Vehicle registration plates of Namibia

Vehicle registration plates of Namibia are yellow fluorescent metal plates with imprints in black. The standard version is uniform throughout the country, and carries one of the following forms:

N 1 A	N 1 AB
N 12 A	N 12 AB
N 123 A	N 123 AB
N 1234 A	N 1234 AB
N 12345 A	N 12345 AB
N 123-456 A	N 123-456 AB

Namibian plate from Windhoek

Namibian plate from Swakopmund

personalised plate

diplomatic plate

government plate

police plate

The first letter is always "N" for Namibia. The last one or two letters indicate the town or region the car originates from. In between, numbers are issued sequentially within each region, starting with single-digit numbers, and increasing in length as required. The vast majority of vehicles are registered in the capital, Windhoek, and require six digits; most other regions currently use three or four digits.

Since 2007, personalised number plates are available at an extra fee. Such plates may carry up to seven alphanumerical characters, followed by the Namibian Flag and the letters NA. They also differ in color and material, the personalised plates are made from acrylic white plastic and have light blue characters.[1]

Government vehicles use dark green number plates with white imprints. As with ordinary number plates, numbers are issued sequentially within each region, starting with single-digit numbers, and increasing in length as required. The Government vehicle plates are prefixed with the following letters:

• GRN - Government vehicles
• NDF - Namibia Defence Force
• POL - Police

Town codes

The following list may be incomplete.

AR – Aranos B – Bethanien DV -Divundu EN – Eenhana G – Grootfontein GO – Gobabis K – Keetmanshoop KA – Karasburg KH – Khorixas KM – Katima Mulilo KR – Karibib KO - Okongo L – Lüderitz M – Mariental MA – Maltahöhe ND – Ondangwa OH – Okahandja OJ – Outjo

OK – Okakarara OM – Omaruru ON – Otjinene OP – Opuwo OR – Oranjemund OT – Otjiwarongo OV – Otavi R – Rehoboth RC – Ruacana RU – Rundu S – Swakopmund SH – Oshakati T – Tsumeb U – Usakos UP – Outapi W – Windhoek Capital of Namibia. WB – Walvis Bay

South West Africa

From the 1970s to 1990, South West Africa used a system similar to that in use in South Africa, using the prefix S:[2]

SA – Karasburg Now KA. SB – Bethanie Now B. SBA – Owambo SC – Oranjemund Now OR. SCA – Kavango SDA – Kaokoveld SE – Otavi Now OV. SEA – Otjinene Now ON. SEB – Okakarara Now OK. SF – Grootfontein Now G. SFA – Damaraland SH – Okahandja Now OH. SJ – Outjo Now OJ. SK – Keetmanshoop Now K.

SL – Lüderitz now L. SM – Maltahöhe now MA. SN – Mariental now M. SO – Otjiwarongo now OT. SP – Karibib now KR. SR – Rehoboth Now R. SS – Swakopmund now S. ST – Tsumeb now T. SU – Usakos now U. SV – Walvis Bay now WB. SW – Windhoek now W. SX – Gobabis now GO. SY – Omaruru now OM. ECZ– Zambezi Region now uses the code KM (Katima Mulilo).

• Walvis Bay, although legally part of the Cape Province, was long administered as part of South West Africa. During the 1980s it was returned to the Cape Province and used the code CWB. It then became part of Namibia.
• Prior to the 1970s South West Africa used a system of one- and two-letter codes without prefixes. W stood for Windhoek, L for Lüderitz, S for Swakopmund, T for Tsumeb and Wb for Walvis Bay.
• The South African Defence Force also operated in South West Africa and used the same codes (U until 1961, and then R) as in South Africa.
• South Africa’s Bantu Trust also operated in South West Africa, its vehicles using the code BT, as in South Africa.

References

1. Pimp your Ride! The Namibian, May 8, 2007
2. Holcroft’s South African Calendar 1975, published by Vergne, Pretoria

External links