# European license plate country codes and the blue EU band

> What the letters in the blue strip on European license plates mean: every country code with an example plate, the EU band's legal basis, and the countries that don't use it.

Page: https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/european-country-codes · Markdown version of the HTML page, which is canonical. Site map: https://vehiclesdb.com/llms.txt · Terms of use: https://vehiclesdb.com/legal/terms

The short answer: **the letters in the blue band on the left of a European license plate are the code of the country where the car is registered**. **D** is Germany, **F** is France, **I** is Italy, **E** is Spain, **NL** is Netherlands and **B** is Belgium. Of the 37 European countries in our data, 26 put the EU band, with its ring of yellow stars, on their standard plate; 5 use a band of their own, and 6 have no band at all.

Below is every country code you'll find on a European plate, an example plate for each, and what the band means legally. Every country links to its own page, with all its plate formats and the law behind them.

## Every country code on European plates

- [![Austria license plate with the A country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/at/at-standard.svg?serial=W+84216+A) A Austria EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/austria)
- [![Belgium license plate with the B country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/be/be-standard-2010.svg?serial=1-LNL-595) B Belgium EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/belgium)
- [![Cyprus license plate with the CY country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/cy/cy-standard-2013.svg?serial=MAK+275) CY Cyprus EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/cyprus)
- [![Czechia license plate with the CZ country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/cz/cz-standard-2004.svg?serial=3H7+3597) CZ Czechia EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/czechia)
- [![Germany license plate with the D country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/de/de-standard.svg?serial=M+KA+2843) D Germany EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/germany)
- [![Denmark license plate with the DK country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/dk/dk-standard-1976.svg?serial=OJ+78+623) DK Denmark EU band (optional)](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/denmark)
- [![Spain license plate with the E country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/es/es-national-2000.svg?serial=6376+WVV) E Spain EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/spain)
- [![Estonia license plate with the EST country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/ee/ee-standard-a3.svg?serial=74NXT) EST Estonia EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/estonia)
- [![France license plate with the F country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/fr/fr-siv-standard.svg?serial=BX-427-QM) F France EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/france)
- [![Finland license plate with the FIN country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/fi/fi-standard-eu.svg?serial=FXH-651) FIN Finland EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/finland)
- [![Greece license plate with the GR country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/gr/gr-standard-2004.svg?serial=TON-7764) GR Greece EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/greece)
- [![Hungary license plate with the H country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/hu/hu-standard-2022.svg?serial=RA+FK-250) H Hungary EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/hungary)
- [![Croatia license plate with the HR country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/hr/hr-standard-2016.svg?serial=LR+9412-NS) HR Croatia EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/croatia)
- [![Italy license plate with the I country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/it/it-standard-1999.svg?serial=WK+121+NZ) I Italy EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/italy)
- [IRL IRL Ireland EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/ireland)
- [![Iceland license plate with the IS country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/is/is-standard-2006.svg?serial=OIF-77) IS Iceland National band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/iceland)
- [![Luxembourg license plate with the L country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/lu/lu-standard-2003.svg?serial=NF+8144) L Luxembourg EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/luxembourg)
- [![Lithuania license plate with the LT country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/lt/lt-standard-vytis.svg?serial=WWN+679) LT Lithuania EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/lithuania)
- [![Latvia license plate with the LV country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/lv/lv-standard.svg?serial=FX-9713) LV Latvia EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/latvia)
- [![Malta license plate with the M country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/mt/mt-standard-2004.svg?serial=WIQ+397) M Malta EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/malta)
- [![Norway license plate with the N country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/no/no-standard-2002.svg?serial=PD+85931) N Norway National band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/norway)
- [![Netherlands license plate with the NL country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/nl/nl-sidecode11-car.svg?serial=KHD-91-N) NL Netherlands EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/netherlands)
- [![Portugal license plate with the P country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/pt/pt-national-2005.svg?serial=81-NA-18) P Portugal EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/portugal)
- [![Poland license plate with the PL country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/pl/pl-standard-reduced.svg?serial=Y+780) PL Poland EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/poland)
- [![Romania license plate with the RO country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/ro/ro-bucharest-2010.svg?serial=B+972+GQC) RO Romania EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/romania)
- [![Sweden license plate with the S country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/se/se-standard-2019.svg?serial=GRX+29A) S Sweden EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/sweden)
- [![Slovakia license plate with the SK country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/sk/sk-standard-2023.svg?serial=XV+955TJ) SK Slovakia EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/slovakia)
- [![Slovenia license plate with the SLO country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/si/si-standard-2011.svg?serial=MS+726-CP) SLO Slovenia EU band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/slovenia)
- [![Türkiye license plate with the TR country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/tr/tr-standard-2014.svg?serial=40+TG+2950) TR Türkiye National band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/turkiye)
- [![Ukraine license plate with the UA country code](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/ua/ua-standard-2015.svg?serial=AA+1234+BB) UA Ukraine National band](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/ukraine)

The same list as a table, including the countries whose plates carry no code:

Every European country A to Z by code (37 countries)

| Code | Country | On the standard plate |
|---|---|---|
| A | [Austria](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/austria) | EU band |
| B | [Belgium](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/belgium) | EU band |
| CY | [Cyprus](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/cyprus) | EU band |
| CZ | [Czechia](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/czechia) | EU band |
| D | [Germany](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/germany) | EU band |
| DK | [Denmark](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/denmark) | EU band (optional) |
| E | [Spain](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/spain) | EU band |
| EST | [Estonia](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/estonia) | EU band |
| F | [France](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/france) | EU band |
| FIN | [Finland](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/finland) | EU band |
| GR | [Greece](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/greece) | EU band |
| H | [Hungary](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/hungary) | EU band |
| HR | [Croatia](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/croatia) | EU band |
| I | [Italy](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/italy) | EU band |
| IRL | [Ireland](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/ireland) | EU band |
| IS | [Iceland](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/iceland) | National band |
| L | [Luxembourg](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/luxembourg) | EU band |
| LT | [Lithuania](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/lithuania) | EU band |
| LV | [Latvia](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/latvia) | EU band |
| M | [Malta](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/malta) | EU band |
| N | [Norway](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/norway) | National band |
| NL | [Netherlands](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/netherlands) | EU band |
| P | [Portugal](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/portugal) | EU band |
| PL | [Poland](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/poland) | EU band |
| RO | [Romania](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/romania) | EU band |
| S | [Sweden](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/sweden) | EU band |
| SK | [Slovakia](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/slovakia) | EU band |
| SLO | [Slovenia](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/slovenia) | EU band |
| TR | [Türkiye](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/turkiye) | National band |
| UA | [Ukraine](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/ukraine) | National band |
| none | [Andorra](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/andorra) | No band |
| none | [Liechtenstein](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/liechtenstein) | No band |
| none | [Monaco](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/monaco) | No band |
| none | [San Marino](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/san-marino) | No band |
| none | [Switzerland](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/switzerland) | No band |
| none | [United Kingdom](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/united-kingdom) | National band (optional) |
| none | [Vatican City](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/vatican-city) | No band |

## What the blue band is

The band is a blue field on the left of the plate with twelve yellow stars in a circle and the country's code in white below them. Austria's vehicle law, for example, describes it in exactly those words: "in einem blauen Feld mit zwölf gelben Sternen das internationale Unterscheidungszeichen in weißer Schrift" (§ 49 Abs. 4 KFG).

Its EU-wide specification is in [Council Regulation (EC) No 2411/98](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31998R2411) of 3 November 1998. Several countries' plate laws refer to it directly: Cyprus, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Croatia, Slovenia and Sweden among them. Others, like Austria and Poland, describe the band in their own words without the reference.

A few things about the codes that surprise people:

- **Some codes have three letters:** EST is Estonia, FIN Finland, IRL Ireland and SLO Slovenia.
- **Some are one letter:** D is Germany, E Spain, I Italy, A Austria.
- **In Denmark the band is optional:** it's chosen when the plate is issued (§ 68, stk. 5 of the Danish registration order, BEK nr. 663 of 2025), so a Danish plate without it isn't necessarily old.
- **In Sweden the band counts as the country sign.** The law asks for either an oval sticker with a black "S" or the band (TSFS 2015:63, chapter 7), so a car with the band needs no sticker.

## Plates outside the EU band

Countries outside the EU either print their own band or none at all:

- **A band of their own:** [Iceland](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/iceland) (IS), [Norway](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/norway) (N), [Türkiye](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/turkiye) (TR), [Ukraine](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/ukraine) (UA) and [United Kingdom](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/united-kingdom), optional
- **No band:** [Andorra](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/andorra), [Liechtenstein](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/liechtenstein), [Monaco](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/monaco), [San Marino](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/san-marino), [Switzerland](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/switzerland) and [Vatican City](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/vatican-city)

- **Norway** prints its flag above the letter N on a blue field. It has been allowed since 1 November 2006 and is voluntary; a separate oval N sticker is the alternative (Kjøretøyforskriften § 39-12).
- **Iceland** is in the EEA but not the EU, so its plates carry the Icelandic flag and the letters IS instead of the stars.
- **The United Kingdom** no longer issues the EU band. A plate may only keep the GB band if it was fitted before the end of the Brexit transition period (S.I. 2001/561, regulation 16(3)), and the UK's international sign changed from GB to UK on 28 September 2021. New British plates may carry an optional identifier, such as UK with the Union flag, on the left.
- **Liechtenstein** puts its code on the plate itself: every plate starts with the letters FL (Art. 73 of its vehicle registration ordinance). Switzerland, by contrast, uses a separate oval sticker.

Countries without a band rely on the oval sign that the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic asks for on the back of a car driven abroad (Article 37): one to three black capital letters on a white ellipse (Annex 3).

## Where these codes come from

Every code and band on this page is read from the plates dataset behind our [license plates pages](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates), which records each country's plate design with the regulation it comes from. The example plates show each country's current standard design. Plate sizes and colors have pages of their own: [license plate dimensions](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/dimensions) and [license plate colors](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/colors).

## Validate European plate numbers

If you're building something that handles European plates (a parking app, a fleet tool, a form), the same dataset knows each country's plate **formats** too. One call tells you whether a registration is valid for a country and which series it belongs to:

```bash
curl "https://vehiclesdb.com/api/v1/plates/nl/match" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer vdb_sk_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"plate": "12-GB-BD"}'
```

Every account starts with 100 free credits, and a match costs 1 credit. The [car API page](https://vehiclesdb.com/car-api) has the rest of what the API does, and you can [browse every jurisdiction's plates](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates) for free.

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Open data, CC BY 4.0: reuse it with a visible credit to VehiclesDB and a link (https://vehiclesdb.com/legal/attribution). Plate images show sample serials and are not open data (https://vehiclesdb.com/legal/image-license). Dataset commit db0ec0a: https://github.com/vehiclesdb/vehiclesdb