This autumn, the TRNC is set to change the format of its vehicle license plates

The TRNC authorities are gearing up for a revamp of the vehicle registration plates. By the end of September, Northern Cyprus might start issuing license plates featuring three letters and three numbers, a shift from the current two-letter, three-number format.

In a Bagimsiz interview, TRNC Transport Minister Erhan Arıklı stated that the change is necessitated by the depletion of letter and number combinations available in the existing format. From today, the issuance of license plates starting with "YP" will commence.

Post-transition to the new format, the inaugural license plate will read "AAA 001," with subsequent plates following an ascending alphanumeric sequence.

The two-letter, three-number format was initially adopted on the island during the British colonial era in 1956. Following the division of the island into two after the Turkish invasion in 1974, both factions persisted with this format.

The Republic of Cyprus exhausted its number sequence in 1990 and transitioned to a new system, which remains in use. The TRNC has taken longer to deplete the old format, cycling through the available letter and number combinations.

This change will align both sides of the island for the first time since 1990, with vehicle registration plates sharing a largely similar format.

Nonetheless, distinctions between the two regions' license plates will persist. As reported by Cyprus-Mail, the "Z" and "T" prefixes, introduced in Cyprus in 1973 for rental vehicles, taxis, and buses, were phased out in the Republic's plates in 2013 but continue in the northern region.

Moreover, while taxis in the Republic of Cyprus bear yellow plates, those in the TRNC are white.

A further distinction arose post-2004 when the Republic joined the European Union and began issuing plates with a blue stripe on the left side, signifying EU membership. The TRNC plates do not feature this mark.