Brazilian vehicle license plate for a private-use vehicle registered in Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Mercosur-style plates were introduced in September 2018.

Colour schemes denoting functions used in Brazilian license plates, current style

Colour schemes denoting functions used in Brazilian license plates in the style that lasted from 1990 to 2018

Brazilian vehicle registration plates are issued by the states. Each state has a Departamento de Trânsito (DETRAN) that is in charge of vehicle registration and car tax collection, but plates are standardized across the country and form a national vehicle registration database.

Description

The current system, being phased out in favor of Mercosul standard plates, was created in 1990 and was named Registro Nacional de Veículos Automotores (RENAVAM). It uses the form "LLL·NNNN", where LLL is a three-letter combination followed by a four-digit number with a dot between the letters and numbers. A combination given to one vehicle stays with it "for life" - it cannot be changed or transferred to another vehicle. Vanity plates are allowed as long as they abide by the same standard as non-vanity plates.

Above the combination is a metallic band with the standardized state abbreviation and the name of the municipality in which the vehicle is currently registered. This band has to be changed when a vehicle needs to be registered in a different municipality. Rear number plates are bound to the vehicle by a plastic seal. Broken seals invalidate the number plate, which has to be re-sealed by the authorities. Seals need to be broken in order to change State/Municipality tags.

The size of the Brazilian license plates has been standardized to 400 × 130 mm (15" × 5" approx.) in 2008. That standardization also requires a unique typeface known as "Mandatory", which is similar to the typeface used on British plates introduced there in 2001. Plates in North American standard or European standard size can no longer be used as of 1 January 2008.

Colors

Old system (1990-2018)

• Black on grey: privately owned vehicles;
• White on red: any kind of paid transportation (buses, taxis etc.);
• Red on white: driving school (autoescola in Portuguese);
• Black on white: official use (government-owned cars: police departments, fire departments, federal, state or city public services);
• Gray on black: collector's items (vehicles older than 30 years in excellent state of conservation and in original state - with more than 80% of its original components);
• White on green: manufacturer plates for vehicles under testing, dealer-testing, or in some cases test-drive (in most cases test-drive cars are registered to the dealership and thus use black on grey plates; privately owned cars being tested after repairs usually carry dealer-fitted green plates over their black on grey plates);
• White on blue: diplomatic use (in this case in the format CD 1234 or CC 1234) or newer licenses like EMB 1234).

The first Brazilian license plate was issued in 1901. The early model of the plates was used until 1913

Brazilian license plate used between 1915 and 1941, always beginning with the letter P (private) or A (cabs, trucks and buses)

License plate model used in Brazil between 1941 and 1970. The "Distrito Federal" tag was used in Rio de Janeiro city until 1960, when Brasília became the country's capital and federal district

Cab - truck - bus license plate used in Brazil between 1941 and 1970. The name "Guanabara" began to be used in Rio de Janeiro city in 1960, referring to the city-state where it belonged until 1975, when it was merged with state of Rio de Janeiro and became its capital

Private license plate model used in Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil, between 1941 and 1970. The name "Guanabara" began to be used in Rio de Janeiro city in 1960

Brazilian yellow alphanumeric plate used in private cars between 1971 and 1990

Brazilian license plate used from 1990 until the exchange for Mercosur plates

Letters

Rear plate from Pernambuco

Front license plate of a truck from Pernambuco

The letters on the license plate can describe the state where a vehicle was originally registered. Vehicles relocated from one state to another will show the new state/municipality on the replaceable tag, but it is always possible to determine the place of original registration for a used vehicle by observing the license plate range for each Brazilian State:

State	1st sequence	2nd sequence	3rd sequence	4th sequence	5th sequence	6th sequence	7th sequence	8th sequence	9th sequence	10th sequence	11th sequence	12th sequence	13th sequence
Paraná (PR)	AAA to BEZ	RHA to RHZ	SDP to SFO
São Paulo (SP)	BFA to GKI	QSN to QSZ
Minas Gerais (MG)	GKJ to HOK	NXX to NYG	OLO to OMH	OOV to ORC	OWH to OXK	PUA to PZZ	QMQ to QQZ	QUA to QUZ	QWR to QXZ	RFA to RGD	RMD to RNZ	RTA to RVZ	SHB to SIZ
Maranhão (MA)	HOL to HQE	NHA to NHT	NMP to NNI	NWS to NXQ	OIR to OJQ	OXQ to OXZ	PSA to PTZ	ROA to ROZ
Mato Grosso do Sul (MS)	HQF to HTW	NRF to NSD	OOG to OOU	QAA to QAZ	REW to REZ
Ceará (CE)	HTX to HZA	NQL to NRE	NUM to NVF	OCB to OCU	OHX to OIQ	ORN to OSV	OZA	PMA to POZ	RIA to RIN	SAN to SBV
Sergipe (SE)	HZB to IAP	NVG to NVN	OEJ to OES	OZB	QKN to QKZ	QMA to QMP	RQW to RRH
Rio Grande do Sul (RS)	IAQ to JDO
Distrito Federal (DF)	JDP to JKR	OVM to OVV	OZW to PBZ	REC to REV	SGN to SGZ
Bahia (BA)	JKS to JSZ	NTD to NTW	NYH to NZZ	OKI to OLG	OUF to OVD	OZC to OZV	PJA to PLZ	QTU to QTZ	RCO to RDR	RPA to RQL
Pará (PA)	JTA to JWE	NSE to NTC	OBT to OCA	OFI to OFW	OSW to OTZ	QDA to QEZ	QVA to QVZ	RWK to RXD
Amazonas (AM)	JWF to JXY	NOI to NPB	OAA to OAO	OXM	PHA to PHZ	QZA to QZZ
Mato Grosso (MT)	JXZ to KAU	NIY to NJW	NPC to NPQ	NTX to NUG	OAP to OBS	QBA to QCZ	RAK to RAZ	RRI to RRZ
Goiás (GO)	KAV to KFC	NFC to NGZ	NJX to NLU	NVO to NWR	OGH to OHA	OMI to OOF	PQA to PRZ	QTN to QTS	RBK to RCN	SBW to SDO
Pernambuco (PE)	KFD to KME	NXU to NXW	OYL to OYZ	PCA to PGZ	QYA to QYZ	RZE to RZZ
Rio de Janeiro (RJ)	KMF to LVE	RIO to RKV
Piauí (PI)	LVF to LWQ	NHU to NIX	ODU to OEI	OUA to OUE	OVW to OVY	PIA to PIZ	QRN to QRZ	RSG to RST
Santa Catarina (SC)	LWR to MMM	OKD to OKH	QHA to QJZ	QTK to QTM	RAA to RAJ	RDS to REB	RKW to RLP	RXK to RYZ
Paraíba (PB)	MMN to MOW	NPR to NQK	OET to OFH	OFX to OGG	OXO	QFA to QFZ	QSA to QSM	RLQ to RMC
Espírito Santo (ES)	MOX to MTZ	OCV to ODT	OVE to OVF	OVH to OVL	OYD to OYK	PPA to PPZ	QRB to QRM	RBA to RBJ	RQM to RQV	SFP to SGM
Alagoas (AL)	MUA to MVK	NLV to NMO	OHB to OHK	ORD to ORM	OXN	QLA to QLM	QTT	QWG to QWL	RGO to RGU	SAA to SAJ
Tocantins (TO)	MVL to MXG	OLH to OLN	OYA to OYC	QKA to QKM	QWA to QWF	RSA to RSF
Rio Grande do Norte (RN)	MXH to MZM	NNJ to NOH	OJR to OKC	OVZ to OWG	QGA to QGZ	RGE to RGN
Acre (AC)	MZM to NAG	NXR to NXT	OVG	OXP	QLU to QLZ	QWM to QWQ	SHA
Roraima (RR)	NAH to NBA	NUH to NUL	RZA to RZD
Rondônia (RO)	NBB to NEH	OHL to OHW	OXL	QRA	QTA to QTJ	RSU to RSZ
Amapá (AP)	NEI to NFB	QLN to QLT	SAK to SAM

Below is an alphabetically organized list of Letter Sequences and corresponding States. This list is up to date as of September 2022.

Alphabetically organized list of Letter Sequences and corresponding States
Letter Sequence	State
AAA to BEZ	Paraná (PR)
BFA to GKI	São Paulo (SP)
GKJ to HOK	Minas Gerais (MG)
HOL to HQE	Maranhão (MA)
HQF to HTW	Mato Grosso do Sul (MS)
HTX to HZA	Ceará (CE)
HZB to IAP	Sergipe (SE)
IAQ to JDO	Rio Grande do Sul (RS)
JDP to JKR	Distrito Federal (DF)
JKS to JSZ	Bahia (BA)
JTA to JWE	Pará (PA)
JWF to JXY	Amazonas (AM)
JXZ to KAU	Mato Grosso (MT)
KAV to KFC	Goiás (GO)
KFD to KME	Pernambuco (PE)
KMF to LVE	Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
LVF to LWQ	Piauí (PI)
LWR to MMM	Santa Catarina (SC)
MMN to MOW	Paraíba (PB)
MOX to MTZ	Espírito Santo (ES)
MUA to MVK	Alagoas (AL)
MVL to MXG	Tocantins (TO)
MXH to MZM	Rio Grande do Norte (RN)
MZM to NAG	Acre (AC)
NAH to NBA	Roraima (RR)
NBB to NEH	Rondônia (RO)
NEI to NFB	Amapá (AP)
NFC to NGZ	Goiás (GO)
NHA to NHT	Maranhão (MA)
NHU to NIX	Piauí (PI)
NIY to NJW	Mato Grosso (MT)
NJX to NLU	Goiás (GO)
NLV to NMO	Alagoas (AL)
NMP to NNI	Maranhão (MA)
NNJ to NOH	Rio Grande do Norte (RN)
NOI to NPB	Amazonas (AM)
NPC to NPQ	Mato Grosso (MT)
NPR to NQK	Paraíba (PB)
NQL to NRE	Ceará (CE)
NRF to NSD	Mato Grosso do Sul (MS)
NSE to NTC	Pará (PA)
NTD to NTW	Bahia (BA)
NTX to NUG	Mato Grosso (MT)
NUH to NUL	Roraima (RR)
NUM to NVF	Ceará (CE)
NVG to NVN	Sergipe (SE)
NVO to NWR	Goiás (GO)
NWS to NXQ	Maranhão (MA)
NXR to NXT	Acre (AC)
NXU to NXW	Pernambuco (PE)
NXX to NYG	Minas Gerais (MG)
NYH to NZZ	Bahia (BA)
OAA to OAO	Amazonas (AM)
OAP to OBS	Mato Grosso (MT)
OBT to OCA	Pará (PA)
OCB to OCU	Ceará (CE)
OCV to ODT	Espírito Santo (ES)
ODU to OEI	Piauí (PI)
OEJ to OES	Sergipe (SE)
OET to OFH	Paraíba (PB)
OFI to OFW	Pará (PA)
OFX to OGG	Paraíba (PB)
OGH to OHA	Goiás (GO)
OHB to OHK	Alagoas (AL)
OHL to OHW	Rondônia (RO)
OHX to OIQ	Ceará (CE)
OIR to OJQ	Maranhão (MA)
OJR to OKC	Rio Grande do Norte (RN)
OKD to OKH	Santa Catarina (SC)
OKI to OLG	Bahia (BA)
OLH to OLN	Tocantins (TO)
OLO to OMH	Minas Gerais (MG)
OMI to OOF	Goiás (GO)
OOG to OOU	Mato Grosso do Sul (MS)
OOV to ORC	Minas Gerais (MG)
ORD to ORM	Alagoas (AL)
ORN to OSV	Ceará (CE)
OSW to OTZ	Pará (PA)
OUA to OUE	Piauí (PI)
OUF to OVD	Bahia (BA)
OVE to OVF	Espírito Santo (ES)
OVG	Acre (AC)
OVH to OVL	Espírito Santo (ES)
OVM to OVV	Distrito Federal (DF)
OVW to OVY	Piauí (PI)
OVZ to OWG	Rio Grande do Norte (RN)
OWH to OXK	Minas Gerais (MG)
OXL	Rondônia (RO)
OXM	Amazonas (AM)
OXN	Alagoas (AL)
OXO	Paraíba (PB)
OXP	Acre (AC)
OXQ to OXZ	Maranhão (MA)
OYA to OYC	Tocantins (TO)
OYD to OYK	Espírito Santo (ES)
OYL to OYZ	Pernambuco (PE)
OZA	Ceará (CE)
OZB	Sergipe (SE)
OZC to OZV	Bahia (BA)
OZW to PBZ	Distrito Federal (DF)
PCA to PGZ	Pernambuco (PE)
PHA to PHZ	Amazonas (AM)
PIA to PIZ	Piauí (PI)
PJA to PLZ	Bahia (BA)
PMA to POZ	Ceará (CE)
PPA to PPZ	Espírito Santo (ES)
PQA to PRZ	Goiás (GO)
PSA to PTZ	Maranhão (MA)
PUA to PZZ	Minas Gerais (MG)
QAA to QAZ	Mato Grosso do Sul (MS)
QBA to QCZ	Mato Grosso (MT)
QDA to QEZ	Pará (PA)
QFA to QFZ	Paraíba (PB)
QGA to QGZ	Rio Grande do Norte (RN)
QHA to QJZ	Santa Catarina (SC)
QKA to QKM	Tocantins (TO)
QKN to QKZ	Sergipe (SE)
QLA to QLM	Alagoas (AL)
QLN to QLT	Amapá (AP)
QLU to QLZ	Acre (AC)
QMA to QMP	Sergipe (SE)
QMQ to QQZ	Minas Gerais (MG)
QRA	Rondônia (RO)
QRB to QRM	Espírito Santo (ES)
QRN to QRZ	Piauí (PI)
QSA to QSM	Paraíba (PB)
QSN to QSZ	São Paulo (SP)
QTA to QTJ	Rondônia (RO)
QTK to QTM	Santa Catarina (SC)
QTN to QTS	Goiás (GO)
QTT	Alagoas (AL)
QTU to QTZ	Bahia (BA)
QUA to QUZ	Minas Gerais (MG)
QVA to QVZ	Pará (PA)
QWA to QWF	Tocantins (TO)
QWG to QWL	Alagoas (AL)
QWM to QWQ	Acre (AC)
QWR to QXZ	Minas Gerais (MG)
QYA to QYZ	Pernambuco (PE)
QZA to QZZ	Amazonas (AM)
RAA to RAJ	Santa Catarina (SC)
RAK to RAZ	Mato Grosso (MT)
RBA to RBJ	Espírito Santo (ES)
RBK to RCN	Goiás (GO)
RCO to RDR	Bahia (BA)
RDS to REB	Santa Catarina (SC)
REC to REV	Distrito Federal (DF)
REW to REZ	Mato Grosso do Sul (MS)
RFA to RGD	Minas Gerais (MG)
RGE to RGN	Rio Grande do Norte (RN)
RGO to RGU	Alagoas (AL)
RGV to RGZ	Letter Sequence not allocated yet
RHA to RHZ	Paraná (PR)
RIA to RIN	Ceará (CE)
RIO to RKV	Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
RKW to RLP	Santa Catarina (SC)
RLQ to RMC	Paraíba (PB)
RMD to RNZ	Minas Gerais (MG)
ROA to ROZ	Maranhão (MA)
RPA to RQL	Bahia (BA)
RQM to RQV	Espírito Santo (ES)
RQW to RRH	Sergipe (SE)
RRI to RRZ	Mato Grosso (MT)
RSA to RSF	Tocantins (TO)
RSG to RST	Piauí (PI)
RSU to RSZ	Rondônia (RO)
RTA to RVZ	Minas Gerais (MG)
RWA to RWJ	Mato Grosso do Sul (MS)
RWK to RXD	Pará (PA)
RXE to RXJ	Letter Sequence not allocated yet
RXK to RYZ	Santa Catarina (SC)
RZA to RZD	Roraima (RR)
RZE to RZZ	Pernambuco (PE)
SAA to SAJ	Alagoas (AL)
SAK to SAM	Amapá (AP)
SAN to SBV	Ceará (CE)
SBW to SDO	Goiás (GO)
SDP to SFO	Paraná (PR)
SFP to SGM	Espírito Santo (ES)
SGN to SGZ	Distrito Federal (DF)
SHA	Acre (AC)
SHB to SIZ	Minas Gerais (MG)
SJA to ZZZ	Letter Sequence not allocated yet

2018 Mercosur standard

Pre-production sample of Brazil's Mercosur license plate. Note that the actual implemented alphanumeric format is different from the one shown above: it is LLLNLNN and not LNLNLLN, as seen here)

In October 2014 the design of the new license plate to be used by all Mercosul countries was officially presented. This consists of a plate of 15.75 in × 5.12 in (400.05 mm × 130.05 mm), with a white background, the characters and frame in black and a blue band at the top that shows the name of the country, its flag and the Mercosul logo. The typeface used is FE-Schrift.

In September, 2018, Mercosul standard license plates started to be adopted in Rio de Janeiro. As of January 2020, all states have started issuing the new plates. By the end of 2023, all vehicles are expected to be carrying these new plates.^[1]

The Mercosul license plates have a new alphanumeric format that will allow for more available combinations. While the previous system used a LLL-#### format, the new format is LLL#L##. Vehicles who are to switch their old license plates for the new one will retain their previous license plate number, with the exception of the 2nd digit (5th character). The number in that position of the alphanumberic format is being replaced by a letter, in accordance with the below table.

References