Newfoundland and Labrador first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display licence plates in 1920, while still a British dominion. It became a province of Canada in 1949.
In 1956, Canada, the United States, and Mexico came to an agreement with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the Automobile Manufacturers Association and the National Safety Council that standardized the size for licence plates for vehicles (except those for motorcycles) at in height by in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1956 (dated 1957) issue was the first Newfoundland licence plate that fully complied with these standards: the issues from 1951 (dated 1952) through 1955 (dated 1956) were all 6 inches in height by 12 inches in width, but had non-standard mounting holes.
The last complete re-registration of all registered vehicles in Newfoundland and Labrador was in 1981, with a switch from a numerical system to an alphanumeric system.
All plates issued since 1982 (beginning AAA-001) remain valid today. Plates remain with the vehicle to which they are originally registered, rather than with the owner. Used vehicles with expired plates are issued new licence plates, while used vehicles with valid plates retain their original licence plate.
Since 1985, the province has not used the letters I, Q, U or Y on licence plates, except on plates that use "VO1" (or "VO2" for Labrador) followed by two or three letters issued to Amateur radio operators. However, the HAY series was issued on the 1996-97 Cabot 500 base, while the TFI series was issued on trailers in 2010. The letter I is skipped because it closely resembles the number 1, while the letter Q is skipped because it closely resembles the letter O (which the province does use) and the number zero.
Since September 1997, the province requires only a rear plate for most registrations, except for B, C, E and G plates (see below). Some older cars still display both front and rear plates. Some early "World of Difference" and Cabot 500 base plates were issued in duplicate for the front and rear.
In 2019 the province announced it would be designing licence plates for electric "green" vehicles.
On Newfoundland licence plates, the first letter (or two letters) designates the registration class of the vehicle. For example, HMT-999 would be assigned to a passenger car, while TZD-019 would be assigned to a trailer.
Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province in Canada that does not allow vanity licence plates to be registered.
Vehicle class First letter(s)Vehicle typeNotes on use/expiration/issueCurrent/last issueAPrivate carBegan at AAA-001 in 1982; ended at AZZ-999 on World of Difference base in 1998. Front and rear plates required until 1997.AZZ-999AAAntique AutoIssued to cars and trucks eligible to be considered antique. Cars must be at least 25 years old to be considered. ‘Antique Auto’ is screened onto the plate on the left of the serial4433BBusBAx for public-use buses, BPx for private-use buses (e.g. tour buses). Front and rear plates required.BAJ-976 BPD-893CTruck/heavy vehicleIssued to pickup trucks, SUVs and large vans. Began at CAA-001 in 1982; reached CZZ-999 on pitcher plant base in 2017, followed by CA0 001 onwards. Front and rear plates required. CRx indicates large mobile crane units that are generally overwidth and need special permits and escort on public roadways. Some trucks and vans may now be registered as private cars. CL7-999DDealerIssued to auto dealers for test driving and transporting cars.DAW-768EEmergency vehicleEmergency vehicles (fire trucks or police cars) are registered as provincial or municipal, as private ambulance companies operate in NL. Front and rear plates required. Also used by search and rescue vehicles.EAD-692FFarm vehicleFAx for farm tractors, FEx for farm equipment, FTx for farm trucks that operate on roads. Infrequently issued.FAD-638 FEC-654 FTD-273FFFire FighterIssued to cars and trucks belonging to firefighters. Have the FD crest on the left of the serial. 6163FFGGovernment vehicleGMx on municipal vehicles, GPx on provincial, GFx on federal. Front and rear plates required.GMO-320 GPR-292 GFM-154HPrivate carIssued as next available letter after 'A' series. Began at HAB-001 on Cabot base in fall of 1996; issued on World of Difference base from 1998; ended at HZZ-999 on pitcher plant base in summer of 2013.HZZ-999JPrivate carIssued as next available letter after 'H' series. Began at JAA-001 on pitcher plant base in summer of 2013.JUH-002KTrail Bike / Private CarUsed primarily on dual purpose motorcycles for on and off road use. Same size and base as current Motorcycle plate. Passenger vehicles will also be issued plates starting with K once J plates run out KAP-048MMotorcycleBegan at MCA-001 in 1982.MEO-723PRApportionedIssued to transport trucks. Began at PRP-001 in 1982; reached PRZ-999 on pitcher plant base in 2012, followed by PRA-001 onwards.PRC-228SSnowmobileBegan at SAA-001. These are decals and older ones can also be 12345 format. Used to all be orange text on white but the current decal is black text on white. SMN-942TTrailerBegan at TAA-001 in 1982; jumped from TET-999 to TVT-001 when flag base was introduced in 2001; reached TZZ-999 then jumped back to TEV-001 on pitcher plant base in 2008. TXx reserved for taxi plates.TMJ-999TXLicensed taxiSupplemented with a municipal taxi licence sticker.TXP-999WTow truckTow trucks display a second plate (in addition to a 'C' series plate). Infrequently issued.WAE-592XHeavy machineryIssued to tractors, backhoes, forklifts, etc.XAX-203V (VBC-123)Off-RoadIssued to quads and UTVs,VJO-091VO1, VO2Amateur RadioIssued to Newfoundland (VO1) and Laborador (VO2) Amateur Operators. These plates are issued to match an individual's assigned callsign. Unlike other plates these are not issued sequentially, as callsigns are selected by choice. Plates may vary between 5 and 6 characters, as operators may conditionally be issued a shorter callsignN/A (VO1?? - VO2???)V (V1234)VeteranIssued to cars and trucks belonging to military veteransV3223VA (VA123)Veteran Motorcycle Issued to motorcycles belonging to military veteransVA644
Passenger baseplates 1925 to 1969