Decoding letters on Russian car license plates

Features of license plates for cars

All vehicles operated by the public or organizations must undergo mandatory registration and receive a license plate consisting of a set of numbers and letters. The number also indicates the region in which the car is registered. The license plate is placed on the front and back of the vehicle.

Regular numbers are printed on a white background, but there are other options for the state vehicle sign:

blue – issued for police cars;
red - installed on the vehicles of representatives of diplomatic missions or foreign missions, while the letter on the number indicates the position of the person who is driving this vehicle, and the sign of the represented country is placed in front of it;
black - are installed on vehicles of military units, although sometimes they are on vehicles of representatives of the FSB or the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the numeric code on the number indicates the military unit to which the vehicle is assigned.

In all cases, the state sign must have a number and series, and the Russian tricolor is applied. There is no Russian flag on license plates of other countries.

What letters are used in Russian state license plates?

On the territory of the Russian Federation there are certain regulations for the compilation and designation of license plates . They fully comply with the requirements of GOST R 50577-93.

Many people, in the process of studying the question of the principle by which license plates are compiled, are interested in what letters are used in the state license plates of Russia, respectively, which letters are not used in car license plates.

Combinations of modern license plates are arranged according to the principle of 3 numbers and 3 letters . The exceptions are minibus taxis, military transport, and diplomatic cars; they have their own rules and designations.

The numbers represent the vehicle number, and the letters indicate its series.

The requirements and conditions of GOST indicate that 12 letters from the Cyrillic alphabet can be used on license plates - A, B, E, K, M, N, O, P, S, T, U and X, since only they have similar letters in Latin.

Other letter designations are not acceptable . This is a special and very important restriction that was adopted and regulated by the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, adopted in 1968.

According to the main provisions of the convention, all vehicles can have numbers that consist of Arabic and Latin letters, as well as Arabic numerals.

It is allowed to use special national inscriptions, which must be duplicated in the Latin alphabet.

The letters in license plates must be readable not only in Russia, but also in other countries. This is the answer to the question why there are no letters on state license plates.

Famous series

Each Russian region has its own series of license plates, which are issued to specific departments. Since the country's government vehicles are registered in Moscow, the most famous license plate series are issued in the capital and region. The most important ones include:

SKR 197 – intended for official vehicles of the Russian Investigative Committee. It is impossible for ordinary people to purchase such state signs, although you can buy SKR 199, but extremely rarely.
AMO is also an interesting series, issued to employees of the city government, government agencies or ministries. Such license plates periodically go on sale.
EKH - previously they were issued with city code 77, but now they have been supplemented with 177 and 97 region, intended for representatives of the FSB, FSO. People decipher “I Food As I Want” or a more obscene version.
AMP 97 and 77 are considered one of the most important series in the country, as they are issued to government officials and employees of the presidential administration. And the eighth hundred of this series was issued to high-ranking representatives of the FSB.
XKH 77 - previously, some of the license plates of this series were assigned to FSB employees; today they can be found on ordinary cars.
AOO, MOO, SOO or SOO with region 77 in most cases were hung on the cars of the department for managing the affairs of the president. Often found on regular vehicles.
VKR and AKR 177 - such license plates were partially replaced on official vehicles of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with blue license plates.
EPE 177 is a special series created specifically for United Russia. Such a sign is not of particular value; it is easy to acquire.
MMR and VMR 77 region - a huge number of cars with similar signs are listed on the balance sheet of various structures of the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. You can buy such a number, but it is very expensive.
RMR 77 – intended for employees of the Ministry of Justice. Such numbers are more affordable than VMR and MMR, but no less popular.

When it is specified that the number can be found on an ordinary car, it is assumed that it was issued for a reason, but for a lot of money and with good connections. As for the advantages that a special state sign provides, they will not be able to use special signals. Even if the number is issued to an employee of a certain department, it does not provide any special advantages on the road.

What letters are not used in license plates?

On the territory of the Russian Federation there are certain regulations for the compilation and designation of license plates . They fully comply with the requirements of GOST R 50577-93.

The numbers represent the vehicle number, and the letters indicate its series.

Other letter designations are not acceptable . This is a special and very important restriction that was adopted and regulated by the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, adopted in 1968.

According to the main provisions of the convention, all vehicles can have numbers that consist of Arabic and Latin letters, as well as Arabic numerals.

It is allowed to use special national inscriptions, which must be duplicated in the Latin alphabet.

The letters in license plates must be readable not only in Russia, but also in other countries. This is the answer to the question why there are no letters on state license plates.

In addition to the digital and alphabetic designations on the license plate, in a special separate quadrangle in its lower part there is a Russian flag and the inscription RUS, in the upper part there is a code designation of the region of Russia in which the car was registered.

A peculiarity of all symbols present on the signs is that the numbers are significantly smaller in size than the letters.

Without exception, all license plates are registered . Each administrative region has its own individual number. It is common to all vehicles without exception that have been registered in a certain area.

The number of license plate sets of automobile registration plates that are allowed to be produced for a constituent entity of Russia is also determined by GOST. It amounts to 1,726,272 pieces.

The number of registered vehicles is increasing every year, and accordingly, license plates with permitted letter and number combinations are beginning to be in short supply.

On this basis, the regional authorities of the Russian Federation decide to introduce new codes. They are used as an addition to license plates.

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Source: https://pravo-auto.com/kakie-bukvy-ispolzuyutsya-v-gos-nomerah-rossii/

Basic rules when registering a new number

Since the Rules for the operation of cars require the mandatory presence of plates with identification marks during trips, all actions for the production and installation of state signs are strictly regulated and comply with GOST P 50577-93.

The numbers represent the vehicle number, and the letters indicate its series.

The general principle of creating a license plate involves determining the alphanumeric combination. In standard cases, when ordinary citizens register a car, three numbers and a combination of three letters are applied to the plate. For cars of special status, different rules apply, how many letters and numbers are present in the number, and the requirements for the numbers are different (for example, cars of law enforcement agencies, military departments, route transport, cars of a diplomatic mission).

Many people wonder why the desired combination of letters does not appear on license plates. The secret is revealed quite simply, in order to bring it closer to common standards, many letters have been excluded from the Russian alphabet, which are not analogous either in sound or spelling to the Latin alphabet, with the help of which cars are identified abroad.

Registration requirements

The production of the plate is organized purely by government agencies, without the right to re-manufacture on commercial terms. The manufacturing process is regulated by strict standards based on the provisions of the Rules and requirements of GOST.

Unlike letters, there are no restrictions on numbers; a three-digit number uses numbers from 0 to 9, and the region code is formatted as a two- or three-digit number.

Every motorist, before driving on the road, is obliged to inspect the car, checking the presence, reliability of fastening, and legibility of the license plate.

State registration marks, issued during initial and subsequent re-registration, are plates on which an identification designation is applied in the form of a alphanumeric combination.

Many motorists travel freely by car not only throughout Russia, but also in countries near and far abroad. It is not surprising that there are some Cyrillic letters that are unfamiliar to most foreign countries.

Signs on a car are performed in the following combination sequence:

first letter;
three-digit number;
two letters of the Cyrillic alphabet.

In addition, the plate contains information about the region of registration, the flag of the Russian state and the international designation of the country (“RUS”).

Until recently, based on the region code, it was possible to guess the origin of the car, where it was previously operated, however, after the introduction of new rules, motorists were given the right to keep their previous license plates without receiving new ones. Accordingly, if the buyer came to pick up the car from another region or the car was transported for sale to another region, in the future the code will not coincide with the territory of primary use of the transport.

The number of cars in the country is constantly increasing, which leads to a shortage of assigned combinations. If a car is registered in large cities, most likely, the region code has already changed to a three-digit number (for example, in Moscow they have long been issuing signs with codes 777, in Rostov-on-Don - 161, St. Petersburg - 178, etc. .

Video about license plates in Russia

Letter combinations of special status series

Some letter series are not assigned randomly, but with the purpose of determining whether a vehicle belongs to any department. These numbers belong to the “status” category, and are highly valued among motorists who prefer to drive cars with “thieves” license plates.

Many of the government or diplomatic structures that use cars with these series have immunity status, and any opportunity to purchase numbers from such a series is especially significant for the owner who wants to raise or confirm his high status.

If you want to buy a “status” number, it will be useful to find out what series are used by services such as the FSB, the Presidential Administration, State Duma deputies, law enforcement agencies, the armed forces, etc. Such series include AAA, AMM, AMO, AMR, AOO, VMR, BOO, EKH, EPE, KKH, KMR, KOO, MMR, MOO, LLC, RMR, TMR, SSS, SOO, SMM and others.

Source: https://auto-lawyer.org/pdd/kakie-bukvy-ne-ispolzuyutsya-v-avtomobilnyx-nomerax.html

Series for cars with flashing lights

To get special advantages on the road, you need to have special signals on your car. This privilege is provided by the following license plates:

AAA - cars for employees of the presidential administration;
AMM – top officials of the police department;
AMP – government representatives;
*OO with the first letter B, A or M – presidential administration;
AMO – employees of the Moscow city administration;
HKH, KKH, EKH - FSO and FSB;
SOO – employees of the Federation Council;
ERE - Duma deputies:
RMR - employees of the Ministry of Justice.

Only vehicles with such letter combinations can have a flashing light, provided that the car is listed on the balance sheet of a certain government agency and is not privately owned. Drivers driving cars with flashing lights can ignore signs and markings; other vehicles must let them through, and state traffic inspectors cannot impede their movement when the special signal is active.

Before the introduction of the law on special signals, there were a lot of such cars, and drivers driving such vehicles behaved extremely brazenly, driving into oncoming traffic, speeding or crossing double lines, etc. But by presidential decree in 2012, the number of vehicles with beacons was greatly reduced up to 591 cars.

Federal numbers

In addition to letter combinations, the numeric code of the license plate also matters.

001-136 – mainly government cars;
137-201 – license plates of vehicles listed on the balance sheet of the Prosecutor General’s Office;
202 – for the Central Election Commission;
203-369 – numbers for the top of the Ministry of Internal Affairs;
370-400 – for the leadership of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, important Foreign Ministry officials;
401-600 – for the leadership of individual constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
601-697 – for representatives of the Federal Drug Control Service and the Ministry of Defense;
698-999 – for top officials of Rosstat, FAS, FSB and other departments.

It is almost impossible for ordinary citizens to receive privileged series of state signs, unless there is some kind of cronyism. But for ordinary people, there are simply beautiful license plates that every car owner can get.

Is it possible to get a privileged state sign and how to do it

Those license plates that are issued only to specific government agencies and are not available to a wide range of motorists are valuable. Such license plates increase the prestige of the car and give its owner a certain status.

To get a criminal number, you need to have connections in certain structures. Moreover, you will have to pay a huge amount to purchase a privileged series number. And the car for which a special license plate is purchased must correspond to it.

conclusions

What we have. Automobile state signs, as a rule, do not carry any information about the owner. However, there are limited editions issued to representatives of certain government departments or government structures. Such numbers are issued according to special rules:

Each Russian constituent entity independently determines serial combinations for top officials in the region.
Special number combinations are issued for government agencies and certain departments.
A limited circle of owners of special state signs can use the flashing light. But such a right is ensured by a specific position and official status, and not by a car number.
The most privileged series are EKH 77 or 99, AMP 97, SKR 197, etc. But these numbers have weight only in the capital and region. In regions, these number series no longer have such weight, although you will have to pay a certain amount to obtain them.

If you encounter such a car on the road, you need to look for special signals. If there are any, the vehicle must give way. If there are no flashing lights, such numbers do not have an advantage over other road users. Therefore, it is worth following the current traffic rules. Ordinary car owners can only guess whether the car with the FSB serial number is driving a real representative of this government agency or just a well-connected person who had enough money to buy a “thieves” license plate

Approximate prices for “beautiful” rooms

“Blatny” numbers became widespread in our country in the 90s. To this day, a beautiful combination of letters and numbers is in demand among car owners. The wealthiest Russians are willing to shell out huge amounts of money for respectable license plates. But representatives of the middle class can also afford some interesting options. Below is an approximate cost for certain combinations and it will be clear which numbers on a car are considered “thieves”. It is worth considering that the price always varies depending on the region.

Please note: The state does not prohibit the purchase of “thieves” numbers.

The cheapest value is for mirror combinations of numbers, where the first and third are the same (for example, 181). They can be ordered from 2000 rubles. This price does not include the cost of re-registration and installation. For an additional graphic element you will need to pay an additional 2000 rubles. In general, the cost depends on the region.
Even numbers ending in two zeros will cost a little more than mirror numbers. Numbers that match the car model look good (for example, 600 on a Mercedes-Benz S600).
License plates where the numbers and region code are the same will appeal to many people. Duplicating regions of the Russian Federation on car license plates is only possible in the case of a three-digit code.
Numbers of the first ten (the first two digits are 0). The most expensive combination will be 007, as it is associated with James Bond. The cost of this combination is from 90,000 to 140,000 rubles.
Beautiful combinations with repeating numbers cost from 30,000 to 450,000 rubles. The most expensive signs will be those with three sevens. With three sixes, on the contrary, they are not very popular among Russians.
Elite combinations of a combination of letters (for example, MMM) and three identical numbers can cost more than a million rubles. Only very wealthy people can afford such license plates and therefore they are considered the “coolest” license plates on a car.

Interesting: The most expensive license plate was sold in the UAE for $14,200,000. It's just a sign with the number "1".

Due to their relative availability, “thieves” license plates have long ceased to make the proper impression on traffic police officers. There are too many people who have acquired such a sign and in no way belong to government agencies. Therefore, such an acquisition does not guarantee complete untouchability of the owner of the car. Some people consider buying a beautiful license plate a waste, while others spend any amount of money to “decorate” their car in this way. In any case, whether to buy such a sign or not is everyone’s personal choice.