Car number plates of Türkiye - numbers mark origin

Saturday, 17 February 2024 00:00
Written by Portal Editor

For the traveler initially unfamiliar are the license plates on motor homes and camper vehicles starting with numbers that meet us on the roads so far and increasingly in Western Europe which are reflecting the numbers of the provinces of Turkey.

In Turkey, too, the development of camper and tourist tourism abroad is steadily increasing, so it is no wonder that you meet Turkish travelers on the way.

Similar to France, the identification letters of the cities and municipalities are not used as prominent first signs, but the numbers of the provinces of Turkey in alphabetical order.

So the numbering begins with 01 for the province of Adana, which is located on the Mediterranean Sea. This number 01 can be found in the first position on all vehicle signs that have been approved in the province of Adana.

According to the episode in the alphabet of the province Izmir follows at position 35, a license plate starting with 35 indicates the admission in Izmir.

Old provinces give alphabetical order

The alphabetical order of today 81 existing provinces was only interrupted by the fact that there were initially some name changes of provinces, as was exemplified by Urfa (63) in 1984 to Sanliurfa. The numbers of the provinces from 01 - 67 correspond almost completely to the alphabetical order. Just with the new provinces added later the alphabetical order was no longer possible.

Similar to some European countries, there is also a small blue box on the left side on registration plates of a more recent date showing the nationality TR. In addition, there are a variety of special signs, some of which are particularly striking in the tourist strongholds eye. Foreigners who have a right of residence or better a residential permission (Ikamet) in Turkey and register a motor vehicle are given a corresponding license number of the province f.e. 07 for Antalya and in the second position is the identifier MA 1 - 999, MB 1 - 999 to MZ 1 - 999. So it is clear from afar that a vehicle is allowed to a foreigner.

Initial registration of the vehicle can be maintained

Unlike in some European countries, the car can also take its mark when changing ownership into another province. Thus, the buyer of a car registered in Ankara 06 (where almost all vehicles are considerably cheaper than at the coast !! Important for anyone interested in the purchase of a car), his registration without re-registration in Antalya 07, the number plate still remains at 06.

If you intend to make such a purchase, you should only clarify with your insurance company whether the premiums for vehicles with registration 07 are just as expensive as if they continue to use 06. As in Europe, urban areas are usually a bit more expensive for tax purposes.

The German TÜV also checks in Turkey

For some years, with at first great reluctance taken up by the population, there is also an offshoot of the German TÜV in Turkey. Significantly, the safety on the streets has increased, but still many vehicle are unsuitable for traveling on the highway. However, the TÜV stamp is usually on the front license plate, which leads to heavy wear of the badge due to the sticking insects. Not a really clever solution.

As in other countries, the owner usually associates a particularly strong sense of attachment with his province number. Turkish footballers often use the number of their province as a jersey back number. A small anecdote on the edge says that the Karsiyaka district of Izmir would have applied for the vehicle number 34 1/2, as they do not want to use the number 35 as Izmir. But the request was not granted!

List of provincial numbers on number plates

Adana 01                    Giresun 28                                     Samsun 55
Adıyaman 02               Gümüşhane 29                               Siirt 56
Afyonkarahisar 03         Hakkari 30                                     Sinop 57
Ağrı 04                         Hatay 31                                       Sivas 58
Amasya 05                  Isparta 32                                     Tekirdağ 59
Ankara 06                    Mersin 33                                      Tokat 60
Antalya 07                   İstanbul 34                                   Trabzon 61
Artvin 08                      İzmir 35                                        Tunceli 62
Aydın 09                      Kars 36                                         Şanlıurfa 63
Balıkesir 10                 Kastamonu 37                                Uşak 64
Bilecik 11                     Kayseri 38                                      Van 65
BingölÂ 12                   Kırklareli 39                                     Yozgat 66
Bitlis 13                        Kırşehir 40                                     Zonguldak 67
Bolu 14                       Kocaeli 41                                       Aksaray 68
Burdur 15                    Konya 42                                       BayburtÂ 69
Bursa 16                     Kütahya 43                                     Karaman 70
Çanakkale 17              Malatya 44                                     Kırıkkale 71
Çankırı 18                   Manisa 45                                      Batman 72
Çorum 19                    Kahramanmaraş 46                        Şırnak 73
Denizli 20                    Mardin 47                                      Bartın 74
Diyarbakır 21                Muğla 48                                      Ardahan 75
Edirne 22                     Muş 49                                          Iğdır 76
Elazığ 23                     Nevşehir 50                                   Yalova 77
Erzincan 24                  Niğde 51                                       Karabük 78
Erzurum 25                  Ordu 52                                        Kilis 79
Eskişehir 26                 Rize 53                                         Osmaniye 80
Gaziantep 27                Sakarya 54                                     Düzce 81