Lesotho requires its residents to register their motor vehicles and display vehicle registration plates.
Plates are blue-on-white for private vehicles and red-on-white for government vehicles. They follow the format of one or two letters followed by four numbers. Diplomatic Plates are blue-on-white however have the letters CD on them.
| A 1234 | A 1234 |
| A 1234 | A 1234 |
A mokorotlo, the same colour as the characters on the plate, is stuck onto the plate to show a 5-year validity period.
Dealer plates are also red-on-white but do not follow the A 1234 standard and do not show the mokorotlo.
Before 1979, private plates were white-on-black and had an additional preceding 'L' which stood for Lesotho.
| LA 1234 | LA 1234 |
Kingdom of Lesotho
Period following independence:
- LA – Maseru
- LB – Butha Buthe
- LC – Leribe
- LD – Teyateyaneng
- LE – Mafeteng
- LF – Mohales Hoek
- LG – Quthing
- LH – Qacha's Nek
- LJ – Mokhotlong
Government:
- LX – Government vehicles
Diplomatic corps: Owing to a dispute between the foreign legations, several of them used distinctive codes for a period:
- UKHC – United Kingdom High Commission
- UNDP – United Nations Development Programme
- USA – United States of America
- WHO – World Health Organisation
- ROC – Republic of China (Taiwan)
- D – Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)
The rest of the legations used DC.
Colony of Basutoland
Prior to independence:
- BA – Maseru
- BB – Butha Buthe
- BC – Leribe
- BD – Teyateyaneng
- BE – Mafeteng
- BF – Mohales Hoek
- BG – Quthing
- BH – Qacha's Nek
- BJ – Mokhotlong
Government:
- BX – Government vehicles
References
- World License Plates
- Holcroft's South African Calendar 1975, published by Vergne, Pretoria (for earlier codes).