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Irish Number Plate Rules and Regulations
04-01-2022
Unlike their British counterparts, the Irish number plate system follows different rules and regulations. To make sure your company is compliant, Dash Dynamics offers our guide to the rules and regulations.
Registration Format
The registration format for an Irish number plate includes similar information to that of a British one. A plate includes the year that the vehicle is registered and the county that it is registered in.
The year indicator is placed first. Current number plates utilize a three-digit format where the first two digits indicate the year and the last digit indicates the year half. For example, 131 represents a vehicle registered in the first half of 2013.
Following the year indicator is the county designation. County designations can be either one or two digits long depending on the locale.
Cork C
Clare CE
Cavan CN
Carlow CW
Dublin D
Donegal DL
Galway G
Kildare KE
Kilkenny KK
Kerry KY
Limerick L
Longford LD
Louth LH
Leitrim LM
Laois LS
Meath MH
Monaghan MN
Mayo MO
Offaly OY
Roscommon RN
Sligo SO
Tipperary T
Waterford W
Westmeath WH
Wexford WX
Wicklow WW
These marks are separated by hyphens rather than spaces. At the end of the plate is anywhere between one to six digits which are specific to the vehicle in the order that it was registered in.
Additional Plate Marks
In addition to the registration, each number plate must also include Irish and county marks. The Irish mark, which includes a blue background and stars for the European Union, is found on the left-hand side of the plate. It includes the IRL designation for Ireland.
Across the top of the plate is the county identifier. Ireland has twenty-six county identifiers in total, with each identifier appearing on the number plate in the native Gaelic language.
Not all counties are represented by their own designation as some are shared by a common name. For example, Cork designation Corcaigh is shared by both Cork City and Cork County.
Corcaigh Cork City
Cork County
An Clár Clare County
An Cabhán Cavan County
Ceatharlach Carlow County
Baile Átha Cliath Dublin City
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County
Fingal County
South Dublin County
Dún na nGall Donegal County
Gaillimh Galway City
Galway County
Cill Dara Kildare County
Cill Chainnigh Kilkenny County
Ciarraí Kerry County
Luimneach Limerick City and County
An Longfort Longford County
Lú/Lughbhaidh Louth County
Liatroim Leitrim County
Laois Laois County
An Mhí Meath County
Muineachán Monaghan County
Maigh Eo Mayo County
Uíbh Fhailí Offaly County
Ros Comáin Roscommon County
Sligeach Sligo County
Tiobraid Árran Tipperary County
Port Láirge Waterford City and County
An Iarmhí Westmeath County
Loch Garman Wexford County
Cill Mhantáin Wicklow County
Additional Requirements
Unlike British number plates, both the front and back of an Irish number plate utilize white reflective backings. There is also no standardized font for the digits, though the most common is known as Irish Metro font.
Dash Dynamics offers this font in both 3D and 4D formats as well as a number plate jig formatted for Irish plates. To inquire contact us here.
For more information on Irish Number Plate Rules and Regulations talk to Dash Dynamics
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