How to identify and recognise temporary and trade number plates.

I took up some interest in registration formats for temporary and trade ('TC') registration numbers which I always felt were never much understood or described in detail.

BHPian Senna4Ever recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

 Hello!

After my deep dive into defense vehicle registration format, thread (Explained: How to read the number-plates of Defence vehicles), I took up some interest in registration formats for temporary and trade ('TC') registration numbers which I always felt were never much understood or described in detail.

To set some context, major reason for lack of any definitive format for temporary and trade numbers have been the lack of any specific guidelines or rules from central government. This led to states and union territories taking matters in their own hand and deciding formats/rules as they deemed fit. This has thankfully changed over past few years, leading to a more unified approach for temporary and trade numbers across India.

I compiled as much information as I could get recently for Wikipedia article, but I believe such topics and info have more relevance in our amazing forum 

Temporary registration number

Ministry of Road Transport (MoRTH) issued a notification in March 2021 introducing a new standardised format for temporary registration numbers. BHPian adigup has already made a good explanation in his thread: (Fixing HSRP number plate on a front bumper that doesn't have a dedicated slot). Lets take a recap:

Format for temporary number

• T MMYY AA 0123 ZZ
• T: Registration number starts with character 'T' to represent 'Temporary'
• MMYY: Represents the month and year in which vehicle was purchased e.g. '1223' for vehicle purchased in December 2023
• AA: The usual state code for state/UT in which purchase is made
• 0123: Four digit number issued sequentially
• ZZ: One or two letters, sequence starting from ‘A’, followed by ‘B’ and so on, same as in usual registration, but resets every month in this case.
• Temporary numbers can be valid of upto six months and should be displayed with red text on a yellow background. This is where my gripe comes in with regards to the implementation of these new rules.
• While most states have adopted to this new format, the pre-existing colour requirement is still either ignored, or states/UTs remain oblivious, or dealers/customers don't want to be conspicuous for police. As a result, in most states, the general practice is to display temporary numbers with standard black-on-white lettering. Very few states have adopted this new format quite fast and correctly (e.g. Kerala) where red-on-yellow format is well adopted.

Sharing one example of new format here, image courtesy of EVM Autokraft's (Mini dealer) Instagram page. 'T0424KL' for a vehicle purchased in Kerala in April 2024:

Trade registration number

Most of you would be familiar with the red-plated vehicles either being tested by OEMs or test-drive vehicles at dealership. Businesses that can use this form of registration need to hold a trade certificate (hence the characters TC on registration number) e.g. manufacturer, dealer, importer or testing agency. Some background: Registration authority allots a group of trade registration numbers to the holder of a trade certificate. Trade number is not assigned to a specific vehicle directly by the registration authority (like permanent or temporary number), the holder of trade certificate instead assigns a unique number to a vehicle themselves from their available allotment.

Up until a notification in September 2022, the central government guideline was very generic and only specified following:

Old format for trade number

• AB 12 TC XXXX
• AA: The usual state code for state/UT in which business is located
• 12: Code for RTO which issues the trade registration number, same as in usual registration
• TC: Short for ‘Trade Certificate’
• XXXX: As central rules didnt define anything more than above, this could be any series of alphanumeric characters, as decided by respective state or Union Territory
• Example: MH12TC12345
  
  
• Now as per new guidelines, a more standardised format for trade registration numbers has been introduced:
  
  

New format for trade number

• AB 12 Z 0123 TC 0001
• AA: The usual state code for state/UT in which business is located
• 12: Code for RTO which issues the trade registration number, same as in usual registration
• Z: Represents the category of vehicle for which the trade registration number has been issued. Character used for different categories are:
• A – Motorcycle
• B – Invalid carriage (vehicle designed specifically for differently abled person)
• C – Light motor vehicle
• D – Medium passenger motor vehicle
• E – Medium goods vehicle
• F – Heavy passenger motor vehicle
• G – Heavy goods vehicle
• H – E-rickshaw
• I – E-cart
• J – any other category not covered above
• 0123: Four digit unique number assigned to the holder of trade certificate (e.g. vehicle dealer) by registration authority
• TC: Short for ‘Trade Certificate’
• 0001: Number of upto four digits to be assigned to one specific vehicle at a time by holder of trade certificate, as allowed by registration authority 

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.