Nova Scotia license plates

Canada · 9 registration series, sourced from Registry of Motor Vehicles, Nova Scotia (Service Nova Scotia); regulations made by the Minister and the Governor in Council under the Motor Vehicle Act. Unusually, plates here belong to the owner, not the vehicle — the number follows the keeper from car to car.

Try a plate

Type any Nova Scotia registration — valid plates render below, on their real designs.

Try the API

Everything on this page — formats, validity, colours, the renders themselves — is one request away.

GET /v1/plates/ca-ns/match?plate=…

GET /v1/plates/ca-ns/match?plate=MSF%20222

{ "plate": "MSF 222",
  "valid": true, "exact": true,
  "matches": [{ "id": "ca-ns-standard-1989",
    "render_url": "…svg?serial=MSF%20222" }] }

the default series issued to private road vehicles

In the sample, L stands for any letter and 9 for any digit.

1978 → today issued for: truck, van, semitrailer

In the sample, L stands for any letter and 9 for any digit.

1979–1989 issued for: car, van, truck

In the sample, L stands for any letter and 9 for any digit.

1989 → today issued for: car, van, truck

In the sample, L stands for any letter and 9 for any digit.

1989 → today issued for: atv

reduced-size series for motorcycles where format/design differs

In the sample, 9 for any digit.

1998 → today issued for: motorcycle

farm vehicles/equipment where separately serialized

In the sample, 9 for any digit; the other characters are fixed.

1989 → today issued for: truck, van

vintage/oldtimer regimes (German H, ES historico)

In the sample, L stands for any letter and 9 for any digit.

2009 → today issued for: car, van, truck

owner-chosen serials inside an official frame

In the sample, L stands for any letter.

2005 → today issued for: car, van, truck, bus, motorcycle, motorhome

optional-design programs on standard serials (US state programs)

In the sample, L stands for any letter and 9 for any digit.

1991 → today issued for: car, van, truck