Vehicle registration plates of Afghanistan
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Vehicle registration plates of Afghanistan were introduced in 1970. The current version was introduced in 2004. The dimensions of the license plates are approximately 420 mm × 175 mm (16.5 in × 6.9 in).
License plates are bilingual in Afghanistan; their general format includes the name of the province in either Persian or Pashto, with a corresponding Latin 3-letter code, a numerical code which ranges from 1 digit to 5 digits, and the class of the vehicle, identified by a Persian letter, and a corresponding Latin letter, or 3 in case of private vehicles.
However, the 5-digit code in the capital province of Kabul was exhausted. Thus, newer license plates have an additional extra digit, only in Persian, located separately from the actual numerical code. In addition, two hyphens are shown at the top and bottom of the 6th number.[1]
Vehicle types
| Vehicle types[2] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Colour | Sample | Persian Code | Latin Code |
| Bus | Yellow, black letters |  | ب | B |
| Diplomatic | Red, white letters |  | None | CD |
| Governmental | Black, white letters |  | - | - |
| Lorry | White, black letters |  | ل | L |
| Motorcycle | White, black letters |  | م | M |
| Private | White, black letters |  | ش | PRV |
| Private Duplicate | White, black letters |  | ش م/ث | DUPL |
| Private Temporary(1) | White, black letters, red letters |  | ش - موقت | TEMP |
| Rickshaw | White, black letters |  | ر | TRC |
| Taxi | Yellow, black letters |  | ت | T |
| United Nations | Blue, black letters |  | None | None |
- Notes
- Temporary license plates began being issued by the authorities of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in September 2023. These license plates are valid for a period of three years, and are issued to vehicles that do not have official ownership deed and registration. They are mostly left-hand drive vehicles (steering wheel installed on the right-hand side of the car), imported from Pakistan or elsewhere, as they do not meet the basic requirement of legal registration. Nevertheless, installing license plates and keeping track of such cars, as well as facilitating their legal sale and purchase made it necessary to come up with a registration provision.[3][4]
Provinces
In Afghanistan, license plates indicate the province in which the vehicle is registered in, both in Persian or Pashto, and with a 3-Letter Latin Code. Below is the Persian/Pashto name of each province and the 3-letter code shown on the license plate for each province.
| Province | Persian/Pashto | Latin Code | Province | Persian/Pashto | Latin Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badakhshan | بدخشان | BDN | Kunar | کونر | KNR |
| Badghis | بادغیس | BDS | Kunduz | کندوز | KDZ |
| Baghlan | بغلان | BAG | Laghman | لغمان | LGM |
| Balkh | بلخ | BLH | Logar | لوگر | LGR |
| Bamyan | بامیان | BMN | Nangarhar | ننگرهار | NGR |
| Daykundi | دایکندی | DYK | Nimruz | نیمروز | NRZ |
| Farah | فراه | FRH | Nuristan | نورستان | NUR |
| Faryab | فاریاب | FRB | Paktia | پکتیا | PAK |
| Ghazni | غزنی | GZN | Paktika | پکتیکا | PKT |
| Ghor | غور | GHR | Panjshir | پنجیشیر | PJR |
| Helmand | هملند | HEL | Parwan | پروان | PRN |
| Herat | هرات | HRT | Samangan | سمنگان | SAM |
| Jowzjan | جوزجان | JZJ | Sar-e Pol | سرپل | SPL |
| Kabul | کابل | KBL | Takhar | تخار | TAK |
| Kandahar | کندهار | KDR | Urozgan | اروزگان | ORZ |
| Kapisa | کپیسا | KAP | Wardak | وردک | WDK |
| Khost | خوست | KST | Zabul | زابل | ZBL |
Cross-border international plates
Beginning in January 2026, plates bearing only Western Arabic numerals and category (e.g. BUS) were issued in Herat province to taxis, buses and cargo trucks operating between Afghanistan and Iran, with plans to further expand to other provinces.[5]
See also
- Curse of 39 – Number considered bad luck in Afghanistan
Notes
- References and details on data provided in the table can be found within the individual provincial articles.
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