Vehicle registration plates of Gregahou

Jump to navigation Jump to search

In Gregahou, the national government issues vehicle registration plates for motor vehicles through the Ministry of Transportation. Since 1991, registration plates have been produced and distributed at a national level, and contain up to six alphanumeric characters depending on the type of vehicle.

A standardized private car registration plate

To be operated on (or parked on) any public road, most types of motor vehicles must be registered and display nationalized registration plates. One plate must be affixed to the rear of the vehicle, and in the case of large trucks, a second plate must be affixed to the front of the vehicle.

History and design

The current standard for Gregahouvian vehicle registration plates originally derives from 1980s-era Bermudian plates, which in turn are derivatives of pre-1932 number plate formats in the United Kingdom. Registration plates are typically created and issued for motor vehicles and trailers which run on rubber tires, including private, commercial, industrial, and governmental vehicles. Standards for registration plate design, dimension, and font are now defined by the Ministry of Transportation, but until the mid-1990s, character size, layout, color use, and dimensions were not strictly enforced so long as the registration was legible. Classic cars or historic vehicles are sometimes grandfathered into modern registration and left with Soviet Union plates.

Registration plates come in rectangular form with all characters of the registration code on a single horizontal line. Motorcycle plates sometimes split the serial between two horizontal lines. Since 1991, Gregahouvian registration plates are made of pressed aluminum, with the characters and border line embossed rather than printed or painted. Since 2009, all newly-registered vehicles must display registration plates from the government, not dealer-made or handmade plates.

Vehicle registration plates of Gregahou
A private car registration plate
A commercial registration plate
A taxi-specific commercial plate
A 2009-or-newer motorcycle plate

Standard numbering sequences

Private cars

Private cars in Gregahou have registration plates with six characters in a LL#### format, the sequence having started in 1991 with AA0001and continuing until ZZ9999. Unlike most of North America, in Gregahou a vehicle's registration plate is transferred to a new owner along with its title. Therefore, an observer could ascertain the approximate date of the first registration of a vehicle using its registration plate.

Gregahouvian private car plates consist of the alphanumeric registration in a black sans-serif on a white plate within a black border. Unlike in many countries, observers cannot normally identify a location of registration by looking at a vehicle's registration plate.

An RV with a truck registration plate

Commercial vehicles, trucks, and trailers

Commercial vehicles, trucks, and trailers have a five-character registration format L####. This format was introduced in 2004, before which plates were identical in format to private cars. Like private car registration plates, commercial plates consist of a white base with black text and border line.

Taxis are the sole exception to sequencing in Gregahouvian vehicle registration plates. Per a tourism initiative in 2021, taxis were reissued commercial vehicle plates all beginning with the letter T followed by four numbers to better distinguish legitimate, government-registered taxis from illegal makeshift operations.

Motorcycles

Two-wheeled vehicles which have a maximum travel speed higher than 40 kilometers per hour (24.9mph) are required to apply for government registration. Historically, motorcycles were classified and registered under the private car registration sequence. As the registration plates were not suited for two-wheeled vehicles, many motorcycle owners painted or drew their registration number on the rear wheel arch or the side of the fuel tank. In 2009, the government introduced a motorcycle-specific registration format ##LLL, but did not require previously-registered vehicles to apply for re-issuing. Therefore, many infrequently-used motorcycles in Gregahou still bear their antiquated private car registrations LL####.

Special plates

Government-registered vehicles, including police, emergency service, and military vehicles are reserved 5-number ##### plates which feature an inverse white text on a black base plate.

Vanity plates with up to six characters have been allowed since 2015 but cannot use any of the alphanumeric formats already in place LL####, L####, ##LLL, or #####. Many other restrictions concerning message and format apply so as not to be easily confused with other government-issued registration plates or public service vehicles. Additionally, cars registered to foreign embassies, consulates, and/or diplomats also feature the ISO 3166-1 numeric three-digit codes of the country of the owner a vehicle is registered to. Usually, diplomatic missions will reserve low numbered plates for cars that need the most diplomatic immunity. For example, the Belgian ambassador might use the registration 05601, with 056 representing Belgium's ISO 3166-1 code.