In South Africa, vehicle registration plates, known as number plates, are issued by the Department of Transport in each of its provinces. Each province has plates with unique designs, colour schemes, and alphanumeric patterns. For instance, the plates display combinations like CB 12 CD GP or CA 123–456, with distinct variations in layout and formatting across different regions of the country.
History
Until 1914, each municipality or local management board issued its own registration numbers, which naturally led to overlaps and confusion. The first national system was inspired by the British one, using white letters on a black background with each province using its own leading letter - major towns received two-letter combos, while smaller towns and municipalities used three-letter combinations.
From 1 February 2000, a process started to replace all number plates in South Africa to an aluminium number plate with an RFID tag containing a unique identification code, including the ability to identify the number plate in a foreign nation. This is termed an Intelligent Number Plate system. The system has been implemented for additional and circumstantial use. The numbering structure on plates will also then change. Concerning the foreign identification system within South Africa, foreigners are granted the permission to verify their number plate to the South African number plate system.
The Department of Transport in South Africa has set aside R25 million for the project during the 2015/2016 fiscal year. The Department of Transport in KwaZulu-Natal has set aside R1.5 million for vehicle registration plates for the province. A secure electronic mark will be used in the encryption of the code. The system can automatically generate the details of driving offences committed by a driver.
As of January 2022, new vehicles are, however, still being fitted with plastic plates and the system has still not been implemented.
New legislation also requires that a new vehicle's number plate be fixed to the body of the vehicle, or an approved number plate holder, with four 4 mm rivets.
Development
Material Number plates are available in plastic or metal. Plastic is the preferred material used by the majority of the motorists. They are also more common than their metal counterpart and are issued as standard plates by car dealerships, except in Gauteng Province where, from 2013, newly issued plates must be metal.
Shape The most common size is identical to the European number plates' size () . However, a shorter plate is also common (). Most car dealerships now issue the former. Other shapes such as American and motorbike sizes are also available. Number plates can be made over the counter at registration/licensing stores in shopping centres, although the vehicle registration document may be required.
Costs The standard annual non-personalised licence fee is between R250 and R600, depending on the province in which the vehicle is registered and the weight of the vehicle. A large number of heavy vehicles are registered in Northern and Eastern Cape where the licence fees per vehicle mass are low. The Western Cape has the most expensive annual licence fees, but as with Northern and Eastern Cape, it has few toll roads.
Vehicle owners can buy specific personalised registration numbers from registering authorities. The cost for a single digit registration e.g. CA 1 will be in the region of R6000 while a long number e.g. CA 123456 can be as low as R600.
Provinces
Overview Province Standard Plates Personalised Plates Example Colouring Graphics Western Cape Province Caa # xzzzzzz WP CAA 123-456 Black on white(Black on yellow still legal) None KwaZulu-Natal Province aa++aa ZN xzzzzzz ZN BL 00 MY ZN Blue on white Black on white for vehicles transporting people for rewards Red on white for Government vehiclesProvincial coat of arms Mpumalanga Province aaa+++ MP xzzzzz MP BCD 123 MP Black on white Stylised rising sun Eastern Cape Province aaa+++ EC xzzzzz EC BCD 123 EC Black on graphic Elephant and aloe Limpopo Province aaa+++ L xzzzzz L BCD 123 L Black on white Baobab tree and provincial coat of arms Gauteng Province aa++aa GP xzzzzzz GP GR 00 VY GP Blue on white Provincial coat of arms Northern Cape Province aaa+++ NC xzzzzz NC BBC 123 NC Green on white Gemsbok and sand dune Free State Province aaa+++ FS xzzzzz FS BBC 123 FSBlack on graphic Green on graphic (for personalised)Cheetah North West Province aaa+++ NW xzzzzz NW BBC 123 NW Black on graphic Maize cob, elephant, sunflower and mine headgear Diplomatic vehicles +++(D or C or X or S) +++D [Old](D or C or X or S) BBa +++ D [New] None C BBN 371 D Red (for D plates) or Green (for C, X and S plates) on White None National and provincial government vehicles Gaa+++ G None GBC 123 G Black on yellow None South African Police Service vehicles Baa+++ B None BCB 123 B Black on white / blue on white (Gauteng & KwaZulu Natal) None / Gauteng provincial coat of arms South African National Defence Force vehicles aaa+++ M None BCB 123 M Black on yellow None
In the Eastern Cape, provincial government vehicles (especially Health Department) have red letters and a red frame on white. Limpopo was initially named Northern Province and used the code N. When the name changed, a new sequence of numbers began, ending in L. The Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape province offers personalised number plates up to a maximum of 7 characters as opposed to the traditional (and those of other provinces) 6 character limit.
Key:
UPPER CASE LETTERS: Literal letters in the number plate a: compulsory letter (A – Z) b: letter (A – Z) or nothing x: compulsory character (A – Z, 0 – 9) z: character (A – Z, 0 – 9) or nothing #: an integer number (1 – 999,999) +: a compulsory digit (0 – 9) NB: Vowels are not used on private vehicles. After 1994, the Western Cape Province and KwaZulu-Natal Province are the only two provinces where the registration can be still linked to specific towns and cities. i.e. The pre-1980 system has largely been retained in these areas, so the first two or three letters at the start of each number plate identify where the vehicle was licensed. However, the KwaZulu-Natal province changed its system into a provincial numbering system in December 2023.
Western Cape
In 1994, the Cape Province was subdivided into three provinces (Western, Eastern and Northern Cape provinces). The Eastern and Northern Cape changed their licensing system so the Cape Province registration prefixes used there, like CB (Port Elizabeth) and CC (Kimberley), were dropped. The homeland states of Ciskei and Transkei became part of the Eastern Cape. The Stellaland district (Vryburg) became part of North West Province. The current Western Cape Province list is essentially an abbreviation of the pre-1980 Cape Province list.
+ Western Cape ProvinceRegistration Location CA or CAA Cape Town Afrikaans: Kaapstad, Xhosa: iKapa (CAA was first introduced on 13 April 2019 when Cape Town ran out of CA combinations). CAM Caledon, Villiersdorp, Riviersonderend, Kleinmond CAR Clanwilliam, Lambert's Bay, Citrusdal, Graafwater CAW or CAG George (When the George area ran out of CAW combinations in late 2019, CAG started being issued. CAG used to be the code for Barkly West, Northern Cape which now uses NC). CBL Ladismith CBM Laingsburg CBR Montagu CBS Mossel Bay & Hartenbos. Afrikaans: Mosselbaai. CBT Murraysburg CBY Piketberg CCA Prince Albert Afrikaans: Prins Albert. CCC Riversdale & Stilbaai. Afrikaans: Riversdal. CCD Robertson & McGregor CCK Swellendam & Barrydale CCM Tulbagh CCO Uniondale CCP Van Rhynsdorp, Klawer. Afrikaans: Vanrhynsdorp. CEA Moorreesburg CEG Heidelberg CEM Hermanus, Gansbaai, Onrus River & Stanford CEO Grabouw & Elgin CER Bonnievale CES Albertinia CEX Porterville CEY Strand & Gordon's Bay. Now part of the City of Cape Town. CF Kuils River, Brackenfell, Kraaifontein (Since about 2000; previously the code for Grahamstown, Eastern Cape). Now part of the City of Cape Town. Afrikaans: Kuilsrivier CFA Wolseley CFG Vredenburg, Saldanha & St Helena Bay CFM Somerset West. Now part of the City of Cape Town. CFP Velddrif & Laaiplek CFR Kuils River & Brackenfell (Still seen on older vehicles.) Now part of the City of Cape Town. Afrikaans: Kuilsrivier CG Oudtshoorn CJ Paarl CK Malmesbury & Darling CL Stellenbosch & Klapmuts & Franschhoek CN Wellington CO Calitzdorp CR Hopefield, Langebaan & Langebaan Road CS Cape Agulhas Municipality (Bredasdorp, Cape Agulhas, Struisbaai, Napier, Arniston) CT Ceres CV Vredendal CW Worcester, De Doorns & Touws River CX Knysna, Sedgefield & Plettenberg Bay CY Bellville, Durbanville, Parow, Goodwood. Now part of the City of Cape Town. CZ Beaufort West CCT City of Cape Town (official municipal) vehicles. Previously the code for Willowmore, Eastern Cape.
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal as of 1 December 2023 introduced new number plate numbering system. All new vehicles will be using the alphanumeric format (e.g. BB 00 CC ZN). The colour of the licence plates is blue over white. The old town specific numbering system is being phased out over 21 months period beginning 1 March 2024, and all motorists renewing from 1 December 2024 are automatically switched over to the new format. All motorists are required to change over to the new numbering system by 30 November March 2025. From 1 December 2025 motorists that have not changed over will be fined by the law enforcement. The new number plates in KwaZulu-Natal will in future use the alphanumeric format. For personalized plates, e.g. ND 1234 will in future be ND 1234 ZN. The old green personalised plates (ZN) will also change to blue over white plates.
+ KwaZulu-Natal Province Registration Location NA Harding NB Bergville NBA Babanango NC Camperdown, Hammarsdale NCO Colenso NCW Kokstad ND Durban NDE Dundee NDH Dannhauser NDW Ndwedwe NE Estcourt NES Eshowe NF Msinga NGL Glencoe NH New Hannover NHL Hlabisa, Mtubatuba, Hluhluwe NIM Impendle NIN Ingwavuma NIP Bulwer NIX Ixopo NJ Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu, Verulam, Tongaat. NK Richmond NKA Nkandla NKK Kranskop NKR Ladysmith NKU Ulundi NM Maphumulo NMA Mahlabatini NMG Magudu NMR Mooi River NMZ Umzimkhulu Previously part of the Cape (code CDP) and then of Transkei (XH), as an enclave in Natal. Transferred to KwaZulu-Natal in 2006. NN Newcastle NND Nongoma NO Melmoth NP Pietermaritzburg NPG Pongola This town, on the north bank of the Phongolo River, used to be part of the Transvaal panhandle between Eswatini and Natal, with its border on the Phongolo. It used the code TAG (Piet Retief). NPN Pinetown NPP Paulpietersburg NR Lions River, Howick NRB Richards Bay NS Ngotshe NPS or NSC Port Shepstone, Hibberdene, Margate, Port Edward, Southbroom (Port Shepstone was NPS prior to 30 June 2020, after which it was changed to NSC.) NT Stanger & Ballito NTU Nquthu NU New Germany, Hillcrest, Kloof, Gillitts. NUB Ubombo NUD Underberg NUF Empangeni NUL Umbumbulu NUM Greytown NUR Umhlanga, Umdloti, La Lucia NUT Utrecht NUZ Umlazi NV Vryheid NW Weenen NX Mthwalume, Umzinto, Scottburgh, Umkomaas NZ Mtunzini, Gingindlovu Provincial and Local Government Location KDM KwaDukuza Municipality KZN KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government NCS KwaZulu-Natal Conservative Center NDM eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality NPC Msunduzi Municipality, Pietermaritzburg
Free State The Free State is the only province in South Africa that places an expiry date on its registration plate. Every five years the owner is required to replace the plate irrespective of condition. This is only enforced in the Free State and if the owner uses the vehicle with "expired" plates in any other province he/she will not be prosecuted. This expiry is independent from the annual licence renewal required by national law.