Vehicle registration plates of Brazil


Brazilian vehicle registration plates are issued by the states. Each state has a Departamento de Trânsito that is charged with vehicle registration and car tax collection, but plates are standardized across the country and form a national vehicle registration database.

Description

The current system, being phased out in favor of Mercosul standard plates, was created in 1990 and was named Registro Nacional de Veículos Automotores. It uses the form "LLL·NNNN", where LLL is a three-letter combination followed by a four-digit number with a dot between the letters and numbers. A combination given to one vehicle stays with it "for life" - it cannot be changed or transferred to another vehicle. Vanity plates are allowed as long as they abide to the same standard as non-vanity plates.
Above the combination is a metallic band with the State abbreviation and the name of the municipality in which the vehicle is currently registered. This band has to be changed when a vehicle needs to be registered in a different municipality.
Rear number plates are bound to the vehicle by a plastic seal. Broken seals invalidate the number plate, which has to be re-sealed by the authorities. Seals need to be broken in order to change State/Municipality tags.
The size of the Brazilian license plates has been standardized to 400 x 130 mm in 2008. That standardization also requires a unique typeface known as "Mandatory", which is similar to the typeface used on British plates introduced there in 2001. Plates in North American standard or European standard size can no longer be used as of January 1, 2008.

Colors

The letters on the license plate can describe the state where a vehicle was originally registered. Vehicles relocated from one state to another will show the new state/municipality on the replaceable tag, but it is always possible to determine the place of original registration for a used vehicle by observing the license plate range for each Brazilian State:
State1º Sequence2º Sequence3º Sequence4º Sequence5º Sequence6º Sequence7º Sequence8º Sequence9º Sequence10º Sequence
AAA to BEZ
BFA to GKIQSN to QSZSAV
GKJ to HOKNXX to NYGOLO to OMHOOV to ORCOWH to OXKPUA to PZZQMQ to QQZQUA to QUZQWR to QXZRFA to RGD
HOL to HQENHA to NHTNMP to NNINWS to NXQOIR to OJQOXQ to OXZPSA to PTZ
HQF to HTWNRF to NSDOOG to OOUQAA to QAZ
HTX to HZANQL to NRENUM to NVFOCB to OCUOHX to OIQORN to OSVOZAPMA to POZ
HZB to IAPNVG to NVNOEJ to OESOZBQKN to QKZQMA to QMP
IAQ to JDO
JDP to JKROVM to OVVOZW to PBZREC to REZ
JKS to JSZNTD to NTWNYH to NZZOKI to OLGOUF to OVDOZC to OZVPJA to PLZQTU to QTZRCO to RDR
JTA to JWENSE to NTCOBT to OCAOFI to OFWOSW to OTZQDA to QEZQVA to QVZ
JWF to JXYNOI to NPBOAA to OAOOXMPHA to PHZQZA to QZZ
JXZ to KAUNIY to NJWNPC to NPQNTX to NUGOAP to OBSQBA to QCZRAK to RAZ
KAV to KFCNFC to NGZNJX to NLUNVO to NWROGH to OHAOMI to OOFPQA to PRZQTN to QTSRBK to RCN
KFD to KMENXU to NXWOYL to OYZPCA to PGZQYA to QYZ
KMF to LVERIO
LVF to LWQNHU to NIXODU to OEIOUA to OUEOVW to OVYPIA to PIZQRN to QRZ
LWR to MMMOKD to OKHQHA to QJZQTK to QTMRAA to RAJRDS to REB
MMN to MOWNPR to NQKOET to OFHOFX to OGGOXOQFA to QFZQSA to QSM
MOX to MTZOCV to ODTOVE to OVFOVH to OVLOYD to OYKPPA to PPZQRB to QRMRBA to RBJ
MUA to MVKNLV to NMOOHB to OHKORD to ORMOXNQLA to QLMQTTQWG to QWL
MVL to MXGOLH to OLNOYA to OYCQKA to QKMQWA to QWF
MXH to MZMNNJ to NOHOJR to OKCOVZ to OWGQGA to QGZRGE to RGN
MZM to NAGNXR to NXTOVGOXPQLU to QLZQWM to QWQ
NAH to NBANUH to NUL
NBB to NEHOHL to OHWOXLQRAQTA to QTJ
NEI to NFBQLN to QLT

2018 Mercosur standard

In October 2014 the design of the new license plate to be used by all Mercosur countries was officially presented. This consists of a plate of, with a white background, the characters and frame in black and a blue band at the top that shows the name of the country, its flag and the Mercosur logo. The typeface used is FE-Schrift.
From September 1, 2018, the Mercosur standard license plate will be adopted in Brazil. By the end of 2023, all vehicles will be carrying these new plates.