Vehicle registration plates of Lithuania

Standard vehicle registration plates in Lithuania bear three letters and three numbers (e.g. ABC 123) in black lettering on a white background. The plates are usually of the standard EU dimensions, but can also be manufactured in the American dimensions for special import vehicles. All plates issued since 2004 also bear a blue EU identification stripe on their left-hand edge. Those issued between the restoration of Lithuanian independence in 1990 and the country's accession to the European Union in 2004 bore a similar stripe with a small Lithuanian flag in place of the flag of Europe.

Originally the license plates had a space in the middle for stickers; the stickers were discontinued after April 2018. Plates issued since October 2023 bear the coat of arms of Lithuania between the right side of the EU stripe and the number (above the EU stripe for two-line or narrow plates).

Area designations

Until 2004 the second of the three letters in each registration mark indicated the geographical administrative area in which the vehicle had originally been registered, as follows:

A

K

L

M

P

S

J

T

U

V

Numbers beginning with LRS and LRV were issued to government officials. Starting in 2004, the area designation was abolished and any letter (except for Q, W and X, which are not used in Lithuanian registration numbers) became admissible as the middle letter.

Special types

Temporary

Vehicles issued temporary registration in Lithuania are noted by red alphanumeric characters on white background.

Types

Vehicles imported to Lithuania or vehicles exported from Lithuania

As of July 2022, these plates are valid for up to 30 days. They can be re-issued to the same vehicle only after it has been issued standard license plates in the meantime.

24214AA

Vehicles sold by vehicle selling companies or organizations (professional or trade number plates)

P28737

Plates issued since April 2018 start with the letter P followed by five digits; the registration does not expire. Prior to that, numbers consisted of a letter (P or R) followed by four digits, a space and two more digits, the latter indicating the year of expiration.

Diplomatic Corps

Reserved and used by diplomatic corps. Plates have a green background and white characters; they do not have blue sidebar on the left side. The numbers are made up of six digits, grouped 01 3 123, with the first two digits denoting the embassy or other diplomatic or consular representation:

Code	Country or Organization
01	Sweden
02	Germany
03	France
04	Latvia
05	Denmark
06	Canada
07	United Kingdom
08	Italy
09	Norway
10	Finland
11	Holy See
12	Turkey
13	Czech Republic
14	United States
15	China
16	Poland
17	Poland
18	Estonia
19	Russia
20	Russia
21	Romania
22	Ukraine
23	Belarus
24	Kazakhstan
25	Georgia
26	Japan
27	Austria
28	Belgium
29	Netherlands
30	Hungary
31	Spain
32	Sovereign Military Order of Malta
33	Democratic Republic of Congo
34	Ireland
35	Portugal
36	Moldova
37	Azerbaijan
38	Bulgaria
39	Armenia
40	Croatia
41	Israel
80	Nordic Council of Ministers
81	International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
82	European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
83	World Health Organization
84	United Nations Development Program
85	International Organization for Migration
86	European Commission
87	United Nations
88	European Institute for Gender Equality
89	NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence

Taxicabs

T06868

Taxicabs have plates with white background and black text. The first letter is "T" (corresponds to the first letter of the word "taksi" in Lithuanian) and is followed by five numbers.

Before the 3rd of April, 2018, taxi plates had a yellow background and black text, with the same number scheme. These plates continued to be valid and registration centers issued these plates beyond April 3, 2018, until stocks were exhausted.

Military transport

Military transportation has black background and white text registration plates. They do not have the side-field, only the flag.

LK321A

Vintage cars

H02401

Plates for vintage cars have been issued since July 1, 2014. Originally these plates had white characters on a brown background, which was changed to black on white as of April 3, 2018. They start with the letter H, followed by five digits (four for motorcycles).

Technical check sticker

The registration plate has a special spot, usually between the letters and numbers but occasionally to the left of the letters, to attach a sticker certifying the compulsory periodic technical inspection to check for compliance with safety/emissions standards. The sticker is no longer compulsory from 2015.

Confusion with Swedish plates

Lithuanian standard plates are almost identical to Swedish standard plates. The Stockholm congestion tax system uses automatic number plate recognition to identify plates, and this system can not distinguish between Swedish and Lithuanian plates. Initially, non-Swedish cars did not have to pay this tax, but a Swedish owner will be charged if there is one with same number, which is likely. Even after the application of this tax to foreign cars, the problem persists; the Swedish owner of a number, not the actual Lithuanian owner, will be charged. The false tax will be cancelled after a manual check if the owner complains. Swedish taxes must be paid on time anyway and will be refunded if there is an error.

External links

• Media related to License plates of Lithuania at Wikimedia Commons
• State Enterprise "Regitra", the administrative branch of the government in charge of vehicle registrations, vehicle operator licensing and technical inspections (in English and Lithuanian)

This page was last edited on 6 November 2023, at 18:36