# Japan license plate: Imperial

> The Japan imperial license plate: format 9, for example 8, documented since 1951, car. What each character means, its sizes and sources.

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

Part of [Japan license plates](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/japan) (47 registration series).

![Japan license plate, Imperial (documented since 1951)](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/jp/jp-imperial/japan-license-plate-imperial.svg)

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Format | `9` (9 any digit) |
| Years | ~1951 → today (documented from 1951; the format is likely older) |
| Class | government |
| Issued for | car |
| Colours | background #C0C0C0; characters #D4AF37 |
| Rear plate differs from the front | no |
| Checking a registration | The format above is broad: a registration that fits it has the right shape, which does not show that this series issued it. |
| Series id | `jp-imperial` (https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/japan/imperial) |

Sources:

- [第十一条第二項: 「宮内庁の所管に属する自動車であつて、専ら天皇、皇后又は皇太后の用に供すべきものの自動車登録番号標は、第一号様式の二による。」](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/326M50000800074)
- [第一号様式の二 remarks (1)-(5): 「上段の『皇』及び下段の数字をもつて表示する」; 梨地 + drawn pattern; 「銀色地に金文字」; 4 mm stroke](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/326M50000800074)

## What each position encodes

- 皇
- 数字

## About this plate

THE IMPERIAL PLATE, and it is a ministerial-ordinance provision rather than a courtesy: 第十一条第二項 requires Form No. 1-2 for vehicles under the Imperial Household Agency used exclusively by the Emperor, Empress or Empress Dowager. The Form does not state how many digits the number may have, 「下段の数字」 without a count, so no width claim is made.

## Use it

- Plate image (SVG): https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/jp/jp-imperial.svg
- Make it with your own text: https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plate-generator/japan?series=jp-imperial
- API: `GET https://vehiclesdb.com/api/v1/plates/jp` returns this series as the entry with `"id": "jp-imperial"` (https://vehiclesdb.com/api)

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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