Vehicle registration plates of Bosnia and Herzegovina


Bosnia and Herzegovina vehicle registration plates have held their current form since 1998. Currently the Bosnia and Herzegovina vehicle registration plate format consists of seven characters: five numbers and two letters arranged in the following order: X00-X-000. The plates are uniform across the country and do not denote the place where the vehicle is registered, as was the case prior to 1998. Likewise the plates do not contain any heraldic symbols. The plates use only letters which are represented equally in Latin and Cyrillic script.

Special plates

The revised registration plates were introduced as an initiative of the International High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Carlos Westendorp. In a report from the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina prior to the decision, it had been noted that police conduct around the Inter-Entity Boundary Line separating the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, had been the "greatest obstacle to freedom of movement", including intimidation and arbitrary fines.
Elsewhere it has been noted that vehicles which bore licence plates from one entity would be subject to vandalism in the other entity. The development of licence plates which would not serve as proxy identifiers of driver ethnicity was a partial solution to these problems. However, Bosnian towns typically contain all three constitutional ethnicities making ethnic identity unclear regardless of the vehicle's origin. The post-1998 system of obscuring the region is also complicated by the fact that drivers of cars, lorries and buses proud of their ethnicity will advertise this phenomenon with all the matching insignia. For example: Croats and Serbs may drive with crosses hanging from their mirrors; besides the fact that Catholic and Orthodox crosses vary in design, they may also have by the cross - or elsewhere visible - their national flags. In addition, Croats and Serbs in areas where they form a majority do not display the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina or any national Bosnian symbols, making it clear that where Bosnian national markers are shown - whether attached to the registration plate, the back of the car or the interior - the driver/family is Bosniak.

City codes

Prior to 1992

Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

On the territory controlled by Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 were used new license plates. They wore a blue strip on the left side with the "BIH" script and the coat of arms above the script. On the white background the form was XX-nnnnLL or XX-nnnnnL, where "XX" was the code of the city, "nnnn"/"nnnnn" were digits, and "LL" two letters, where the first letter denoted the municipality where it was issued. Towns are given in following table:
CodeRegionCodeRegion
SASarajevoBIBihać
PDPrijedorDODoboj
TZTuzlaVIVisoko
MOMostarJCJajce
BRBrčkoBUBugojno
TRTravnikZVZvornik
ZEZenicaMDModriča
KOKonjicGOGoražde

Republic of Srpska

On territory of Republika Srpska, license plates were used similar to those before the war, with difference that instead of red star, the Serb four-S coat of arms was used. Letters on plates were usually in Cyrillic script, but the license plates with Latin versions of codes are also used.
CodeRegionCodeRegion
ССSarajevo СЊFoča
ПДPrijedor ДОDoboj
БЛBanja Luka ЗВZvornik
БЧBrčko МДModriča
ТБTrebinje БНBijeljina
МГMrkonjić Grad ВГVišegrad
ДВDrvar НЊNevesinje

Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia

On the territory of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, license plates were used similar to those of Croatia, with difference in the shape of shield in Croat coat of arms.
CodeRegionCodeRegion
MOMostarTRTravnik
ČAČapljinaOROrašje
POPosušjeKIKiseljak
ŠBŠiroki BrijegRAProzor
JAJajceŽEŽepče
TGTomislavgradLILivno
GRGrudeLJLjubuški

Diplomatic, consular and foreign mission plate prefixes

These prefixes were also valid for Croatia from 1991 to 1994.
CodeCountry or Organization
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
23
24
25
26
27
28
29Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
30
32
33
34
35
36
37Office of the High Representative
38Commission for Human Rights
39
40
41World Bank
42
43
44United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
46International Monetary Fund
47Customs and Fiscal Assistant Office
48
49European Central Bank
50European Commission in Bosnia and Herzegovina
51United Nations Development Program
52International Organization for Migration
53
54Central Bank
55Commission for Property of Displaced Persons and Refugees
56
57United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
58
59
60United Nations Children's Fund
61
62
63
64European Union Monitoring Mission
65International Monetary Group
68World Health Organization
69
70International Centre for Migration Policy Development
71International Commission for Missing Person
72Maltese Sovereign Line
73International Commission of Red Cross and Red Crescent
74
75
76International Trust Fund
77International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society
78International Finance Corporation
79
80
81Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
82
83Refugees Return Foundation
84European Union Police Mission, European Union Monitoring Mission
85Regional Environmental Centre
86Stability Pact Anti-corruption Initiative
87
88The Registry
89High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council
90Office of the EU Special Representative
91Japan International Cooperation Agency
92
93
94
95
96Regional Coordination Council
97Peace Support Operation Training Centre
0100
0103