In Macau, vehicle registration numbers are issued by the "Direcção dos Serviços para os Assuntos de Tráfego " - the Transport Bureau since 2008. The bureau does not provide the number plates itself, but are made by shops which provide this kind of service to car owners.
Overview
The Macau vehicle number plates follow the common system adopted for all the Portuguese overseas territories in the 1950s, which, in turn, was based in the system introduced in metropolitan Portugal in 1937. Each vehicle must display two number plates: one at the front and one at the rear of the vehicle. Both the front and the rear plates bear the same format - white prints on black background. For commercial vehicles, yellow prints are used instead of white ones. Plates can be either in a standard rectangle or in a square format according to the space available in different types of vehicle for number plates.
Numbering system
Vehicles other than motorcycles and mopeds
Registration numbers are in a format "Mx-dd-dd". The first prefix "M" stands for "Macau" and the "x" is a letter in sequence starting from "A". The "d"s are digits and consist of a number between 1 and 9999 with leading zeroes. Numbers with leading zeroes from 1 to 999 are reserved for government vehicles. For example, M-00-01 is allocated to the vehicle of the Chief Executive of the Macau SAR. The very first numbers ever allocated have no second prefix. "M-dd-dd" was the format. When the numbers had run out, "MA-dd-dd" followed. When "MA-dd-dd" runs out, it will start with "AA-dd-dd", with the M prefix dropped. As of March 2020, the current allocated prefix is "MY".
Motorcycles and mopeds
There are two separate types of registration numbers for motorcycles and mopeds. Motorcycle plates bear the same format as the numbers for cars. As for mopeds, the format is "CM-ddddd" where CM stands for Ciclomotor" - "moped" in Portuguese and "d" are digits in sequence without leading zeros. The plates are in black prints on white background.
Special number plates
"EX" plates are for vehicles which do not have vehicle registration numbers for the time being, such as new cars which are pending for formal examination and registration. It is followed by a number in sequence up to 4-digits without leading zeros. Unlike normal plates, "EX" plates have a format of white characters on red background, and are issued by IACM only.
"ES" plates are issued to car dealers who have to move their vehicles on public roads, such as test run of unregistered cars, or moving between showrooms and storage, etc. It is followed by a number in sequence up to 3-digits without leading zeros. Unlike normal plates, "ES" plates are in red print on white background, and are issued by IACM only.
"ZA" plates are reserved for the People's Liberation Army in Macau. "ZA" plates are not issued with the standard fonts seen on civilian plates. The font used is the same as that of Mainland Chinese plates. However, the plates are still in white print on black background.
"T" plates are for vehicles registered outside the Macau SAR and are driven on public roads under a temporary permit for import. It is normally followed by a 3-digit number in sequence. Unlike normal plates, "T" plates are in black prints on yellow background, and are issued by DSAT.
Auction of registration numbers
The DSAT will occasionally auction registration numbers which have special combinations considered to be good luck by the Chinese community. For example, "8" and "9" are regarded as "wealth" and "long life" since they have similar pronunciations in Cantonese, so numbers with a combination of 8 and 9, such as 8888, 9999, 9988, etc., will normally be reserved for auctions. Numbers with the same four digits are also popular in auctions.
Car number plates
Macau car number plates are based on the Portuguese plates and are one of three types used in China. The first plates were issued in the 1930s with current number issued at 35,000. The plates consists of white letters on a black background.
1960s plate format was: M-01-12
Current plate format was: MX-01-23
The first character uses "M" as Portugal assigned license format according to the name of their overseas territory. The plate format of Mozambique, another ex-colony of Portugal, also starts with "M". Buses use the same plates as cars, but buses have been assigned characters that are in yellow instead of white since 2000.
