Japan License Plate Generator
Preview / mockup only — not a real or registrable plate. A Japanese plate is an office name, a class code, one hiragana, and a serial, not a free slogan.
ONLY
Region kanji + class code + hiragana + 4 digits (e.g. 足立 500 き 21-41). Input limit: 4 digits plus prefix.
Documented styles: White/green (private car), green/white (commercial), yellow/black (kei private), black/yellow (kei commercial), 字光式 illuminated
Colour choices are preview concepts; registration rules and availability remain with the issuing authority. Preview / mockup only — not a real or registrable plate.
Plate formats by region
12 formats. Examples are previews only.
| Region | Pattern and example | Characters | Styles | Authority and sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Region kanji + class code + hiragana + 4 digits (e.g. 足立 500 き 21-41)足立 500 き 21-41 | Kanji office name, hiragana, digits 0-9. Limit: 4 digits plus prefix. | White/green (private car), green/white (commercial), yellow/black (kei private), black/yellow (kei commercial), 字光式 illuminated | MLIT Land Transportation Offices 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Saudi Arabia | 3 Arabic letters + up to 4 Arabic-Indic digits, with Latin/numeral transliterationا ب د 1234 | 17 Arabic letters only; digits 0-9. Limit: 3 letters + 4 digits. | White base; coloured strip (coat of arms, KSA, seal) on the right at 335x155 mm or centred at 550x110 mm | Government Printing Press, Riyadh (issued via MOI / Absher) 1 source. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| United Kingdom | 2 letters (memory tag) + 2 digits (age identifier) + 3 random letters, e.g. AB12 CDEAB12 CDE | A-Z excluding I and Q in the random block; area codes exclude I, Q, Z. Limit: 7. | White front, yellow rear, black characters; optional blue band (pre-2021 GB/EU) or UK identifier with flag | DVLA 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Germany | 1-3 letter area code + 1-2 letters + 1-4 digits, e.g. B-AB 1234B AB 1234 | A-Z including umlauts Ä, Ö, Ü in area codes; digits 0-9. Limit: 8 total including the area code. | White with black FE-Schrift; blue EU band with D; red expiry bar on export (Ausfuhrkennzeichen) plates | German district registration authorities; register held by KBA (ZFZR) 3 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Europe (EU common format) | Varies by member state; the common element is the blue band with 12 stars and the country codeD · B AB 1234 | Varies by member state. Limit: Varies by member state. | White or yellow base; blue band on the left with EU stars above the country code | National registration authorities under Council Regulation (EC) No 2411/98 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Czech Republic | Digit + region letter + digit + 4 digits (1x0 0001 series), later 1xa 0000 two-letter series1A0 1234 | A-Z excluding G, CH, O, Q, W on personalised plates; digits 0-9. Limit: 7 (standard), 8 (personalised XXX-XXXXX). | White with black characters; blue EU band with CZ since 2004; motorcycle plates two-line | Ministry of Transport / regional registration offices 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| California | 1ABC123 (1980-2026), 123ABC1 (from March 2026)123ABC1 | A-Z and 0-9; I, O, Q only allowed as the second letter. Limit: 7. | White with red script 'California' (current), 1960s Legacy black with yellow lettering, blue/yellow legacy variants | California Department of Motor Vehicles 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Michigan | ABC1234 (three letters, four digits); Mackinac Bridge plates use ABC123ABC1234 | A-Z and 0-9. Limit: 7 standard; personalised up to 6 or 7 depending on plate type. | Pure Michigan base; special-cause and university plates use the same base with an emblem | Michigan Secretary of State 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| New Jersey | A12-BCD (letter, two digits, three letters)A12 BCD | A-Z and 0-9. Limit: 7. | White with blue/yellow gradient band; front and rear plates required for most classes | New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Ontario | ABCD-123 (four letters, three digits)ABCD 123 | A-Z and 0-9. Limit: 7 standard; personalised 2-8 characters. | White with blue lettering; over 60 graphic options (loon, trillium, sports teams) | ServiceOntario 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Montana | County code + 6 characters: 1-12345A or 10-1234A1-12345A | A-Z and 0-9. Limit: 6 after the county code. | White with blue lettering; optional plates use ABC123 since 2003 | Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Russia | Letter + 3 digits + 2 letters + 2-3 digit region code, e.g. А777АА 77А777АА 77 | 12 Cyrillic letters that resemble Latin: А, В, Е, К, М, Н, О, Р, С, Т, У, Х. Limit: 6 characters plus region code. | White with black characters and the RUS flag/code on the right; trailers use 2 letters + 4 digits | GIBDD / traffic police registration units 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
Preview / mockup only — not a real or registrable plate. The full format list remains readable without JavaScript.
The four blocks on a car plate
Wikipedia’s Japan plate article, which I read against the MLIT vehicle bureau home on 9 Nov 2026, splits a normal car plate into a place name written in kanji, a class number, a hiragana, and up to four digits. The sample I keep is 足立 500 き 21-41. 足立, 品川, and 練馬 are transport-office names, not prefecture slogans you invent. The hiragana is assigned by use. You do not pick き because it looks cute. Since 1998 a driver can ask for a specific unused number, and the hiragana still stays with the office.
Colour is the second fact people miss. Private cars are drawn white with green characters. Commercial vehicles flip that to green with white characters. Kei private cars use yellow with black characters, and kei commercial plates use black with yellow. Illuminated 字光式 plates are a further style, not a separate numbering plan. Bike plates use different layouts and size categories; small mopeds can have municipality-issued plates rather than a car transport-office plate. The sizes cited for the car plates are 330×165 mm for the medium plate, 440×220 mm for the large one, and 230×125 mm for the small one.
Motorcycle and moped plates should not be made by shrinking a passenger-car image. The Wikipedia table distinguishes small two-wheel plates, including a white plate with green border for larger motorcycles, and municipality-issued white, yellow or pink plates for smaller engine categories. Those formats are different from the car class-code layout shown by this tool (1 source for these bike-format details). A generator that only randomises “Tokyo 12-34” in Latin letters is drawing a souvenir, and I would rather show the four-block order. The button on this page uses a short office list (足立, 品川, 練馬), a class such as 500 or 300, one of き / さ / す, and a hyphenated serial. That is a sketch of the grammar, not a claim that those three offices are the only ones.
I could not open a single MLIT page titled exactly for the number plate spec, so the bureau link is the vehicle home, and the structural detail leans on the Wikipedia article. Where those two pages disagree in a later edit, I will print both. Copy-paste of the kana is fine for a mockup. It does not reserve the number.
Related plate previews
Compare European layouts, Saudi Arabic and Latin letters. Open all formats, random mockups or the custom plate maker.
RUS
Questions
Can I choose the hiragana?
The published rule says the hiragana is assigned by use. A specific unused serial can be requested. The preview still lets you see a kana so the picture looks complete.
What do the colours mean?
White/green is a private car, green/white is commercial, yellow/black is a private kei, black/yellow is a commercial kei.
Sources
- Wikipedia — plates of Japan — checked 2026-11-09
- MLIT vehicle bureau — checked 2026-11-09
Checked 2026-11-09. How these pages are checked.