Vehicle registration plates of Nepal

In Nepal, all road vehicles with or without a motor (except bicycles) are tagged with a registration number. Licence plates are commonly known as number plates. The licence plate number is issued by the state-level Transport Management Office, a government agency under the Department of Transport Management.[1] The licence plates must be placed in the front as well as back of the vehicle. The international vehicle registration code for Nepal is NEP.

The President of Nepal travels in an official vehicle that has no number on its plates. Instead it has the Coat of Arms of Nepal embossed on it.

Current system

The current system was introduced on 25 October 2018.[2] The new system is based on 3 lines format. Line 1: L-N, Line 2: NNNL Line 3: NNNN. This format is based on province name and district codes.

  • L-N is the state/province name followed by district code,
  • NNN is a "counter" comprising three numbers, which increments after the vehicle sequence number reaches 9999. L is a indication for the class of vehicle like two-wheeler, four-wheeler, heavy and medium-sized vehicle etc.
  • NNNN is a sequence number from 0001 to 9999 which increments with the vehicle registrations.

These plates come with a RFID microchip that enables the government to maintain uniformity in issuance of number plates and prevent duplication. Similarly, the new number plates also help authorities to maintain digital records of vehicles plying on the road tolls, collect revenue on time and control auto theft.

History
A taxi plate from the 70s, registered in Bagmati zone.

The previous system of the licence plate of Nepal consisted of four parts composed of letters (L) and numbers (N) in the L NN L NNNN format:

  • L indicates the zonal code, signifying the zone in which the vehicle is registered.
  • NN is the set number which is prefixed when the four digit number runs out from the last part.
  • L indicates the type of vehicle like private, public, governmental, national corporation, tourist etc. as well as the class of vehicle like two-wheeler, light vehicle, heavy and medium-sized vehicle etc.
  • NNNN signifies four digits running in sequence.

Zonal Code
Main article: Zones of Nepal

All former fourteen zones of Nepal had their own abbreviated code for reference purpose. These codes were normally single letter in Nepali and two letters (sometimes three letters also, but the third letter 'a' can be omitted) in English. The following is the list of zonal codes in both languages:

ZoneCode in NepaliCode in English
MechiमेME
KosiकोKO
SagarmathaसSA
JanakpurजJA
BagmatiबाBA
NarayaniनाNA
GandakiगGA
LumbiniलुLU
DhawalagiriधDH
RaptiराRA
BheriभेBHE
KarnaliकKA
SetiसेSE
MahakaliमMA

Vehicle Classification

For the purpose of vehicle registration Vehicle & Transport Management Act, 2049 (1992) and Vehicle & Transport Management Rule, 2054 (1997) of Nepal, classifies vehicles into the following 5 main categories on the basis of size and capacity:[3]

  1. Heavy and medium-sized vehicle: This includes bus, truck, dozer, dumper, loader, crane, Fire engine, tanker, roller, pick-up, van, mini bus, mini truck, mini van etc. having the capacity to carry more than 14 people (for passenger vehicle) or more than 4 tons (for cargo vehicle).
  2. Light vehicle: This includes car, SUV, van, pick-up, micro bus etc. having the capacity to carry less than 24 people or less than 4 tons.
  3. Two-wheeler: This includes vehicle having two wheels like motor cycle, scooter etc.
  4. Tractor and power-trailer
  5. Three-wheeler: This includes vehicle having three wheels like electric-safari, rickshaw etc.

The above-mentioned each categories are further divided into 5 sub categories on the basis of ownership and service-type which are as follows:

  1. Private vehicle: Vehicles which are for entirely personal purpose.
  2. Public vehicle: Vehicles which are for public transport purpose.
  3. Government vehicle: Vehicles owned by government agencies and constitutional bodies such as ministries, departments, directorates, along with the police, military, etc.
  4. National Corporation vehicle: Vehicles which are registered under the name of public corporations that are fully or partially owned by the government fall under this category.
  5. Tourist vehicle: Vehicles which are registered for tourist transport.

Plate Types

In Nepal, various vehicle types are classified as mentioned above. Those classifications of vehicles are indicated by the color of their license plates. For example, the colors of license plate for Private owned vehicles and Government owned vehicles are different.

Private

Privates vehicles in Nepal use Red license plates with white letters.

गण्डकी ०१
००१ प
१२३४
GANDAKI 01
001 PA
1234

Public

Public vehicles of Nepal have license plates with black licence plates with white letters.

गण्डकी ०३
००६प
६६२६
GANDAKI 01
001 PA
1234

Government

Nepalese vehicles owned by the government have white licence plates with red letters.

गण्डकी ०१
००१ प
१२३४
GANDAKI 01
001 PA
1234

National Corporation

The National Corporation like Nepal Telecom, Dairy Development Corporation, Nepal Electricity Authority etc. use Yellow number plates with blue letter.

गण्डकी ०१
००१ प
१२३४
GANDAKI 01
001 PA
1234

Tourist

Vehicles meant for the transportation of tourists use green plates with white letters. Such vehicles are owned by travel agencies and hotels.

गण्डकी ०१
००१ प
१२३४
GANDAKI 01
001 PA
1234

Diplomatic

Vehicles registered in Nepal under the name of foreign diplomatic agencies such as embassies, consulates, or missions use blue plates with white letters.

०१ सि. डी. ००१
01 C.D. 001

References
  1. Department of Transport Management website
  2. https://kathmandupost.com/money/2018/11/03/registrations-resume-under-new-numbering-scheme
  3. p.48; Vehicle & Transport Management Rule, 2054 (1997)
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