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 
Bingöl  12                   Kırklareli 39                                     Yozgat  66 
Bitlis 13                        Kırşehir  40                                     Zonguldak 67
Bolu  14                       Kocaeli 41                                       Aksaray  68 
Burdur  15                    Konya  42                                       Bayburt  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

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