Types:

0

Some combination of letters and digits, the list below will explain exactly what.

1

Two letters followed by two groups of two digits.
Originally the only letters in normal use where A, B, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, L, N, P, R, S, T, U, V, X and Z. Later also M was used, and others but not for vehicles.
This type started in 1951 with letter N as first letter and for each of the normal vehicles, goods vehicles and motorcycles six second letters, alternating in alphabetical order. Wide goods vehicles got a single second letter (B). When Z was exhausted as first letter the sequence would continue with A as first letter. After J followed (for the first time) M. When this was exhausted (for normal vehicles, the other classes had not reached the letter A as first letter), the issue started with MZ going backwards going over all unused combinations (except those with B as second letter) to EA. Goods vehicles and wide goods vehicles were joined in a single class in 1968, issue continued with the (originally) small goods vehicles series and when first letter D was exhausted with the remaining series with second letter B. Motorcycles just continued until first letter Z was exhausted.

1a

One letter followed by two groups of two digits.

2

Two groups of two digits followed by one letter.
This type was started in 1965.
The letters used where the same as for type 1.
All combinations, except those with second letter B were used for normal motorvehicles. The remainder was used for goods vehicles.

2a

Two groups of two digits followed by a single letter.

3

Two digits followed by two letters followed by two digits.
This type was started in 1973.
The letters used where the same as for type 1.
The use was similar to that of type 2.

3a

Two digits followed by a single letter followed by two digits.

4

Two letters followed by two digits followed by two letters, the first group of two letters is significant.
This type was started in 1978.
The vowels were removed for normal use but the letter Y was added. Also the letter M was only used as first letter in the first group for motorcycles.
Normal and goods vehicles were distinguished by the first letter, B and V for goods vehicles.
The combinations KL, SA and SD are not used in either position.

5

Two groups of two letters followed by two digits, the first group of two letters is significant.
This type was started in 1991.
The same letters as for type 4 were used in the same way, except for the letters K and Y, they are no longer used. Also this time goods vehicles were distinguished by weight, B for vehicles heavier than 3500 kg, V for vehicles lighter than that.

6

Two digits followed by two groups of two letters, the first group of two letters is significant.
This type was started in 1998.
After type 5, the letter K came back in use again, but at first only in the second group, from FK it came back in full glory. For light goods vehicles that letter came only back with the combination VL, these vehicles started much earlier with type 6 than the standard vehicles.

Colours:

Order of issue:

Used:

class 1a:

standard vehicles

type 1:

ND NG NK NP NT NX PD PG PK PP PT PX RD RG RK RP RT RX SG SK SP ST SX TD TG TK TP TT TX UD UG UK UP UT UX VD VG VK VP VT VX XD XG XK XP XT XX ZD ZG ZK ZP ZT ZX AD AG AK AP AT AX BD BG BK BP BT BX DD DG DK DP DT DX ED EG EK EP ET EX FD FG FK FP FT FX GD GG GK GP GT GX HD HG HK HP HT HX JD JG JK JP JT JX MD MG MK MP MT MX MZ MV MU MS MR MN MM ML MJ MH MF ME MA JZ JV JU JS JR JN JM JL JJ JH JF JE JA HZ HV HU HS HR HN HM HL HJ HE GZ GU GS GR GM GL GJ GH GF GE GA FZ FV FU FS FR FN FM FL FJ FF FE FA EZ EV EU ES ER EN EM EL EJ EH EF EE EA

type 2:

AD AE AF AG AH AJ AK AL AM AN AP AR AS AT AU AV AX AZ BA BD BE BF BG BH BJ BK BL BM BP BR BS BT BU BV BX BZ DA DD DE DF DG DH DJ DK DL DM DN DP DR DS DT DU DV DX DZ EA ED EE EF EG EH EJ EK EL EM EN EP ER ES ET EU EV EX EZ FA FD FE FF FG FJ FK FL FM FN FP FR FS FT FU FV FX FZ GA GD GE GF GG GH GJ GK GL GM GP GR GS GT GU GX GZ HD HE HG HJ HK HL HM HN HP HR HS HT HU HV HX HZ JA JD JE JF JG JH JJ JK JL JM JN JP JR JS JT JU JV JX JZ MA MD ME MF MG MH MJ MK ML MM MN MP MR MS MT MU MV MX MZ NA ND NE NF NG NH NJ NK NL NM NN NP NR NS NT NU NV NX NZ PA PD PE PF PG PH PJ PK PL PM PN PP PR PS PT PU PV PX PZ RA RD RE RF RG RH RJ RK RL RM RN RP RR RS RT RU RV RX RZ SE SF SG SH SJ SK SL SM SN SP SR ST SU SV SX SZ TA TD TE TF TG TH TJ TK TL TM TN TP TR TS TT TU TV TX TZ UA UD UE UF UG UH UJ UK UL UM UN UP UR US UT UU UV UX UZ VA VD VE VF VG VH VJ VK VL VM VN VP VR VS VT VU VV VX VZ XA XD XE XF XG XH XJ XK XL XM XN XP XR XS XT XU XV XX XZ ZA ZD ZE ZF ZG ZH ZJ ZK ZL ZM ZN ZP ZR ZS ZT ZU ZV ZX

type 3:

AD AE AF AG AH AJ AK AL AM AN AP AR AS AT AU AV AX AZ BA BD BE BF BG BH BJ BK BL BM BP BR BS BT BU BV BX BZ DA DD DE DF DG DH DJ DK DL DM DN DP DR DS DT DU DV DX DZ EA ED EE EF EG EH EJ EK EL EM EN EP ER ES ET EU EV EX EZ FA FD FE FF FG FJ FK FL FM FN FP FR FS FT FU FV FX FZ GA GD GE GF GG GH GJ GK GL GM GP GR GS GT GU GX GZ HD HE HG HJ HK HL HM HN HP HR HS HT HU HV HX HZ JA JD JE JF JG JH JJ JK JL JM JN JP JR JS JT JU JV JX JZ MA MD ME MF MG MH MJ MK ML MN MP MR MS MT MU MV MX MZ NA ND NE NF NG NH NJ NK NL NM NN NP NR NS NT NU NV NX NZ PA PD PE PF PG PH PJ PK PL PM PN PP PR PS PT PU PV PX PZ RA RD RE RF RG RH RJ RK RL RM RN RP RR RS RT RU RV RX RZ SE SF SG SH SJ SK SL SM SN SP SR ST SU SV SX SZ TA TD TE TF TG TH TJ TK TL TM TN TP TR TS TT TU TV TX TZ UA UD UE UF UG UH UJ UK UL UM UN UP UR US UT UU UV UX UZ VA VD VE VF VG VH VJ VK VL VM VN VP VR VS VT VU VV VX VZ XA XD XE XF XG XH XJ XK XL XM XN XP XR XS XT XU XV XX XZ ZA ZD ZE ZF ZG ZH ZJ ZK ZL ZM ZN ZP ZR ZS ZT ZU ZV ZX

type 4:

DB DD DF DG DH DJ DK DL DN DP DR DS DT DV DX DY DZ FB FD FF FG FH FJ FK FL FN FP FR FS FT FV FX FY FZ GB GD GF GG GH GJ GK GL GN GP GR GS GT GV GX GY GZ HB HD HF HG HH HJ HK HL HN HP HR HS HT HV HX HY HZ JB JD JF JG JH JJ JK JL JN JP JR JS JT JV JX JY JZ KB KD KF KG KH KJ KK KN KP KR KS KT KV KX KY KZ LB LD LF LG LH LJ LK LL LN LP LR LS LT LV LX LY LZ NB ND NF NG NH NJ NK NL NN NP NR NS NT NV NX NY NZ PB PD PF PG PH PJ PK PL PN PP PR PS PT PV PX PY PZ RB RD RF RG RH RJ RK RL RN RP RR RS RT RV RX RY RZ SB SF SG SH SJ SK SL SN SP SR ST SV SX SY SZ TB TD TF TG TH TJ TK TL TN TP TR TS TT TV TX TY TZ XB XD XF XG XH XJ XK XL XN XP XR XS XT XV XX XY XZ YB YD YF YG YH YJ YK YL YN YP YR YS YT YV YX YY YZ ZB ZD ZF ZG ZH ZJ ZK ZL ZN ZP ZR ZS ZT ZV ZX ZY ZZ

type 5:

DB DD DF DG DH DJ DL DN DP DR DS DT DV DX DZ FB FD FF FG FH FJ FL FN FP FR FS FT FV FX FZ GB GD GF GG GH GJ GL GN GP GR GS GT GV GX GZ HB HD HF HG HH HJ HL HN HP HR HS HT HV HX HZ JB JD JF JG JH JJ JL JN JP JR JS JT JV JX JZ NB ND NF NG NH NJ NL NN NP NR NS NT NV NX NZ PB PD PF PG PH PJ PL PN PP PR PS PT PV PX PZ RB RD RF RG RH RJ RL RN RP RR RS RT RV RX RZ SB SF SG SH SJ SL SN SP SR ST SV SX SZ TB TD TF TG TH TJ TL TN TP TR TS TT TV TX TZ XB XD XF XG XH XJ XL XN XP XR XS XT XV XX XZ ZB ZD ZF ZG ZH ZJ ZL ZN ZP ZR ZS ZT ZV ZX ZZ

type 6:

DB DD DF DG DH DJ DL DN DP DR DS DT DV DX DZ FB FD FF FG FH FJ FK FL FN FP FR FS FT FV FX FZ GB GD GF GG GH GJ GK GL GN GP GR GS GT GV GX GZ HB HD HF HG HH HJ HK HL HN HP HR HS HT HV HX HZ JB JD JF JG JH JJ JK JL JN JP JR JS JT JV JX JZ KB KD KF KG KH KJ KK KL KN KP KR KS KT KV KX KZ NB ND NF NG NH NJ NK NL NN NP NR NS NT NV NX NZ PB PD PF PG PH PJ PK PL PN PP PR PS PT PV PX PZ RB RD RF RG RH RJ RK RL RN RP RR RS RT RV RX RZ SB SF SG SH SJ SK SL SN SP SR ST SV SX SZ TB TD TF TG TH TJ TK TL TN TP TR TS TT TV TX TZ XB XD XF XG XH XJ XK XL XN XP XR XS XT XV XX XZ ZB ZD ZF ZG ZH ZJ ZK ZL ZN ZP ZR ZS ZT ZV ZX ZZ

class 1b:

old-timers, type 3 is apparently for old-timers later than 1973.

type 1:

DE DH DL DM DR AE AH AL AM AR

type 3:

YA

class 2a:

goods vehicles smaller than 2m20

type 1:

NA NF NJ NN NS NV PA PF PJ PN PS PV RA RF RJ RN RS RV SF SJ SN SV TA TF TJ TN TS TV UA UF UJ UN US UV VA VF VJ VN

class 2b:

goods vehicles wider than 2m20

type 1:

NB PB RB SB TB UB VB XB ZB AB BB

class 2c:

goods vehicles (general)

type 1:

VS VV XA XF XJ XN XS XV ZA ZF ZJ ZN ZS ZV AF AJ AN AS AV BA BF BJ BS BV DA DF DJ DN DS DV DB EB FB GB HB JB MB

type 2:

AB BB DB EB FB GB HB JB MB NB PB RB SB TB UB VB XB ZB

type 3:

AB BB DB EB FB GB HB JB MB NB PB RB SB TB UB VB XB ZB

type 4:

BB BD BF BG BH BJ BK BL BN BP BR BS BT BV BX BY BZ VB VD VF VG VH VJ VK VL VN VP VR VS VT VV VX VY VZ

class 2d:

goods vehicles lighter than 3500kg

type 5:

VB VD VF VG VH VJ VL VN VP VR VS VT VV VX VZ

type 6:

VB VD VF VG VH VJ VL VN VP VR VS VT VV VX VZ BB BD BF BG BH BJ BL BN BP BR BS BT BV BX BZ

class 2e:

goods vehicles heavier than 3500kg

type 5:

BB BD BF BG BH BJ BL BN BP BR BS BT BV BX BZ

class 2f:

old-timer goods vehicles

type 1:

BE BH BL BM BR BU BZ

class 3a:

motorcycles

type 1:

NE NH NL NR NU NZ PE PH PL PR PU PZ RE RH RL RR RU RZ SE SH SL SR SU SZ TE TH TL TR TU TZ UE UH UL UR UU UZ VE VH VL VR VU VZ XE XH XL XR XU XZ ZE ZH ZL ZR ZU

type 4:

MB MD MF MG MH MJ MK ML MN MP MR MS MT MV MX MY MZ

type 5:

MB MD MF MG MH MJ MK ML MN MP MR MS MT MV MX MY MZ

class 3b:

old-timer motorcycles

type 1:

ZM

class 4a:

trailers
This is registration only, although you can see them on some plates. In the first place for some time trailers had a diamond shaped plate with in white on red four groups of two symbols. The first three groups formed the registration, the last group indicated the loading limit. Lately I have seen registrations like this on trailers in black on yellow instead of the registration of the towing truck as it was before.

type 1:

WD WE WF WG WH WJ WK WL WN WP WR WS WT WU WV WX WZ

type 2:

WD WE WF WG WH WJ WK WL WN WP WR WS WT WU WV WX WZ

type 3:

WD WE WF WG WH WJ WK WL WN WP WR WS WT WV WX WZ

type 4:

WD WF WG WH WJ WK WL WN WP WR WS WT WV WX WY WZ

class 4b:

layed up trailer
See the remarks on normal trailers above.

type 1:

OL OP OR OS OU OV OX OZ OD OE OF OG OH OJ OK OM ON OT

type 4:

OD OF OG OH OJ OK OL OM ON OP OR OS OT OV OX OY OZ

class 5:

boats

type 1:

Painted on boat.

YA YB YD YE YF YG YH YJ YK YL YM YN YP YR YS YT YU YV YW YX YZ

class a:

royal family
Issued on behalf of the royal family.

type 0:

Two letters followed by upto three digits.

AA

class b1:

corps diplomatique
Issued on behalf of the ministry of foreign affairs.

type 0:

The code is followed by upto three digits, but no longer used.

CD

type 1:

CD

type 3:

This series was issued as replacement for the CD-X plates, except CD-J.
CD

class b2:

international court of justice
Issued on behalf of the ministry of foreign affairs.

type 0:

The code is followed by upto three digits, currently the hyphen is no longer present.

CD-J

class b3:

high military officers of NATO.
Issued on behalf of the ministry of foreign affairs, no longer in use.

type 0:

The code is followed by upto three digits.

CD-A CD-N

class b4:

exceptional foreign representatives
Issued on behalf of the ministry of foreign affairs, no longer in use.

type 0:

The code is followed by upto three digits.

CD-B CD-F CD-S CD-T

class c:

non-citizens (Geen Nederlander)
Some issued on behalf of the ministry of finance or foreign affairs (80-00 ... 88-99, since 1995 70-00 ... 88-99).
The plates with a limited validity have a small red rectangle on them with the year of last validity on it in white.

type 1:

GN BN

type 2:

GN BN

type 3:

BN

The numbers give more information:

00-01 ... 79-99 (69-99):	Valid 1 year, tax exempt vehicle provided that the vehicle will be exported.
80-00 (70-00) ... 88-99:	Unlimited validity, for non-diplomatic personel of embassies.
89-00 ... 89-99:	Unlimited validity, exceptional circumstances.
90-00 ... 99-99:	Unlimited validity, temporary tax exemption.

class d:

border traffic for vehicles not requiring registration in the Netherlands (GrensVerkeer)

type 1:

GV

type 2:

GV

type 3:

GV

class e:

small motor cycles not requiring registration in the Netherlands
These plates have black symbols on a white background, since 1994 (type 1) they have a standard format.

type 0:

The letters are followed by five digits, apparently since 1994 no longer user.

HH

type 1:

HH

class f:

vehicles not conforming to regulations

type 1:

ZZ

class g1:

motorvehicle dealers (Fabrikanten en Handelaren)
These plates have white symbols on a green background, currently only code HA is in use.

type 1:

FH HF HA

type 2:

FH HF HA

type 3:

FH HA

class g2:

trailer dealers
This is registration only, I have seen no plates yet.

type 1:

OA AO

class g3:

boat dealers
This is registration only, I do not think it is put on the boat.

type 1:

YY

class h:

trailers in international ferry traffic
I once have seen such a plate in black on white.

type 1:

BO

type 2:

BO

class i1:

temporary (00-01 ... 23-99) and single day (24-00 ... 99-99) registration for motorvehicles

type 1a:

A E H K L N P S T V X Z

type 2a:

A E H K L N P S T V X Z

type 3a:

A E H K L N P S T V X Z

The letter indicates from which province the plate is issued:

A	Friesland
E	Groningen and Drenthe
H	Overijssel
K	Noord Holland
L	Zuid Holland
N	Zeeland
P	Utrecht and Flevoland
S	Gelderland
T	Noord Brabant
V	Limburg
X	Central issue
Z	Central issue for a single trip

class i2:

single day registration for trailers
This is registration only, I believe not in plates.

type 1a:

W

class i3:

export registration (for use for vehicles due to be exported)
While I have seen these registrations painted on cardboard I have also seen them on true plates, black on white.

type 0:

The registration consists of two groups of three symbols separated by a dash, black on white. The first symbol is always a digit, the next two are always letters, the remaining symbols are either digits or letters. (Note that due to some quirk in the mind of a civil servant the letter Q is before P.)

Position 2 to 4 indicate the day of registration as follows:

pos 2 units of year B 0 D 1 F 2 G 3 H 4 J 5 M 6 N 7 P 8 R 9

pos 3 month B January D February F March G April H May J June M July N August P September R October T November V December

pos 4 day of month 1 1 I 17 2 2 J 18 3 3 K 19 4 4 L 20 5 5 M 21 6 6 N 22 7 7 Q 23 8 8 P 24 9 9 R 25 0 10 S 26 B 11 T 27 C 12 V 28 D 13 W 29 F 14 X 30 G 15 Z 31 H 16

Position 5 to 6 and 1 indicate the serial number for the day:

Position 5 the hundreds of the number in one of three fashion, depending on the coding of position 6 (something might be added):

0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 B 10

C 11 D 12 F 13 G 14 H 15 I 16 J 17 K 18 L 19 M 20

N 21 Q 22 P 23 R 24 S 25 T 26 V 27 W 28 X 29 Z 30

Position 5 the tens of the serial number; if the second coding is used, add 31 to the hundreds, if the third coding is used, add 62:

0,	B,	M	0
1,	C,	N	1
2,	D,	Q	2
3,	F,	P	3
4,	G,	R	4
5,	H,	S	5
6,	I,	T	6
7,	J,	V	7
8,	K,	W	8
9,	L,	X	9

Finally, the first postition encodes the units of the serial number in a conventional way.

Truly one of the most bizarre encodings I ever encountered.

class j1:

army (Koninklijke Landmacht)
Issued by the ministry of defense, black on (non-reflective) yellow. The letters and some of the digits give information about the class of the vehicle.

type 1:

KL KZ KN KO KP KX KR KS KT KU KV

type 3:

KL KZ KN KO KP KX KR KS KT KU KV

class j2:

navy (Koninklijke Marine)
Issued by the ministry of defense, black on (non-reflective) yellow.

type 1:

KM

class j3:

air-force (LuchtMacht)
Issued by the ministry of defense, black on (non-reflective) yellow.

type 1:

LM

class j4:

mobile colonnes
Issued by the ministry of defense, black on (non-reflective) yellow, no longer used.

type 1:

MC

class j5:

central military vehicle registration (since 1997)
Issued by the ministry of defense, black on (non-reflective) yellow.

type 1:

KW

class j6:

AFCENT
Issued by the ministry of defense, white on black.

type 0:

The letters are followed by upto four digits. These are for officers of the Regional Centre.

RC

type 0:

The letters are followed by upto five digits, these are no longer in use.

AFC

type 4:

The third letter indicates the class of vehicle.
AF

class j7:

SHAPE
Issued by the ministry of defense, silver on black. Actually these plates belong to Belgium, and so they are also shown there.

type 0:

The letters are followed by upto four digits.

CHB

class j8:

"BFG" registration for dutch military in western germany
Issued by the ministry of defense, white on black.

type 0:

Two letters followed by two or three digits and the letter N.

The initial letters MB are reserved for such personnel resident in the Netherlands.

class j9:

"DSN" registration for german military in the Netherlands
Issued by the ministry of defense, yellow on black.

type 0:

Two letters followed by two digits and the letter D.

Special plates

The so-called "FINO" plates are diamond shaped with white symbols on red. They are used for trailers. The symbols are divided in a top line of two symbols, a middle line of two groups of two symbols, separated by a hyphen, and a bottom line of two symbols. The top line and middle line form the registration of the trailer (see above), the bottom line gives an indication of the maximum weight of the trailer as follows:

If the maximum weight is (rounded to a multiple of 100 kg) less than 10.000 kg the bottom line consists of two digits indicating the weight in 100 kg units (again rounded). If the maximum weight is between 10.000 kg and 32.000 kg the line consists of a letter (indicating a multiple of 10 from 100 to 310) and a digit for the units. If the maximum weight is above 31.950 kg the bottom line consists of the letters XX.

The single letter indicated above translates as follows:

A 100 B 110 C 120 D 130 E 140 F 150 G 160 H 170

J 180 K 190 L 200 M 210 N 220 P 230 R 240 S 250

T 260 U 270 V 280 W 290 X 300 Z 310

Vehicles for the transportation of animals got in 1985 new plates that had to be carried in addition to the standard plates they did already carry. The first line contains the area in square meters. The second line contains the vehicle registration if it is self-propelled, the trailer registration if it is a trailer above 750 kg and the chassisnumber (as shown here) when a trailer lighter than that. The third line has year and month of registration and a serial number. Finally, the number on the last line indicates the kind of animals.