Vehicle registration plates of Western Australia

Western Australia requires its residents to register their motor vehicles and display vehicle registration plates.^[1] Current regular issue plates are Australian standard 372 mm × 134 mm, and use standard Australian stamping dies.^[2]

Pre-1978 general issue

Retro plate

General issue, 1978–1997

General issue, 1997–present

General issue (regional), 1997–present

Personalised

Euro series

Consular Corps

Taxicab

WA Home of the America's Cup

WA The Golden State

Platinum

Transperth

Charter vehicle

Blue Series

Rottnest Channel Swim

Government

Limousine (withdrawn)

Slimline (white)

Slimline (black)

Frangipani

Motorcycle

Number plates are issued either as a general plate or as non-metropolitan local government area (LGA) specific plate. LGA specific plates can only be requested when the owner of the vehicle is resident within that LGA. In addition to plates for on-road use Western Australia also has a plate series for vehicles designated for off-road use only.

Issuing authorities

• Department for Planning and Infrastructure: early 2000s to 2009
• Department of Transport: 2009–present

General plates

• Starting in the 1950s, WA used the format Uaa-nnn (e.g.: UGH-675), moving to the X-series (Xaa-nnn, e.g. XLA-789) after exhausting U-series, The letters "Q" and "V" were not issued in any combinations, due to these being easily mistaken for "O" or "0" and "U". The X-series and U-series plates are now available again by request, as "retro" plates in either black-on-white, or white-on-black. UQB-nnn was reserved for Transperth (formerly MTT) buses with three-digit registration numbers usually corresponding to the bus fleet numbers. Buses introduced after 1989 use the TP-nnnn reserved range. Other Government vehicles also used "Q" as the second character until the new series in 1997.
• Between 1978 and 1997 the format used was 6AA·000, where the first "n" ranged from 6 to 9 (e.g.: 9BC-456). This series ended at 9MZ-999 and the trailer series ended at 9RZ-999.
• The current series is of the form 1AAA·000 (e.g.: 1ABC-123) introduced in July 1997, commencing with the characters 1AAA-000, and at the time estimated the reach 1ZZZ-999 in 2137.^[3] As of April 2016, the general issue had reached the "1G" sequence, having skipped the "1F" series is reserved.^[4] Instead, the "1F" allocation has been reserved for a new silver-on-black slimline plate to be sold in sequential order as a Platinum plate for $125.^[5][6] These became available on 23 May 2016.^[7]
• Privately owned buses or designated school buses use the current series.
• Commercially operated buses and coaches require TC-nnnn (touring coach) plates - this is being withdrawn from the end of April 2017 and replaced with CVL -1234 (Charter Vehicle)
• TAXI-nnnn plates are used for taxicabs.
• CT-nnnn plates are used for taxicabs outside of the metropolitan area (Perth).
• Limousines carry the plate SCV-nnn, SCV-nnnn and also use 1SCV-nnn- this is being withdrawn from the end of April 2017 and replaced with CVL -1234 (Charter Vehicle)
• Private Taxi PT-123 issued to private taxis that this is being withdrawn from the end of April 2017 and replaced with CVL -1234 (Charter Vehicle)
• Motorbikes have the plate 1aa-nnn (e.g.: 1AB-123)
• Stock Carrying Trucks have 'ST' as the second & third letters of the prefix – e.g. 6ST-123, 9ST-123, 1STA-123
• Trailers, caravans etc. have 1Taa-nnn (e.g.: 1TAB-123). Earlier series used 'R', 'S', 'T', 'U', 'W' and 'X' as the second character for trailers (e.g. 9RA-123, 8UA-123, 7WA-123, 6TA-123, XUA-123, UUU-123). Country Shire/Town trailer plates follow the normal shire prefix system, but only one plate is issued, some shires have a block of numbers for trailers, others issue the next available number.

Outside metropolitan Perth

• There are 143 registration districts (mostly shire or town councils) which each issue number plates using the form "loc·n" (for shires) and "loc n" (for towns or cities) – for example, "A nnnn" would be a plate issued by the City of Albany, while "AU·nnnn" would be issued by the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River. A full list has been published near the back of the government-produced Metropolitan Street Directory/Streetsmart each year since 1985. Special licence plate versions for shires, cities and towns have been made available to purchase. They are in the format "nnn*loc" with the shire-, city- or town-crest between the numbers and letters.^[8]
• There had been a change in the WA licensing system where, for a period of time, all registration plates in the state reverted to the equivalent of metropolitan plates, and then back to separate districts and plates again.
• In recent years towns within shires have been allocated number plates. Examples include "FR·nnn" for Frankland in Shire of Cranbrook and "KND·nnn" for Kendenup in the Shire of Plantagenet.
• A full list can also be obtained from https://web.archive.org/web/20120313005521/http://www.regionalwa.com.au/WAinfo/TT_CountryCars.htm

General

Western Australia also offers the largest number of characters in a personalised registration plate, offering up to nine characters.^[9] Western Australian government plates are the same pattern as standard issue, however colours are inverted.

Slogans on Western Australian registration plates changed a number of times in the 1980s, and included "State of Excitement", "Home of the America's Cup" and "The Golden State". However, slogans were abandoned at the beginning of the 1990s.

Skipped combinations

Old General series 1968-1998 (U,X,6-9)AB-123: UAQ, UAV, UBQ, UBV, up to UZQ, UZV, UQV, UVA-UVZ, XAQ, XAV, XBQ, XBV, up to XZQ, XZV, XQV, XVA-XVZ, 6AQ, 6AV, 6BQ, 6BV up to 9MQ, 9MV, 6QV, 6VA-6VZ, 7QV, 7VA-7VZ, 8QV, 8VA-8VZ, 9NA-9QZ, 9RQ, 9RV, 9SA-9ZZ.

References