Vehicle registration plates of Iraq

The Iraqi vehicle registration plate is a license plate used for official identification purposes for motor vehicles in Iraq.

Design and format

Up until 2024, Iraq had two official license plate formats. There was one format followed in the Kurdistan Region, and there was another format followed in the rest of Iraq. After months of negotiation, an agreement was reached in Winter of 2022 between Baghdad and Erbil, where the design and format of license plates of all governorates of Iraq would be unified. Iraqi Kurdistan started issuing the new format for license plates from April 2022. Rest of Iraq started the process of transitioning to the new license plate format from June 2024.

Current National Format

After months of negotiation between Baghdad and Erbil on the issue of finally unifying the design of license plates across the entire country, finally in Spring of 2022, the two sides reached an agreement. The new license plates are going to be fully in Latin Alphabet, and Governorates of Iraq will be represented by a code, instead of their fully name written out. The switch to Latin and to a code-based representation of governorates resolves two issues. Firstly, it allows for foreign travel of Iraqi cars without a need to install a special plate, and secondly, it would allow Baghdad and Erbil to fully bypass the question of whether the new plates would be in Arabic or Kurdish.

Starting from April 2022, the four governorates of Kurdistan Region started issuing the new format of license plate. The rest of Iraq followed suit starting from June 2024. The license plates will be in Standard European size, for the first time in the entirety of Iraq and its license plate history (520mm x 110 mm). There will be a bar on the left hand side, where the code IRQ, representing Iraq will be shown in a vertical manner. In the 4 governorates of Kurdistan, the bar on the left hand side will also feature a smaller sized code KR, representing Kurdistan Region.

License plates follow the following format: GG X ####, where GG is a two digit code indicating the Governorate. This format is the first time that Halabja Governorate gets its own representation.

Below is the codes for governorates of Iraq excluding those in Kurdistan Region.

• 11 Baghdad Governorate
• 12 Nineveh Governorate
• 13 Maysan Governorate
• 14 Basra Governorate
• 15 Al Anbar Governorate
• 16 Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate
• 17 Muthanna Governorate
• 18 Babil Governorate
• 19 Karbala Governorate
• 25 Kirkuk Governorate
• 26 Saladin Governorate
• 27 Dhi Qar Governorate
• 28 Najaf Governorate
• 29 Wasit Governorate

Below is the codes for governorates under the jurisdiction of Kurdistan Region. In these governorates a smaller sized code KR, representing Kurdistan Region is placed on the license plates as well.

• 21 Sulaymaniyah Governorate
• 22 Erbil Governorate
• 23 Halabja Governorate
• 24 Duhok Governorate

The color format will be identical to the current design that the rest of Iraq use, as shown in the table below. However, the type will not be indicated in text on the license plates.

Colour	Image (Rest of Iraq)	Image (Kurdistan)	Type
White			Private vehicle
Red			Vehicle for hire, bus, taxi
Blue			Governmental
Yellow			Trade, e.g. trucks, tractors, cranes
Green			Agricultural

There are plans to replace all existing license plates with this new format.

For Kurdistan Region, as the letter-digit configuration has undergone a change, certain rules will apply for the transition.

• If the existing plate consists of 5 or less digits, the letter A will be placed before the number, and zeros will be added so that the new number would end up being 5 digits.
• If it consists of the following 6 digit numbers: 100000, 200000, .... 900000, one of the zeros will be removed, and the letter M will be placed before the number
• If it consists of any other 6 digit number, and if the first digit is 0 the letter B, if 1 the letter C, if 2 the letter D, ..., and if 9 the letter L will be placed before the number.

For rest of Iraq, such issue does not exist, and the only change in the registration number of the plate would be the replacement of the governorate name with the corresponding code. The previous format already had Latin letter and numbers in small font, these are to be preserved through the transition.

Historical Formats of Kurdistan Region

1988-2022

In 1988, Iraq adopted a new license plate format. This new format applied to all governorates of Iraq.

Since from the year 1992, Kurdistan Region has had de facto, and from the year 2005, also constitutionally-recognized autonomy. As a result, the license format changes that affected the rest of Iraq, were not enforced in Kurdistan Region. Up until 2001, the all Iraqi license plates were of this format, including those issued to Iraqi-occupied Kuwait for a duration of 6 months in 1990 and 1991. Whereas the rest of Iraq adopted a new license plate format in 2001, Kurdistan region still continued to use the format from until 2022.

The license plate is divided in half with a horizontal line. On the bottom right quarter, the name of the country "Al-Iraq" in Arabic is written. On the bottom left quarter, the name of the province in Arabic. On the top of the license plate, there's the registration number. Currently, the provinces of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk use 6-digit numbers. No information exists as of yet on the province of Halabja

• 
  Dohuk Governorate
• 
  Erbil Governorate
• 
  Sulaymaniyah Governorate

The different classes of the license plates are differentiated by the colour of their background. Besides that, there are no texts or different number or letter on each different class of each plate to differentiate them.

Colour	Image	Type
Black on White		Private vehicle
White on Red		Vehicle for hire, bus, taxi
Black on Yellow		Trade, e.g. trucks, tractors, cranes
White on Blue		Law Enforcement
Golden on Dark Green		Military
Red on White		Temporary

Historical Formats of Rest of Iraq

1988-2001

In 1988, Iraq adopted a new license plate format. This new format applied to all governorates of Iraq.

Up until 2001, the all Iraqi license plates were of this format, including those issued to Iraqi-occupied Kuwait for a duration of 6 months in 1990 and 1991. Whereas the de facto autonomous Kurdistan Region did not follow suit, rest of Iraq adopted a new license plate format in 2001.

The license plate was divided in half with a horizontal line. On the bottom right quarter, the name of the country "Al-Iraq" in Arabic is written. On the bottom left quarter, the name of the province in Arabic. On the top of the license plate, there's the registration number.

2001-2008

In 2001, the shape and dimensions of the license plates changed, while the general format remained the same. The length of the plate was increased, while its width was reduced. The font of the plate was also changed. The name of the country "Al-Iraq", and the name of the province were moved to the left hand side of the license plate, with the country name above the province name. The coloring and classifications of the new license plates remained unchanged.

• 
  2001-2008 Format Private Vehicle Plate
• 
  2001-2008 Format with 335x155mm Dimensions
• 
  2001-2008 Format Commercial Truck Plate

2008-2024

This license plate format was adopted on 2008. The license plate wass rectangular in shape and made of aluminum, with a dimension of 335x155 mm. On the left side, the word "Iraq" appeared in English, written vertically. There was a horizontal line that divided the license plate into two sections. In the narrower bottom section, the name of the Province was written, plus the classification of the license plate in Arabic. In the top, the registration code was written, large font in Arabic, and underneath it, smaller font in Latin. The license plate onsisted of a letter, and a 5-digit numbers.

Colour	Image	Type	Type in Arabic
White		Private vehicle	خصوصي
		Motorcycle	دراجة
Red		Vehicle for hire, bus, taxi	اجرة
Blue		Governmental No Province name	حكومية
Yellow		Trade, e.g. trucks, tractors, cranes	حمل
Orange		Temporary awaiting Customs Clearance No Province Name	ادخال كمرکي مؤقت
Green		Agricultural	زراعي
		Construction	إنشائية
Black		ICTS	جهاز مكافحة الارهاب

Letters used for Vehicle Registration

Letter (Arabic)	Letter (Latin)
ا	A
ب	B
ج	J
د	D
ر	R
س	S
ط	T
ف	F
ك	K
م	M
ن	N
هـ	H
ى	E
ق	Q
ل	L
و	W
ز	Z

Gallery

• 
  Iraqi private vehicle registration plate. (Erbil Province)
• 
  vehicle for hire. (Al Anbar Province)
• 
  A yellow truck's plate. (Erbil Province)
• 
  License plate for motorcycles(Erbil Province)
• 
  License plate used by police in Iraqi Kurdistan
• 
  Temporary plates. (Erbil Province)