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Reading an Indian number plate
The parts of a plate, how ATAP checks what you type, and how to get a photo of one that you can read.
3 min read · Updated ২৭ অক্টোবর, ২০২৬
Guides are in English for now. The rest of the site is translated.
Every report needs a plate, and a wrong plate sends your report to the wrong person. A little knowledge of how plates are built helps you type one correctly and spot your own mistake.
The standard plate
- State or territory code. Two letters, such as MH for Maharashtra, KA for Karnataka or DL for Delhi.
- District number. One or two digits for the regional transport office, the RTO, that registered the vehicle.
- Series. Up to three letters. The series changes as an office registers more vehicles.
- Number. Up to four digits. Plates issued today always have four.
- Bharat series, the year. Two digits for the year the vehicle was registered.
- BH. The Bharat series marker. The series is designed so a plate stays valid when an owner moves to another state.
- Number. Four digits.
- Series letters. One or two.
Many bikes and scooters carry the same parts on two lines: the state code and district on top, the series and number below. Read them top to bottom and type them as one run of characters.
How ATAP checks what you type
ATAP removes spaces and dashes, turns letters into capitals, and checks the shape against the formats above and a list of state and territory codes. If the shape is nearly right but a character looks like a common mix up, it corrects the character using what the position needs: letters in the state code and the series, digits in the district and the number.
Where a digit must go, it reads O, Q and D as 0, I and L as 1, Z as 2, S as 5, G as 6 and B as 8. Where a letter must go, it does the reverse for 0, 1, 2, 5, 6 and 8.
Plates the checker does not know
Temporary, diplomatic and military plates do not follow these formats. You can still report them. They are stored as you typed them and marked as unrecognised. An owner cannot claim an unrecognised plate, so a report on one stays private with ATAP.
Getting a plate you can read
- Face the plate square on if you can. A steep angle squashes the letters.
- Get close enough that the plate fills the guide box, but not so close that its edges are cut off.
- Read the plate on the vehicle itself, not only on the photo. Photos make 8 and B, or 0 and D, look alike.
- Reflective plates can blow out under headlights. Take a step to one side and the glare often drops.
- If you cannot read the plate with confidence, do not send the report. A wrong plate reaches a stranger.