Vehicle registration plates of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display licence plates in 1920.

In 1956, the U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that fixed the size for licence plates for vehicles, except those for motorcycles, at six inches in height by twelve inches in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1956 (dated 1957) issue was the province's first licence plate that fully complied with these standards: the issues from 1951 (dated 1952) through 1955 (dated 1956) were all six inches in height by twelve inches in width, but had non-standard mounting holes.

The last complete re-registration of all registered vehicles in Newfoundland and Labrador was in 1981, with a switch from a numerical system to an alphanumeric system.

All plates issued since 1982 (beginning AAA-001) remain valid today. Plates remain with the vehicle to which they are originally registered, rather than with the owner. Used vehicles with expired plates are issued new licence plates — used vehicles with valid plates retain their original licence plate.

Since 1985, the province has not used the letters I, Q, U, or Y on licence plates, except on plates that use "VO1" (or "VO2" for Labrador) followed by two or three letters. However, the HAY series was issued on the 1996-97 Cabot 500 base, while the TFI series was issued on trailers in 2010. The letter I is skipped because it closely resembles the number 1, while the letter Q is skipped because it closely resembles the letter O (which the province does use) and the number zero.

Since September 1997, the province requires only a rear plate for most registrations, except for B, C, E and G plates (see below). Some older cars still display both front and rear plates. Some early "World of Difference" and Cabot 500 base plates were issued in duplicate for the front and rear.

On Newfoundland licence plates, the first letter (or two letters) designates the registration class of the vehicle. For example, HMT-999 would be assigned to a passenger car, while TZD-019 would be assigned to a trailer.

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