The History of Car License Plates in Spain updated

Discover what Spanish license plates look like, their registration dates, and special types. Discover the differences between de current ordinary Spanish license plate system 0000BBB and the previous regional license plate system. In Spain, there are over 22 different types of license plates, encompassing ordinary cars, motorcycles, official and special vehicles, using various colors and formats. Moreover, there are several curiosities that make the Spanish system one of the most complex and well-crafted in the world. In the Spanish ordinary license plate system, the vowels A, E, I, O and U are not in use. Ñ and Q are also not in use. Find out more below.

Types of Spanish car license plates in the last 120 years

The first license plate issued in Spain was on October 31, 1900 with the number plate PM-1, with the regional code from Palma de Mallorca. (Read more about it below) During the next years, there were some changes regarding the regional codes. In 1971, a brand new typography started to be in use for the new issued numerations. In addition, this system added a letter at the right side of the Spanish license plate and limited the numbers in the plates up to four. This system is known as Grafías Finas (tranlated into English as fine graphics). In 1986 started the use of a more standardized typeface thicker than the previous that is still in use. On September 16, 2000, before the plate 9999ZZ was reached, a whole new system began to be used. This is the current system of license plates for Spain, which is not using any regional code. The configuration since then is four numbers and three letters like 1234BCD.

Ordinary car license plate of the current system since 2000

Since Monday, September 18th, 2000, every license plate in Spain uses a format without regional codes, consisting of four numbers from 0000 to 9999 and three letters from BBB to ZZZ. A space is shown between them, and vowels, Ñ, and Q are omitted to avoid possible confusion (letter Ñ and N for example) and unpleasant sounds. On the left side of the Spanish plate, a blue strip called the euroband is displayed, showing the flag of the European Union and the international identification code of Spain, the letter E.

Size of the Spanish license plates

The size of the current Spanish license plates is the standard European size of 520 x 110 mm. In the following table you can find all the sizes in use at the moment in Spain and also in the previous Spanish license plates systems. The license plates without eurobande on the left were around two centimeters narrower than the ones with the blue band. In 1972, in addition to the new typography, Spain adopted a standard size for license plates of 500 x 110 mm.

Special License Plates Currently in Use in Spain

Spain uses a large number of special license plates that you can consult below. If you click on the image or the text, you can discover much more information about each special license plate system.

History of Spanish car license plates up to the year 2000

History of Spanish License Plates during the Second Half of the 20th Century (1971-2000)

The history of the Spanish car license plates up to the year 2000 is very interesting, but with a small number of changes in comparison with other countries. From 1971 to September 2000, Spanish license plates started with a provincial code of one or two letters, followed by four numbers from 0000 to 9999, and one or two letters from A to Z and from AB to ZZ. The highest reached were the letters ZX in Madrid and XG in Barcelona with the license plates M-6814-ZX and B-4819-XG.

The font style used up in the license plates to the present day was introduced in 1985. Prior to that, a "fine typography" (Grafías finas) was used, similar to the current one but with thinner strokes in the characters. The size of the plate was 500 x 110 mm. Until October 18, 1986, some die-cutting machines continued to use the previous system. After this date, a transition to the new font system became necessary.

Spanish License Plates in the Early 20th Century (1900-1971)

With the introduction of the first vehicles in Spain, there arose the need to individually identify each of them. From 1900 to 1907, all vehicles used two license plates, one from the municipality and the other from the Civil Government.

The first defined system for car license plates in Spain unified both types of plates previously used and was introduced in 1907. With this system, all plates were required to have black characters on a white background, starting with a regional code consisting of one, two, or three letters. Each vehicle was required to display two plates, one on the front and one on the rear. Years later, provinces with three characters in their abbreviation were changed to two-letter abbreviations.

When was the first car license plate issued in Spain?

The first car license plate in Spain was on October 31, 1900. The first license plate issued in Spain was PM1. This car was a Clement quadracycle located in Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Islands), which by that time were using the regional code PM. In the same year 1900, three other license plates were registered throughout Spain, one in Cáceres, another in Salamanca, and one more in Palma de Mallorca. However, this first registered car was not the first car to drive on Spanish roads, as there is evidence of others doing so throughout the territory without a license plate.

In an international context, although the registration date was very early, by 1900 there were already several countries like Germany since 1896 and France since 1893 with established license plates systems. One of the earliest license plates in the world is believed to be the number "1G" on a car registered in 1893 in the region of Paris, France.

Provincial Codes in Spanish Car License Plates

From 1900 to 2000, Spain used a system based on provincial codes. The Spanish provincial license plate system was well-known in everyday life, and in numerous cases, references were made to some of the codes used in popular culture. The provincial code was always displayed in the first position for regular vehicles but could be displayed in the second position for "temporary tourist" license plates or even in the last position for special military license plates. Furthermore, in the former territories that Spain had in Africa (such as Western Sahara or Equatorial Guinea), there were distinct codes in use, for example SH, RM, FP. You can find the whole list of provinces in the following table, excluding the ones used in the former territories.

Old special Spanish license plate systems

Spain has used a large number of special license plates of different types throughout its history. The first special license plate that appeared was in the first decade of the 20th century, when artillery license plates were created for military vehicles, consisting of the letters "ARTILLERIA" followed by a serial number starting from 1.

However, until the end of the Civil War, not much information is preserved, and even after 1940, there are still some unknown types of special license plates. It is worth noting that during some of the years when this tragic event took place, vehicle registrations in some highly populated provinces, such as Madrid, reached zero registrations in some months.

Old special Spanish license plates that are still seen

Here are the special license plates that, despite being from previous systems, are still in use, and it is not necessary to re-register old vehicles. They were in use until 1999, one year before the change happened to the ordinary system. Some exceptions are notified in the table.

Old special Spanish license plates that are no longer in use

Here are the special license plates from Spain that are already not valid to be used in Spain. You can find all the codes in the following detailed table.

Old special Spanish license plates before the Civil War

Before the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), there were various systems of special license plates in Spain, primarily of a military nature, with variations throughout the years leading up to the war. Some of them are not recorded and there are not any evidence they existed or what they meant. In the following table you can find some of the most famous ones.

License plates of Spanish territories in Africa

During the 20th century, Spain had under its control, like other European countries, colonies, protectorates, and later on, provinces, which had their own provincial codes, in addition to the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla. Each vehicle in each territory used a unique license plate with specific characteristics, which are explained below. The license plates of all these territories followed the same format as the rest of the provinces in Spain, starting with one, two, or three letters for the regional code. These codes are no longer in use and have been legally discontinued, requiring re-registration once the territory ceased to be part of Spain.

However, in addition to the provincial license plates, some of these territories had their own special license plates.

Provincial codes in the old license plates of colonies, provinces, and protectorates

In the case of Sahara (SH), the license plates eventually adopted a letter in the last position with the 1971 change. For example, SH-1234-A. You can read more information about this en the book about license plates.

Diplomatic codes in Spanish license plates CD, CC, OI and TA

How are the Spanish diplomatic license plates? You can check all the information above and in the Spanish version of this page. The first group of one, two or three numbers, identify the country, territory or organization. Below, you can find the whole updated list of codes for the diplomatic license plates from Spain.