Soviet Union license plate (SU) in 2025 ✅

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License Plate Systems Used in the Soviet Union

1981-1991

The last license plates used in the Soviet Union had the configuration B 1111 AA, where AA represented the regional code, A was a letter without specific significance, and the four digits in the middle were black characters on a white background. The dimensions were 288x226 mm, and these plates were used until 1981. Cyrillic characters were used except for those on vehicles traveling abroad.

To identify a Soviet license plate code, refer to the image below. The codes from 1981 to 1991 can be found at the bottom of the page, click here.

Special car license plates in the Soviet Union

Official vehicles used a similar system but with a configuration of four numbers and three letters, with the first two letters indicating the geographical region of the vehicle's origin. If the third letter was a "C", it indicated a government or administrative vehicle.

Foreign vehicles had a configuration of C 111 222, where the C indicated the type of work the foreigner did. The first three numbers represented the embassy or region of origin. Trailer license plates had a configuration of four numbers and two letters, with the two letters representing the region. These plates were square with the lower corners cut off.

1959-1981

The license plates used by the Soviet Union during these years had white characters on a black background, using Cyrillic characters, and a configuration of 11-11 AAA. The first two letters of the three letters indicated the region's code.

1946-1959

From 1946 to 1959, the Soviet Union used plates with black characters on a yellow background, starting with two letters followed by four digits separated by a hyphen. The first two letters indicated the region.

1936-1946

During this period, the plates had a format of two letters followed by four digits, separated in pairs by a hyphen. The two letters represented the region from which the vehicle came.

1934-1937

Between these dates, Soviet license plates included the region's name at the bottom and up to five numbers in pairs, separated by a hyphen. The format could be 11-11 or 1-11-11, with black characters on a white background.

1991-

Finally, in 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved, giving rise to the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. In Russia, the old plates were used until 1993 when the new format was introduced. In some of these former republics, it is still possible to see cars with Soviet license plates on the streets.

Ukraine (1992-1995)

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union (USSR), Ukraine introduced a new system, very similar to the Soviet one, with the only difference being some changes in codes. This remained in place until 1993, when the Ukrainian flag was added to the left side of the plate.

System from 1981 to 1991

Missing Some Soviet Codes?

When some of the new countries that emerged after the dissolution of the Soviet Union became independent, they decided to create new license plate systems. This was the case with Ukraine, which created a new system, but with a format very similar to the Soviet one—only changing the regional codes. For example, in this license plate from Lviv:

In this example, the last two characters, "IH", were not part of the Soviet code list, but they were later included in the Ukrainian system for that period.

The codes used by Ukraine can be found here: link, and included the following: AI, BX, BI, ВЯ, EI, KI, MI, МЯ, НІ, OЯ, OI, PK, PM, PC, CI, TI, TЯ, XI, ЯA, ЯH, ЯT, IB, IK, IH, IO, IC, and IX.

Other Types

Official Vehicles

ЛВ – Lviv Province (Lviv / Lwów)

PB – Rivne Province

1959–1980

ДП – Dnipropetrovsk Province

ЖИ – Zhytomyr Province

ЛВ – Lviv Province (Lviv / Lwów)

ДР – City of Drohobych

Matriculasdelmundo. License plates of Soviet Union. Reviewed and updated information. Matriculasdelmundo.com. Retrieved on 13/06/2025 from https://matriculasdelmundo.com/en/soviet-union.html.

License plates from other states and territories that you may be interested in:

Map of the Soviet Union license plates

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Official Sources on License Plates of Soviet Union

All the information about the license plates of cars and motorcycles in Soviet Union 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 Soviet Union has been collected since 2009, so we hope you find the information you're looking for about Soviet Union license plates.

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Please, check matriculasdelmundo.com in Spanish here for all the updated information about license plates of Soviet Union.