Plate. and in the middle for 550x110mm (EU Size) License Plate. Each type of license plate also has a symbol, such as a circle or a triangle, at the bottom of the strip. The US Size is the standard in the country. However, the EU Size is available if need be.

Private Cars

The strip on the plates for Private cars is coloured white. The symbol at the bottom of the strip is a circle.

Private Car License Plate 335x155mm
Private Car License Plate 550x110mm

The Saudi Police uses standard registration plates.

Public Transport

The strip on the plates for public transport and taxis is coloured yellow. The symbol at the bottom of the strip is a triangle pointing up.

Public Transit License Plate 335x155mm
Public Transit License Plate 550x110mm

Commercial

The strip on the plates for trucks and utility vehicles is coloured blue. The symbol at the bottom of the strip is a triangle pointing down.

Commercial Vehicle License Plate 335x155mm
Commercial Vehicle License Plate 550x110mm

Temporary

The strip on the plates for trucks and utility vehicles is coloured silver. The symbol at the bottom of the strip is a triangle pointing left.

Temporary License Plate 335x155mm
Temporary License Plate 550x110mm

Diplomatic

The strip on the plates for diplomatic vehicles is coloured green. The Saudi Coat of arms is surrounded by a white rectangle. There is no symbol at the bottom of the strip.

Diplomatic License Plate 335x155mm
Diplomatic License Plate 550x110mm

Banned combinations

Some letter combinations are banned, either for their Arabic or Latin translation. Among them are " 'S' 'E' 'X' ", " 'A' 'S' 'S' ", and others.[2][3] The KSA combination is however allowed.

Former registration plates

The current plates were introduced in 2006. The former registration plates from 1996 used only 3 numbers and 3 letters with no translation. Above them was written Al-Saudia, in Arabic only. Numbers were sometimes padded by zeroes. Plates for trucks, public transport or diplomatic vehicles had blue, yellow, or green background, respectively. The colours have been preserved on the current system, except that on the older system the entire plate had such a background.

References
  1. "Olav's Saudi Arabian license plates - Number plates of Saudi Arabia". www.olavsplates.com. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  2. A BBC article about banned combinations
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