Licence plate (Dutch)

History:
Two years after the first car appeared on the road in the Netherlands, the first number plates (then still called driving permits) were mounted on a number of cars in 1898. This made the Netherlands the first country in the world to introduce a national number plate.

The first set of license plates ran from 1 to 14, skipping the crazy number 11. Documents show that this very first set of numbers had progressed to 8 on August 1899, 168. Seven years later, on January 15, 1906, the last driving license was finally issued (number 2065). From now on, the car and driver had to have both a driver's license and a proof of number. This license plate, say the new license plate, was set up according to a provincial system. Each province has its own letter. This system functioned until after the Second World War.

The first license plate numbers were also linked to a province, because the motorists usually stayed within the province in the beginning. But traffic increasingly went beyond the provincial border and it was decided to arrange the administration nationally, at a central location. That was the origin of the RDW (then still the Rijksdienst voor het Wegverkeer). It was not until 1951 that the license plate system – as we know it today – was introduced with the combination of three times two letters or two numbers.

The Dutch registration numbers are made up in pairs from a combination of 2 letters and 4 numbers or 4 letters and 2 numbers. Before 1951 extensive research was done to determine which combination of letters and numbers would be the best. A lot of visual possibilities have been tested on the criterion of recognizability. The number plate as we know it today, which is divided into three groups of two characters, came out as the clearest and most recognizable. This is very important, because in some cases a vehicle owner must be able to identify quickly and easily.
Until 1951, the issue and registration of vehicle documents was provided by the Provincial Executive of the provinces. The number cards were personal and were issued 'for life' (of the holder). Each province had one or two fixed letters followed by up to five numbers. Below you can see which provinces had which letters:

A = Groningen
GZ = North Holland
B = Friesland
H = South Holland
D = Drenthe
HZ = South Holland
E = Overijssel
K = Zeeland
M = Gelderland
N = North Brabant
L = Utrecht
P = Limburg
G = North Holland
R = Departments

The new series started with placing the two letters in front of the four numbers. The first license plate issued was ND-00-01.
In 1965 the two letters came after the numbers. The first registration number was 00-01-AD. In 1973 the first license plate was issued with the letters between the numbers. That was 00-AD-01. The letter combinations SA and SS were not used in these three series, because they reminded too much of the Second World War. When these three series were finished, we started with the license plates with four letters and two numbers. The first registration (DB-01-BB) was issued in October 1978.

After the completion of this series, it was time for yet another combination. The letters for the numbers. DB-BB-01 was the first issue and was issued in September 1991.

From June 1999 the numbers came before the letters. The first number was 01-DB-BB.
There are no vowels in the current series of four letters and two numbers. This is done to avoid unwanted word formation. Also, the letters C and Q are not used, because these letters look too much like a zero.