Vehicle registration plates of Cuba

A Cuban license plates using the old (pre-2002) system

The current vehicle registration plate system of Cuba was introduced in 2002.

Identification

Cuban licence plates contain three letters and three numbers. The colour of plates is also an important identification element. Ordinary (non-special) licence plates have also a number on the lower central part of the plate ranging from 0 to 9, denoting the type of the vehicle.

First letter

The first letter denotes the province where the licence plate was issued.

Province	First letter of licence plate
Pinar del Río	P
La Habana	B
Ciudad de La Habana	H
Matanzas	M
Cienfuegos	F
Villa Clara	V
Sancti Spiritus	S
Ciego de Ávila	A
Camagüey	C
Las Tunas	T
Granma	G
Holguín	O
Santiago de Cuba	U
Guantánamo	N
Isla de la Juventud	I

Second letter and colour

The second letter identify the type of vehicle owner.

Second letter of license plate	Colour of the plate	Meaning
A	white	government ministers, provincial officials, and other important state persons
	light brown	authorised government and official persons of lower rank
D / E / F / G / H	yellow	private vehicles
K	yellow	vehicles and motorcycles owned by foreign natural persons
	light brown	vehicles and motorcycles owned by foreign and mixed companies, foreign journalists, religious institutions
R	yellow	private motorcycles and "cocotaxis"
S / T / U / V / W	blue	state owned vehicles
Y / Z		state owned motorcycles
	Black	Foreign Diplomat

Vehicle type number

The vehicle type number can be found on the lower central part of the plate, it is a one digit number ranging from 0 to 9, it denotes the type of the vehicle. This is not used on special licence plates.

Special licence plates

Cars of the Cuban Army and the Cuban Ministry of Interior use plates with one letter (A, B, C or F) followed by 5 digits. On the cars of the Cuban Army there is a "FAR" (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias) inscription in the central lower part of the licence plate. In the case of the Ministry of Interior, there is a "MININT" (Ministerio del Interior) inscription. Licence plates of the Army are always of light green colour, while plates of the Ministry of Interior are dark green.

Diplomatic cars use 6 digits without preceding letters. There is a "D", "C" or "E" letter in the lower left part of the licence plate (D = diplomatic, C - consular, E - other status). They have a black colour licence plate.

Cars for hire have a licence plate beginning with "T" letter (meaning turista), followed by two letters and four digits. They are of dark red colour.

Provisional licence plates have the normal code of the province followed by 4 digits and a "P" letter, the colour of the plate is light red.

Cars of the US military in the Guantanamo Bay use licence plates with one letter and four numbers, and texts "U. S. N. B." and "Gtmo Bay Cuba".

References and External links

• CUBA 2006 UPDATE, by Jean-Emmanuel Chevry
• License Plates Of The World, Cuba
• Where's That Vehicle Come From?
• Cuba Transportation Numberplates
• Cuba Maniaks
• In Cuba, license plates tag drivers, not the car