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Decode a licence plate

We validate the format, identify the vehicle type, and — on Italian plates issued before 1994 — the province of first registration.

Spaces are optional: AB123CD, AB 123 CD and AB-123-CD are the same plate.

A plate is an index, not a history.

In IT, going from a plate to a VIN is only possible through a licensed provider, and we are contracting that channel. In the meantime the VIN gives you everything immediately.

Use the VIN instead

Free and no sign-up. The format check runs on your device: we query no public register.

6Countries with a recognised format
107Italian province codes

What a plate says, and what it does not

  • What we can read

    The format tells us the country, the vehicle type, and roughly when the plate was issued. On reserved series we can identify diplomatic, military and state vehicles.

  • What is not encoded

    Since 1994 Italian plates have been sequential and carry no geographic information at all. Anyone promising to name the city of registration from a modern plate is guessing.

  • Plates issued before 1994

    Before the reform, a plate began with the province code: MI for Milan, RM for Rome. On those vehicles we can tell you where it was first registered.

  • Why the plate alone is not enough

    A plate is a reference into a national register, not a description of the vehicle. Converting it to a VIN requires access to that register, and every country governs it differently. We say so up front, not after you have paid.

Italian province codes

The 107 province codes in use. On plates issued before 1994, the code tells you where the vehicle was first registered.

Next step

A plate is an index. The history sits under the VIN.

The full check starts from the VIN. Before asking you to pay we show you which sections we can fill in for that vehicle and which we cannot.

See what we can checkDecode a VIN