Ireland

International code: IRL
ISO code: IE / IRL
Data status: Verified

IRL

Plates show the state or region of registration.

Explore 26 counties on the map Driving in Ireland: plates, vignettes and zones

Current plate formats

StandardSince 2013
241-D-12345
Year and half-year (three digits: 241 = 2024, first half; 242 = second half), county letters (D = Dublin, C = Cork, G = Galway) and a serial number of up to six digits, usually written with hyphens. White with the EU strip (IRL) and the Irish name of the county above the code. The county shows where the vehicle was first registered, taken from the owner's address. Since July 2025 zero-emission vehicles may have an optional green strip (on the right, or below the blue strip on square plates).
black on white
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TemporarySince 1925
ZZ 12345
Temporary registration, valid for up to one month, for vehicles bought in Ireland by owners based abroad and exported straight away. ZZ and five digits, with no year or county. Issued by AA Ireland for the Revenue Commissioners; the code dates from 1925.
black on white
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Counties (26)

Area codes (31)

Each code opens a page with the region it stands for.

Telling a car's age

These plates show when the vehicle was first registered.

241-D-12345
Since 2013
The first two digits are the year and the third the half-year: 1 for January to June, 2 for July to December (241 = first half of 2024).
Examples
- 241-D-12345 → January – June 2024
- 242-C-123 → July – December 2024
12-D-12345
1987–2012
The first two digits are the year of first registration (87 = 1987, 05 = 2005).
Examples
- 87-C-1 → January – December 1987
- 05-D-12345 → January – December 2005

All countries with the year on the plate →

Older formats

No longer issued, but some may still be on the road.

Standard1987–2012
12-D-12345
Two-digit year, county letters and a serial number of up to six digits, issued from 1987 to 2012. Cities had one letter and counties two, normally the first and last letter of the name (SO = Sligo); Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford had a city and a county code (L and LK, TN and TS, W and WD) until 2013. The blue EU strip and the Irish county name were added in 1991. Vehicles first registered outside the state before 1987 are re-registered in this system with their own year, for example 64-MH followed by the serial number.
black on white
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Standard1970–1986· broad pattern
1 ARI
Serial number first, then the county code of two letters (9999 IF) or a serial letter and the code (1 ARI). Dublin began the reversed series in February 1970 with the two-letter codes and from July 1974 with the three-letter ones (1 ARI); the other counties followed over time. Originally white on black; from 1969 black on white at the front and black on red at the rear was also allowed.
white on black
Standard1954–1986· broad pattern
ARI 1
A serial letter before the two-letter county code and a number of up to three digits. Dublin started it in May 1954 (ARI 1), the other counties followed once their two-letter combinations were used up.
white on black
Standard1903–1978· broad pattern
IF 644
The original British-style system: a two-letter county code containing I (IK = Dublin, IF = Cork) or, from 1921, a Z code, and a number up to 9999. Counties changed to the serial-letter format between 1954 and 1978, at different times. Z alone was Dublin County. The codes ZZ (temporary registrations) and ZV (vehicles over 30 years old) are still issued.
white on black

History

1903
Registration becomes mandatory under the Motor Car Act; each county and county borough gets a two-letter code containing I.
1954
Dublin adds a serial letter before its code (ARI 1) after running out of two-letter combinations; other counties follow.
1970
Dublin starts the reversed series (number first) when its three-letter combinations run out.
1987
Year-county-serial system introduced (87-D-1234).
1991
Ireland introduces the blue EU strip with the country code and the Irish county name on the plate, the first country in Europe to do so.
2013
Year code gains a third digit for the half-year (131, 132).
2014
The merged councils of Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford drop LK, TN, TS and WD in favour of L, T and W.
2025
Zero-emission vehicles may carry an optional green strip.