The current vehicle registration plate system of Cuba was introduced in 2002.
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Cuban licence plates contain three letters and three numbers. The colour of plates is also an important identification element. Ordinary (non-special) licence plates have also a number on the lower central part of the plate ranging from 0 to 9, denoting the type of the vehicle.
The first letter denotes the province where the licence plate was issued.
| Province | First letter of licence plate |
|---|---|
| Pinar del Río | P |
| La Habana | B |
| Ciudad de La Habana | H |
| Matanzas | M |
| Cienfuegos | F |
| Villa Clara | V |
| Sancti Spiritus | S |
| Ciego de Ávila | A |
| Camagüey | C |
| Las Tunas | T |
| Granma | G |
| Holguín | O |
| Santiago de Cuba | U |
| Guantánamo | N |
| Isla de la Juventud[1] | I |
The second letter identify the type of vehicle owner.
| Second letter of license plate |
Colour of the plate |
Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A | white | government ministers, provincial officials, and other important state persons |
| light brown | authorised government and official persons of lower rank | |
| D / E / F / G / H | yellow | private vehicles |
| K | yellow | vehicles and motorcycles owned by foreign natural persons |
| light brown | vehicles and motorcycles owned by foreign and mixed companies, foreign journalists, religious institutions | |
| R | yellow | private motorcycles and "cocotaxis" |
| S / T / U / V / W | blue | state owned vehicles |
| Y / Z | state owned motorcycles | |
| Black | Foreign Diplomat |
The vehicle type number can be found on the lower central part of the plate, it is a one digit number ranging from 0 to 9, it denotes the type of the vehicle. This is not used on special licence plates.
Cars of the Cuban Army and the Cuban Ministry of Interior use plates with one letter (A, B, C or F) followed by 5 digits. On the cars of the Cuban Army there is a "FAR" (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias) inscription in the central lower part of the licence plate. In the case of the Ministry of Interior, there is a "MININT" (Ministerio del Interior) inscription. Licence plates of the Army are always of light green colour, while plates of the Ministry of Interior are dark green.
Diplomatic cars use 6 digits without preceding letters. There is a "D", "C" or "E" letter in the lower left part of the licence plate (D = diplomatic, C - consular, E - other status). They have a black colour licence plate.
Cars for hire have a licence plate beginning with "T" letter (meaning turista), followed by two letters and four digits. They are of dark red colour.
Provisional licence plates have the normal code of the province followed by 4 digits and a "P" letter, the colour of the plate is light red.
Cars of the US military in the Guantanamo Bay use licence plates with one letter and four numbers, and texts "U. S. N. B." and "Gtmo Bay Cuba".
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