The Australian state of New South Wales requires its residents to register their motor vehicles and display vehicle registration plates. Current regular issue plates are to the standard Australian dimensions of in length by in height, and use standard Australian serial dies.
Issuing authorities
Standalone departments/agencies:
New South Wales Police (up to 1930) Department of Road Transport and Tramways (1930–1952) Department of Motor Transport (1952–1989) Roads & Traffic Authority (1989–2011) Then RTA/RMS became a sub agency under a principal department from 2009 for a period of 10 years:
Transport and Infrastructure NSW (2009–2010) Transport New South Wales (2010–2011) Roads & Traffic Authority (2009–2011) Department of Transport (January 2011 – October 2011) Transport for NSW (2011–2015) Department of Transport (2015–2019) Roads & Maritime Services (1 November 2011 – 1 December 2019) Since 1 December 2019 the RMS merged into Transport for NSW to form a standalone agency: Transport for NSW (1 December 2019 – )
Previous general series
Cars and Heavy Vehicles
1910–1924: nnn•nnn (cars only) 1910–1937: L·nn•nnn (lorries only) 1924–1937: nnn•nnn (cars only) 1937–1951: aa•nnn (cars and lorries) 1951–1961: aaa•nnn 1961–2004: aaa•nnn
From 1910 to 1937, serials on registration plates for cars were all-numeric, running from 1 to 274-000, while serials on plates for lorries consisted of the letter L followed by up to five numbers. All plates from 1910 to 1924 consisted of black characters on a white background, with the state abbreviation added in 1912. In 1924, the colour scheme for car plates was reversed, so that they consisted of white characters on a black background. Rear plates are supplied by the government and motorists have to request front plates to be made.
From February 1936, a new all numeric standard Australian style embossed plates were introduced to replace various styles that lasted until May 1937. The embossed style continues to the current series. Both sets are issued forward, removing the need for motorists to have front plates made themselves.
On 16 April 1937, a new serial format was adopted for both cars and lorries, consisting of two letters followed by three numbers, with leading zeros as necessary. This ran from AA-000 to ZZ-999, with the letters I and Q omitted to avoid confusion with the numbers 1 and 0 and the letter O. Plates for both vehicle types consisted of white characters on a black background.
When the two-letter serials were exhausted on 3 May 1951, a three-letter format was introduced, starting at AAA-000. At the same time, the plates' colour scheme changed to black characters on a yolk yellow background. The yolk yellow was replaced with a brighter lemon yellow in 1961, by which point the three-letter serial format had reached the mid 'C' series.
In October 1980, from KWO-050 onwards plates with reflective sheeting began to be issued. At the same time, the slogan "NSW – The Premier State" was added at the bottom of the plate; this was used until November 1988. Two further slogans followed, again appearing at the bottom of the plate: "NSW – The First State" from June 1989 to September 1994, and "NSW – Towards 2000" from September 1994 to September 1996. Since September 1996, car plates have carried the full state name at the bottom.
In the three-letter serial format, the letters I and Q were omitted originally, but were allowed from 1970. Several blocks of series were skipped, or were reserved for other vehicle types (see the Skipped Combinations section below). By July 2004, the format had reached the ZLF series, and was thus close to exhaustion. Hence, the current format was introduced, consisting of two letters, two numbers, and two more letters, starting at AA-00-AA.
Plates continue to consist of black characters on a lemon yellow background, with reflective sheeting.
Trailers
1910–1924: nnn•nnn
1924–1937: nnn•nnn
1937–1948: aa•nnn
1948–1981: aa•nnnn
1981–2014: a•nnnnn
From 1910 to 1951, trailers (and caravans) used the same registration plates and serial formats as cars. In 1951, a separate serial format was introduced for trailers consisting of two letters followed by four numbers. The first letter progressed T, R, A, B and finally C, while the numeric combinations for each series ran from 1000 to 9999; the first serial was thus TA-1000, while the last was CS-9999. Plates continued to consist of white characters on a black background, while the colour scheme for car plates changed (above).