China license plate (CN) in 2026 ✅
Chinese license plates since 1994 use plates with white characters and a white border on a blue background. The configuration is a Chinese letter identifying the province, followed by a letter identifying the office or vehicle type. Discover below everything about license plates of China updated.
Language: Chinese
International code: CN
In China they drive on the right
First plate was registered on: ?.
There are 8 3 cars per 1000 inhabitants.
Continent: Asia
Table of contents of China license plates
Current China Car License Plates
China car license plates have used a registration system since 1994 in which the design, color and configuration of Chinese license plates vary depending on the type of vehicle. Ordinary license plates generally feature white characters on a blue background and can identify, through their first characters, the province, municipality or autonomous region where the vehicle is registered. In addition to ordinary license plates, China has different types of license plates for electric vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, diplomatic vehicles, police vehicles, military vehicles and other special uses, which differ in color, composition and character arrangement. On ordinary license plates, the combination of characters appearing after the territorial code identifies each vehicle within the different registration series. As a curiosity, some numbers have a special meaning in Chinese culture: the numbers 6, 8 and 9 are traditionally associated with good luck and prosperity, so certain number combinations can reach very high prices when they are considered especially lucky.
Ordinary China license plates measure 440 × 140 millimeters (mm) and follow a structure that provides information about the registration location and the series assigned to the vehicle. On a conventional license plate, the first character is a Chinese character identifying the province, municipality or autonomous region, while the Latin letter that follows can identify a particular city, administrative area or category within that territorial division. Next comes a small circular separator and, finally, a combination of five alphanumeric characters forming the actual registration number. This combination can contain numbers and letters depending on the corresponding series. For example, on a license plate such as 京B·AI234, the character 京 identifies Beijing, while the letter B corresponds to a particular registration category or area within the city. Therefore, a Chinese license plate is not simply a random combination of characters, as its structure provides part of the territorial and administrative information associated with the vehicle.
What are motorcycle license plates like in China?
China motorcycle license plates use a system similar to ordinary car license plates, although they have different dimensions and an alternative layout to fit the limited space available on motorcycles. Unlike conventional plates, which are wider than they are tall, Chinese motorcycle license plates have a vertical format and are arranged in two lines. The upper line shows the provincial code together with the corresponding letter, while the lower line contains the combination of characters that appears after the small circular separator on car license plates. Therefore, although the shape and arrangement of the plate change, the basic structure of the Chinese vehicle registration system remains the same and its territorial origin can still be identified from the initial characters.
How can you get a license plate for your car in China?
Due to the increase in the number of vehicles in China, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain a license plate for your car in China. Some cities have limited the number of new registrations, such as Shanghai in 1994 and Beijing in 2011. Normally, in these cities, public auctions are established as the only method for obtaining license plates, as happens in Beijing, with auctions taking place every two months. It is important to note that before buying a vehicle, whether electric or not, you must first have a license plate. In other cases, such as in the city of Guangzhou, both methods of obtaining license plates were used at the same time, through a waiting list and public auction.
In the specific case of the capital, Beijing, it was estimated that in 2019 around 3 million people were waiting to obtain a license plate. Due to the large number of applications, auctioned license plates can reach prices of up to €12,000, as happened in 2017 in Shenzhen, a city that limits the number of new license plates to 100,000 per year. As a result, a license plate can cost more than a new vehicle.
Chinese motorcycle license plate
For these reasons, advantages for purchasing electric vehicles are being considered, including reducing registration restrictions or even removing them for these vehicles. Electric vehicle license plates, unlike the ordinary system, are generally issued on a first-come, first-served basis. However, only 60,000 license plates were made available in Beijing in 2019, the same as in 2018. The waiting list had already reached 8 years. However, the number of license plates available for electric vehicles increased from 20,000 in 2014 to 60,000 in 2019, while the number of ordinary license plates decreased from 240,000 in 2011 to 100,000 in 2018. All of this forms part of a major plan aimed at reducing vehicle pollution.
China License Plate Character Series and Curiosities
At the beginning of the current system, China license plates used a configuration consisting of only five numbers, followed by various combinations of numbers and letters as the series were completed. The letters O and I are avoided to prevent confusion with 0 and 1. The following order is used, always after the character in the Pinyin alphabet and the Latin character (where 0 represents numbers and A represents letters): 00000, A0000, AA000, 0A000, 00A00, 000A0, 0000A, A000A, 000AA, A0A00, 0AA00, A00A0, 0A0A0, 0A00A, 00AA0, 00A0A.
Old China License Plate Systems
In the summer of 2002, a new personalized registration system was introduced in China for a short period. It consisted of three letters and three numbers or three numbers and three letters separated by a hyphen. Due to the undesirable combinations generated by this system, it was decided to end it after just 10 days. In Beijing, 10,000 vehicles were registered using this system, which remains valid until the vehicle is deregistered or the license plate is lost, at which point the owner must replace it with a standard ordinary license plate. This was due, among other reasons, to the lack of stamping machines and plates capable of manufacturing these license plates.
Types of Special License Plates in China
Depending on the colors used on a special China license plate, the vehicle may belong to one category or another. White characters on a blue background are used for small and compact vehicles, including the ordinary license plate system.
Long vehicles in China (more than 6 meters long or designed to transport more than 20 people) use black characters on a yellow background, with the rear license plate being square rather than elongated as in the ordinary system.
For trailers (440x220 mm), the license plates are black on a yellow background and begin with the character 挂.
Vehicles operating within Chinese transport centers, such as airports or ports, use white characters on a green background, beginning with 民航 for civil aviation or “L港” for ports, where the license plate begins with the name of the port.
Under no circumstances may these vehicles leave the region or city where they are registered.
Driving school vehicles replace the final character of the license plate with 学 in black on a yellow background. Test vehicles use the same system but end with the character 试. Prototypes have a similar design, ending with 超, although they use black characters on a light blue background and are made of paper.
Foreign vehicles that are going to travel within Chinese territory are required to display a paper “registration” on the rear window of the vehicle. They are usually valid for 15 days and can be blue if the vehicle is going to travel within only one administrative division, or red if it is going to travel through more than one. This measure does not apply to vehicles from Hong Kong, Macao (*) or Taiwan.
Black China License Plates for Travel to Hong Kong or Macao
China currently uses black-background license plates for diplomatic corps vehicles and for vehicles from the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao traveling to China. These license plates for travel to China have a configuration ending with a Chinese character identifying Hong Kong or Macao: 港 or 澳. The character on the left side of the Chinese license plate is always the regional code, normally Guangdong 粤. Cars from China entering either of the two special territories do not have to change their blue or green license plate (for electric vehicles) to enter.
Until October 31, 2007, license plates used since 1992 for foreigners, foreign companies and embassy personnel had a differentiated design, with white characters on a black background and beginning with the first character after the separator by 10000. This system was discontinued because it was considered discriminatory towards foreigners, and these vehicles were subsequently issued with white characters on a blue background, although a series of reserved sequences continued to distinguish them.
Police and Military License Plates
The Police service, People's Armed Police and military vehicles use license plates with black and red characters on a white background, normally with a red strip along the upper and lower edges of the plate. Police license plates begin with the geographical abbreviation followed by a separator that is a square rather than a circle, and end with 警 (“Police”).
The People's Armed Police (武警) uses license plates beginning with the letters WJ in red, followed by a series of black characters on white. The first letter or number after the separator indicates the section of the People's Armed Police to which the vehicle belongs.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) uses license plates beginning with a red Latin letter on a white background identifying the section to which the vehicle belongs. This letter may itself be preceded by another letter. For example, K identifies the air force and H the navy. This letter is followed by another letter in black on white. Next comes the separator and finally five numbers.
Military or government vehicles are not subject to the provisions of the Road Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, meaning they can run red lights or drive in the opposite direction. Communist Party and People's Liberation Army (PLA) officials are not subject to parking regulations. Due to the privileges granted by these license plates, in recent years the government has confiscated thousands of fake license plates and vehicles, resulting in considerable fines and the possibility of imprisonment.
Electric Car License Plates in China
Electric vehicles in China have used a differentiated license plate system since November 2016 (see news). For compact vehicles, the first character after the separator is D or F, followed by five numbers, depending on whether it is a standard electric vehicle (D) or a plug-in electric hybrid vehicle (F). In the case of a long vehicle (more than 6 meters long), the letter appears at the end of the license plate. The characters are displayed in black on a green-to-white gradient background for compact vehicles and green-to-yellow for long vehicles.
China's capital, Beijing, is expected to remove registration restrictions for electric vehicles, thereby encouraging their purchase.
China Diplomatic Corps License Plates
Since 2017, diplomatic license plates have had a format similar to the former system, but ending with the characters 使 in white on black.
Diplomatic Corps license plates until 2017 used white numbers on a black background in two groups of three, separated by a small circle and beginning with a red character that varied depending on whether the plate belonged to an embassy or consulate. This red character could be 使 for embassies, which are located only in Beijing, or 领 for consulates. The first three numbers identify the organization or embassy, and 001 is generally used for the ambassador. Number groups up to 005 are generally reserved for official use. To protect diplomats' privacy, China has not disclosed embassy codes, so the available data are only assumptions about which embassy they may belong to. See codes
For the Chinese Consular Corps, license plates are similar to diplomatic plates, but with small variations. The plates, entirely with white characters on a black background, consist of the provincial code, three numbers identifying the region, a dot and two or three serial numbers. Finally, the text 领 consular is displayed on the right.
☛ Which code identifies cars from China?
The code CN identifies China. The license plates of China may be used with the international registration code CN next to it on the back part of the car.
Example of a car with the international recognition code of China
Below you can find a car with the oval code and international recognition of China which is CN.
Questions and answers about car license plates in China 🥇
Where is the code CN in a license plate from?
The international code CN identifies China, in Asia.
Which country uses the code CN on its license plate?
The country that uses the code CN on its car license plate system is China.. The letter or letters CN always identify China. The international code CN must always be displayed on the rear of the vehicle inChinaSpain in an oval in black characters on a white background when travelling abroad, except in very rare cases.
When did China have its first ordinary car license plate?
The date of the first car license plate registration officially issued in China was in ?.
Which side of the road do people drive on in China?
In China, you drive on the right side of the road.
On which continent is China located?
China is located in the continent Asia. You can check how are the license plates of Asia following the link to the general section within matriculasdelmundo. Car license plates in Asia
What are license plates from China called in other English-speaking couuntries?
In English, license plate of China is commonly called a license plate of China in the United States and Canada. In the UK and Australia, it’s often known as a number plate of China. Another term, registration plate of China, is understood globally and is slightly more formal. All these terms refer to the same vehicle identification plate of China, with usage varying by country. Car plate of China can be used in more technical situations.
Is it the same a license plate of China and a registration plate of China?
Yes, both license plate of China and registration plate of China can be used to refer the same vehicle registration unique number of China.
Cite this section about the license plates of China
Matriculasdelmundo. License plates of China. Reviewed and updated information. Matriculasdelmundo.com. Retrieved on 24/10/2026 from https://
License plates from other states and territories that you may be interested in:
Map of the China license plates
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Official Sources on License Plates of China
All the information about the license plates of cars and motorcycles in China and vehicle plates shown here has been extracted from official state archives (such as the BOE and the DGT in Spain), from personal sightings, by contacting automobile clubs from other countries, or through media or files referenced in the text. This information on car and motorcycle plates in China has been collected since 2009, so we hope you find the information you're looking for about China license plates.
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