Vehicle registration plates of Nepal

In Nepal, all road vehicles with or without a motor (except bicycles) are tagged with a registration number. Licence plates are commonly known as number plates. The licence plate number is issued by the zonal-level Transport Management Office, a government agency under the Department of Transport Management.[1] The licence plates must be placed in the front as well as back of the vehicle. The international vehicle registration code for Nepal is NEP.

The President of Nepal travels in an official vehicle that has no number on its plates. Instead it has the Coat of Arms of Nepal embossed on it.

Current system

The current format was introduced on 21 August 2017.[2] This format consists of L LL NNNN where:

  • L is the category of vehicle,
  • LL is a "counter" comprising two letters, which increments after the sequence number reaches 9999.
  • NNNN is a sequence number from 0001 to 9999.

These plates come with a RFID microchip that enables the government to maintain uniformity in issuance of number plates and prevent duplication. Similarly, the new number plates also help authorities to maintain digital records of vehicles plying on the roads, collect revenue on time and control auto theft.

History

The old format Nepali motorcycle plate
A taxi plate from the 70s, registered in Bagmati zone.

The previous system of the licence plate of Nepal consisted of four parts composed of letters (L) and numbers (N) in the LL NN LL NNNN format:

  • The first part indicate the zone code, signifying the zone in which the vehicle is registered.
  • The second part is the set number which is prefixed when the four digit number runs out from the last part.
  • The third part indicate the type of vehicle like private, public, governmental, national corporation, tourist etc. as well as the class of vehicle like two-wheeler, light vehicle, heavy and medium-sized vehicle etc.
  • The last part signifies four digits running in sequence.

Zonal Code

All fourteen zones of Nepal have their own abbreviated code for reference purpose. These codes are normally single letter in Nepali and two letters (sometimes three letters also, but the third letter 'a' can be omitted) in English. The following is the list of zonal codes in both languages:

ZoneCode in NepaliCode in English
MechiमेME
KoshiकोKO
SagarmathaसSA
JanakpurजJA
BagmatiबाBA
NarayaniनाNA
GandakiगGA
LumbiniलुLU
DhawalagiriधDH
RaptiराRA
BheriभेBHE
KarnaliकKA
SetiसेSE
MahakaliमMA

Classification of vehicles

For the purpose of vehicle registration Vehicle & Transport Management Act, 2049 (1992) and Vehicle & Transport Management Rule, 2054 (1997) of Nepal, classifies vehicles into the following 5 main categories on the basis of size and capacity:[3]

  1. Heavy and medium-sized vehicle: This includes bus, truck, dozer, dumper, loader, crane, Fire engine, tanker, roller, pick-up, van, mini bus, mini truck, mini van etc. having the capacity to carry more than 14 people (for passenger vehicle) or more than 4 tons (for cargo vehicle).
  2. Light vehicle: This includes car, jeep, van, pick-up, micro bus etc. having the capacity to carry less than 24 people or less than 4 tons.
  3. Two-wheeler: This includes vehicle having two wheels like motor cycle, scooter etc.
  4. Tractor and power-trailer:
  5. Three-wheeler: This includes vehicle having three wheels like tempo, auto-rickshaw etc.

The above-mentioned each categories are further divided into 5 sub categories on the basis of ownership and service-type which are as follows:

  1. Private vehicle: Vehicles which are for entirely personal purpose uses red license plates with white letters.
  2. Public vehicle: Vehicles which are for public transport purpose uses black license plates with white letters.
  3. Government vehicle: Vehicles owned by government agencies and constitutional bodies such as ministries, departments, directorates, along with the police, military, etc., falls under this category which uses white plates with red letters.
  4. National Corporation vehicle: Vehicles which are registered under the name of public corporations that are fully or partially owned by the government fall under this category. These vehicles uses yellow plates with blue letters.
  5. Tourist vehicle: Vehicles which are registered for tourist transport uses green license plates with white letters.

Types

In Nepal, private vehicles which are solely for personal use have a red license plate with white letters. The third part of the licence plate format for private vehicles is प or PA for motorcycle, च or CH for light-vehicle, and क or KA for heavy-vehicle. A private motercycle registered at Bagmati Zone could have the number बा ४६ प १२३४ or BA 46 PA 1234. In the same way, a private car registered in Koshi Zone could have the number को २ च १२३४ or KO 2 CH 1234.

Private vehicles used for commercial purposes have black license plates with white letters. The third part of such vehicles is ज or JA for light-vehicle and ख or KH for heavy-vehicle.

Public/National corporations

The National Corporation like Nepal Telecom, Dairy Development Corporation, Nepal Electricity Authority etc. are using Yellow number plates with blue letter.

Tourist

Vehicles meant for transportation of tourists use green plate with white letters. Such vehicles are owned by travel agencies and hotels.

Diplomatic vehicles

Vehicles registered in Nepal under the name of foreign diplomatic agencies such as embassies, consulates, or missions use blue plates with white letters.

References

  1. ↑ Department of Transport Management website
  2. ↑ https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/embossed-plates-introduced-today/
  3. ↑ p.48; Vehicle & Transport Management Rule, 2054 (1997)
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