Vehicle registration plates of Malaysia are displayed at the front and rear of all private and commercial motorised vehicles in Malaysia, as required by law. The issuing of the number plates is regulated and administered by the Road Transport Department (JPJ).
Latest number plate being issued can be checked through JPJ website.
Formats The following are examples of the formats currently used;
Type of number plate Layout Private and commercial vehicles N 4567, RA 4567, ABC 4567 (Standard series) WD 4567 C, JA 4567 J, QAA 4567 C, SAB 4567 C, KV 4567 B (Extended series) Taxi HAB 4567 or as used by private & commercial vehicles Military ZA 4567 Temporary B 2341 A (A/TP 2341 for Perak, W/TP 2341 for Kuala Lumpur) Foreign missions 12-34-DC, 12-34-CC, 12-34-WA Royals and government (Full title)
Design The current standard for Malaysian number plates were originally derivatives of pre-1932 number plate formats in the United Kingdom, first issued after the introduction of motorised vehicles in the 1900s during British rule. Number plates are typically issued and are formatted similarly for any motorised vehicle that runs on rubber tyres, including most road-legal private, commercial and industrial vehicles, motorcycles, emergency vehicles, and selected heavy equipment (such as agricultural tractors, truck-mounted cranes and backhoe loaders). With the exception of those issued for taxis, vehicle dealers and diplomats, all vehicle number plates in Malaysia have white characters on black background for both front and rear plates, regardless of the vehicle type.
Standards for number plate designs have been defined by JPJ but are only practiced to an extent. Character size, layouts, and colour use are more strictly enforced for accurate identification and optimum visibility. However, the dimensions of the plates displaying the license number are more loosely enforced. While many vehicles display plates in regulation dimensions or are housed in dealer plate frames with standardised dimensions, some license plates are outlined to precisely fit into vastly larger recessed spaces holding the rear license plates, or appear with reduced or custom dimensions where no proper alcoves exist, as commonly practiced on the front fenders and fairings of most motorcycles and the front of sports cars.
A compact version of Arial Bold is currently the typeface preferred by JPJ, however the department's plate number specifications page features a diagram that also lists "Calisto MT Italic" and "Franklin Gothic Bold". The most commonly used type is a factory manufactured type, but other easy-to-read typefaces are generally acceptable too. Common alternative choices include Charles Wright, which has been used on Singaporean, Hong Kong, and British plates, and FE-Schrift, which is used on German plates and is thus popular among Malaysian owners of cars with European marques, especially German brands and models. More obscure custom typefaces have also been known to be used primarily on grey import vehicles and aftermarket licence plates.
Early Malaysian number plates were made of pressed metal, but were largely superseded by plastic plates since the 1970s, with characters either printed on or moulded in plastic pieces. The reasons for the popularity of plastics plates in Malaysia were related to cost and metal theft. That said, the disadvantages of using plastic plates include; its fragility; the ease of reproduction which advantages criminals like car cloning syndicates; the yellowing of the letters due to age and exposure to extreme environmental conditions; the letters dropping off due to the reduction in adhesiveness of the glue used to stick the white plastic letters onto the black plastic plate; and the reduction of letter spacing (kerning) in between the individual letters to evade speed cameras and easy identification. This results in an inability of enforcement agencies to identify the correct registration. To combat this, standardised number plates were discussed by JPJ in 2016, these were to include RFID chips and pressed metal plates. To this end, proposals for standardised typefaces, like JPJ 1, have also been made.
The JPJePlate number plate was introduced in September 2024. It follows a European-style number plate size with black FE-Schrift font letters on a white reflective background and a green stripe to determine as EV. It also shows the international oval code "MAL" and the Malaysian Flag. This type of number plate is compulsory for newly registered EVs from September 2024 onwards. Currently available for Electric powered cars only.
Peninsular Malaysia Current format VRX 2468
All Peninsular Malaysian number plates for private and commercial type motor vehicles, except for Langkawi registered vehicles, taxis, vehicle dealers and diplomats, follow a xxx #### algorithm.
x - The state or territory prefix. (e.g. : W = Kuala Lumpur, A = Perak, B = Selangor, P = Penang) x - The alphabetical sequences. (e.g. : A, B, C ... X, Y. Not including I, O and Z.) # - The number sequence. (e.g. : 1, 2, 3 ... 9998, 9999)
The exceptions in the algorithm are as follows: There can be no leading zeroes in the number sequence. The letters I and O are omitted from the alphabetical sequences due to their similarities with the numbers 1 and 0. The letter Z is omitted and reserved for use on Malaysian military vehicles.
The algorithm began with a state prefix and a sequence of numbers ranging from 1 to 9999. For example, P 1 would be the first registration plate of Penang. Once P 9999 was achieved, an alphabetical sequence was added to the right of the state prefix; PA 1 was the result. When PA 9999 was reached, the number sequence was reset and the alphabetical sequence progressed; PB 1 being the outcome. After PY 9999 was achieved, a second alphabetical sequence was added to the right of the first alphabetical sequence; PAA 1 being the outcome. When PAY 9999 was reached, the second alphabetical sequence was reset and the first alphabetical sequence progressed; resuming at PBA 1.
Registration plates of Peninsular Malaysia Prefix (x) State Current Plate Current Bidding Plate A PerakAPLAPP B Selangor BSUBSY C PahangCFHCFJ D KelantanDFSDFS F Putrajaya FH FH J Johor JE_JJH_J K KedahKGJKGJKVLangkawiKV_FKV_FMMalaccaMEHMEHNNegeri SembilanNEMNEMPPenangPSFPSHRPerlisRBFRBFTTerengganuTDHTDJVKuala LumpurVRRVRWWKuala Lumpur (Exhausted in 2016)WD_FWD_F
Variants
Extended Kuala Lumpur series WB 9619 Y
W 5221 C
As the most registered number plate series in the country, the W series' traditional 7-character format became the first in Peninsular Malaysia to be exhausted when WYY 9999 was registered on 26 September 2013. To allow further W plates, the algorithm was altered to feature an alphabetical suffix behind the number sequence, resetting at W 1 A. When W 9999 Y was achieved, the second alphabetical sequence emerged between the state prefix and number sequence, leading to WA 1 A. When WA 9999 Y is met, the first alphabetical sequence will reset and the second alphabetical sequence will advance, giving WB 1 A. When WY 9999 Y is reached, a third new alphabetical sequence will be spliced into the algorithm, between the second alphabetical sequence and number sequence, resulting in WAA 1 A. The series will end when WYY 9999 Y is reached. The new format would theoretically allow a vastly larger number of registered plates, better addressing the risk of exhaustion of numbers.
VFQ 3052
On 18 May 2016, less than three years into the implementation of the extended W series, the Transport Ministry, on the request of the Road Transport Department, announced the tentative retirement of the W series in place of a new V series that would revert to the regular xxx #### format. The decision was made in response to massive declines in bidding for extended W series plates as the public was gauged to favour a xxx #### format over Kuala Lumpur's xxx #### x format. The V series has launched on 1 October 2016 after completion of WD 9999 F and the extended W series was decommissioned.
Langkawi series KV 2926 E
Vehicles in Langkawi, a Kedahan resort archipelago, are issued KV series plates after the islands achieved duty-free status. The algorithm for Langkawi is KV #### x, where KV is the territory prefix with # and x denoting the number and alphabetical sequences respectively. Prior to the KV series, Langkawi-registered vehicles were issued with K series plates as is with the rest of Kedah.
Putrajaya series
FA 1287
Following the founding of Putrajaya in 1995, vehicle license numbers registered in the territory, in a fashion similar to commemorative vanity plates, originally had their territorial prefix incorporating the name of the territory stylised in oblique Calisto followed by a number sequence of up to four digits (Putrajaya xxxx). The Putrajaya format did not incorporate additional identifiers beyond the four-digit number, limiting the number of available plates for the original Putrajaya series to 9,999 vehicles.
In response to the restrictive format the Road Transport Department began to issue F prefix plates (denoting "Federal") for new Putrajaya-registered plates effective 1 June 2016. Both FA and FB were already started issued on 22 July 2017 and 16 May 2018 respectively; and exhausted on 28 August 2017 and 25 June 2018 respectively. FC was started issued since 2 May 2019. Next are FD, FE, FF, FFF and FG which were issued on 12 April 2021, April 2022, 14 May 2023, May 2024 and January 2025. respectively. FH was first issued on 3 March 2026.
Unlike other state and federal territory plate prefixes, new Putrajaya F prefix sequences are annually issued instead of upon exhaustion.
Extended Johor series
J 4720 J JA 4720 J The J series traditional 7-character format, upon reaching JYY 9999, became the second in Peninsular Malaysia to be exhausted in June 2026, and replaced with the 8-character format starting with J 1 J to J 9999 J, with subsequent serials starting with JA 1 J to JA 9999 J, and then JB 1 J to JB 9999 J and so on.
History of Peninsular Malaysian registration numbers
Pre-1948 The registration plate system in Malaysia traces back to the introduction of motor vehicles in the early-1900s in colonial British Malaya, with the introduction by respectable state governments of a basic x #### format, where x prefix is the state identifier. Because the x #### format were not expected to be exhausted for a considerable time, state identifiers were allowed to be represented by one or two letters.
Straits Settlements Registration plates of Straits Settlements before 1948 Prefix State Prefix State M Malacca P Penang S Singapore W Province Wellesley L Labuan B, K Brunei Number plates for the Straits Settlements began to be issued in the early-1900s. With the exception of several format changes in intermediate periods, most of the Straits Settlements state identifiers continue to be used by the territories they were originally assigned to.
The Straits Settlement of Malacca was assigned with the M state identifier, which has continuously been issued on vehicles registered in the state since its introduction over a century ago. The Straits Settlement of Penang originally had two plate series, P and W, which were assigned respectively to Penang island and the mainland territory of Province Wellesley. The Province Wellesley W series was discontinued in 1957 as P plates would be issued for both territories henceforth.