MH 01 CA 1002
The first two alphabets MH indicate that the vehicle is from the state Maharashtra. The next two are the district (In this case the capital Mumbai). CA 1002 is the unique licence plate number. In some states (such as the union territory of Delhi) the initial 0 of the district code is omitted; thus Delhi district 2 numbers appear as DL 2 not DL 02.
The National Capital Territory of Delhi has an additional code in the registration code:
DL 11 C AA 1111
Where DL is the two letter code for Delhi (DL). The additional C (for category of vehicle) is the letter 'S' for two-wheelers, 'C' for cars and SUVs, 'P' for public passenger vehicles such as buses, 'R' for three-wheeled rickshaws, 'T' for tourist licenced vehicles and taxis, 'V' for pick-up trucks and vans and 'Y' for hire vehicles. Thus a Delhi-specific example is:
DL 5 S AB 9876
The last four digits are unique to the vehicle. Usually, the lower 100 numbers are government registered numbers, but it may not always be the case. Special lucky numbers such as 3333 or 6666 fetch a premium and may touch above rupees 10,000.
Prior to 2005 Karnataka used to charge Rs 1000 for obtaining a unique last four digit number. These numbers used to be issued either from the current running series or from one or two future series. When the numbering system was computerised numbers could be issued from any future series. However the Karnataka RTO has now steeply hiked these charges to Rs 6000 if the number to be obtained is in the current series, and Rs 25,000 if it is to be issued from a future series.
As of 2007, Maharashtra has increased the price of unique numbers to the range of Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 1,25,000.
If all the 9999 numbers are used up, the RTO adds the letter 'A before the number space so that more numbers can be accommodated. In some states, the two letters also give the description of the make of the vehicle. Eg. In Mumbai, MH-01 AA would point to a two-wheeler; where as MH-01 CA is a small car. MH-01 J **** and MH-01 X **** are taxis.
Military vehicles have a unique numbering system unlike any other licence numbers. The numbers are registered by the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi and appear to have a pseudo-random numbering. The first (or the third) character is always an arrow pointing upwards. The first two digits signify the year in which the Military procured the vehicle.
Vehicle belonging to foreign missions bear the plates CD or CC, which stand for Diplomatic Corps or Consular Corps respectively. A diplomatic plate numbered 13 CC xxxx would refer to country 13, probably a country close to the letter A or B. For example, a vehicle bearing the number 77 CD xxxx in India refers to a vehicle owned by either the United States mission in India or by a person working with the mission. As per international law cars bearing these licence plates enjoy diplomatic immunity.
In the early 2000s, the number plate colouring scheme changed from white over black (SAA 1111) to black over white (SAA 1111) for private non-commercial vehicles, and from black over white (SAA 1111) to black over yellow (SAA 1111) for all other vehicles. The usage of the older colour scheme was made illegal after a period during which both styles were tolerated.
