Foreign number plate formats explained
Most imported cars arrive wearing plates from somewhere else. Here's how the common European and Japanese formats work, what they tell you about the car, and what has to happen once it's registered in Ireland.
Quick answer
A vehicle imported into Ireland must be registered with Revenue and display Irish plates within 30 days of arrival, and you cannot keep the foreign plates. Once you have your Irish registration you can order matching plates here from €17, posted the same working day.
Last updated · Irish Car Plates, Ireland
- German: district code, then letters and numbers
- French: AA-123-AA since 2009
- GB: two letters, age identifier, three letters
- Japanese: office name, class code, hiragana, numbers
- Foreign plates must come off after Irish registration
- We print Irish-specification plates only
Why order from us
Posted nationwide
Arrives in 1-2 working days by tracked post.
Road-legal
Reflective sheet, official Irish specification.
Same-day dispatch
Order before 2pm, posted the same working day.
German registration plates
German plates open with a Unterscheidungszeichen — a one to three letter code for the registering city or district, such as M for Munich or B for Berlin. Then come the round district seal and inspection sticker, followed by one or two letters and up to four digits. Shorter codes generally mean bigger cities, which is why enthusiasts read a German plate as a rough guide to where the car came from. The long, narrow proportions are what most people picture when they talk about German-style plates.
French registration plates
France moved to a national system in 2009: two letters, three digits, two letters, separated by hyphens and issued in sequence regardless of where the owner lives. Before that, plates ended with the département number, so an older French import often still tells you which part of the country it was first registered in. Both formats sit on a white plate with a blue EU band on the left.
GB and Northern Ireland plates
Great Britain uses two letters for the registering region, a two-digit age identifier that changes twice a year, then three random letters — AB12 CDE. Northern Ireland is different again, using letter-and-number index marks that do not encode age. GB and NI plates also use a white front and yellow rear, which is the quickest way to spot a recent import from across the water before you look at the mark itself.
Japanese registration plates
Japanese plates carry the name of the registering transport office in kanji, a classification code, a hiragana character indicating use, and a four-digit serial. Colour signals category — white with green characters for private cars, green with white for commercial. Japanese imports are common in Ireland, and their plates never carry over, so a fresh Irish plate is part of every one of those jobs.
What changes when you import into Ireland
Whatever the car arrived on, once it is registered here it must display the Irish registration mark assigned to it. That means Irish-specification plates front and rear: black characters on white reflective sheet, correct character height, stroke and spacing, the county name in Irish above the mark and the EU band with IRL. Driving on the old foreign plates after registration is an offence, so it is worth having the new plates ready for the day the reg comes through.
What we make
We print current-specification Irish plates and nothing else — no German, French, GB or Japanese format plates, and no show or novelty variants for road use. Enter your new Irish reg in the designer, check the preview, and we print and post it by tracked post, same working day on orders before 2pm.
Frequently asked
How are German number plates formatted?
+
A German plate starts with a city or district code of one to three letters, then a district seal and inspection sticker, then one or two letters and up to four numbers — for example M-AB 1234 for Munich. Long, narrow plates are the norm and the format is what people usually mean by German-style plates.
How are French number plates formatted?
+
Since 2009 France uses AA-123-AA: two letters, three digits and two letters, issued nationally rather than by département. Older plates ended in a département number, which is why you still see two styles on French roads.
Can I keep German or French plates on a car in Ireland?
+
No. Once a vehicle is registered in Ireland it must display the Irish registration mark assigned to it, on plates that meet the official Irish specification. Foreign plates come off at that point.
Do you make German or French style plates?
+
No. We print current-specification Irish plates only — black characters on white reflective sheet with the Irish county name and EU band. We do not produce German, French, GB or Japanese format plates.
What do I need after importing a car into Ireland?
+
You register the vehicle and pay VRT, receive an Irish registration mark, then fit Irish-specification plates front and rear. Doing that promptly matters, because driving on foreign plates after registration is an offence.
Are euro-band plates required in Ireland?
+
Irish plates carry the EU band with IRL as part of the standard specification, along with the county name in Irish above the registration.