Finnish car number plates

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Finnish car number plates usually carry three letters and three numbers separated with a dash, though vanity plates may carry just one of each.

[edit] History

Compulsory national plates were first issued in 1922, although some cities had local systems in use before this (eg. Helsinki plates date back to 1907). The first series used black letters on white in the format "X-NNNN", where X was the province where the car was registered. In 1950, the colors were reversed and the format shifted to "XX-NNN", with the second letter usually assigned in sequence. In 1961, a third letter was added.

Between 1922 and 1989, the first letter of the license plate always corresponded to the where the license was issued, and until 1971 it was mandatory to change plates when moving across a province border.

[edit] Current

There are a few rules all plates follow:

• All letters from the Finnish alphabet are allowed (A-Z, Å,Ä,Ö) (except Åland where it starts ÅL, e.g. ÅLA-100)
• At least one letter and one number

A standard Finnish number plate has three letters and three numbers, separated by a middot, in black grotesque font on a white reflective background. Newer plates also include a blue field to the left with the European Union "circle of yellow stars" symbol and the letters "FIN" in white. This is not found in older plates. In some cars (mostly American) the reserved space for the number plate is too small. The special number plates for these cars have 1-2 letters, the first of which is "N".

FIN

ABC-123

An Åland number-plate has blue lettering.

ÅLA-123

A diplomatic number plate has a blue blackground and white reflective lettering. The letters are either "C" or "CD", for French "Corps Diplomatique".

CD-123

Regular, non-vanity plates also have some more limitations:

• 2-3 letters & 1-3 numbers
• The letters used are A-Z and Å, Ä & Ö
• The letter part may not begin with P or W (used for trailers, but if you want to buy specific plate then you can have also these letters in the beginning)
• The number part may not begin with 0
• The combinations KGB, FAT, HYH, HYI (expressions of disgust), NAI (colloquial for "have sex") are not used.