Vehicle registration plates of Mexico are issued with unique visual designs by each state, but with a single national numbering system, such that serials are not duplicated in multiple states.[1] Most states change designs approximately every three years, with each state having its own plate replacement cycle. Every year, owners of Mexican-registered vehicles pay the tenencia or revalidación de placas (car plates renewal tax). A set of Mexican plates includes one pair of plates, a windshield sticker, and in some states a plate sticker. The international code for Mexico is "MEX".
In 2001 the size of the plate number was reduced in order to accommodate the addition of the state number, legend indicating the position of the plate on the vehicle (delantera (front) or trasera (rear)), and additional graphics.
Mexican plates are issued in several different classifications: Private, Private Fronteriza, Public, Public Frontera, Servicio Público Federal, Inspección Fiscal y Aduanera, Armada de México, and Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores. The Fronteriza plates were introduced in 1972 and are available in the Mexico–United States border zone. This zone is formed by the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur, as well as parts of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas. While the state of Nuevo León shares a 15km (09miles) border with the U.S., it does not have any cities within the border zone.
As of 24 June 2016, the combinations issued had to be changed as no combinations may be repeated.[2] From having used ABC-12-34, several jurisdictions began changing to ABC-123-A for private vehicles, A-123-ABC for public vehicles. Mexico City changed privately owned vehicles at the same time; they are now A12-ABC.
| State | Image | Design | Slogan | State abbreviation 1969–1998 | Serial format number since 1998 | Assigned 1992 for Passengers | Assigned 1992 for Trucks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aguascalientes | AGS | 01 | AAA–AFZ | AA–AF | |||
| Baja California | BC | 02 | AGA–CYZ | AG–CD | |||
| Baja California Sur | BCS | 03 | CZA–DEZ | CE–CL | |||
| Campeche | CAMP | 04 | DFA–DKZ | CM–CU | |||
| Chiapas | CHIS | 07 | DLA–DSZ | CV–DC | |||
| Chihuahua | CHIH | 08 | DTA–ETZ | DD–EG | |||
| Coahuila | COAH | 05 | EUA–FPZ | EH–FB | |||
| Colima | COL | 06 | FRA–FWZ | FC–FJ | |||
| Mexico City (Distrito Federal until 2016) | DF | 09 |
see Current series for Mexico City | @-###-@@ | |||
| Durango | DGO | 10 | FXA–GFZ | FK–FX | |||
| Guanajuato | https://papeleriananos.com/alta-de-placas-guanajuato-2021/?preview=true&frame-nonce=d0761277c3 | GTO | 11 | GGA–GYZ | FY–GW | ||
| Guerrero | GRO | 12 | GZA–HFZ | GX–HG | |||
| Hidalgo | HGO | 13 | HGA–HRZ | HH–HT | |||
| Jalisco | JAL | 14 | HSA–LFZ | HU–KK | |||
| Estado de México | MEX | 15 | LGA–PEZ | KL–MS | |||
| Michoacán | MICH | 16 | PFA–PUZ | MT–NT | |||
| Morelos | MOR | 17 | PVA–RDZ | NU–NZ | |||
| Nayarit | NAY | 18 | REA–RJZ | PA–PG | |||
| Nuevo León | N.L. | 19 | RKA–TGZ | PH–RP | |||
| Oaxaca | OAX | 20 | THA–TMZ | RR–RY | |||
| Puebla | PUE | 21 | TNA–UJZ | RZ–SR | |||
| Querétaro | QRO | 22 | UKA–UPZ | SS–SY | |||
| Quintana Roo | Q.ROO QR | 23 | URA–UVZ | SZ–TB | |||
| San Luis Potosí | SLP | 24 | UWA–VEZ | TC–TP | |||
| Sinaloa | SIN | 25 | VFA–VSZ | TR–UL | |||
| Sonora | SON | 26 | VTA–WKZ | UM–VK | |||
| Tabasco | TAB | 27 | WLA–WWZ | VL–VT | |||
| Tamaulipas | TAMPS | 28 | WXA–XSZ | VU–WX | |||
| Tlaxcala | TLAX | 29 | XTA–XXZ | WY–XE | |||
| Veracruz | VER | 30 | XYA–YVZ | XF–YM | |||
| Yucatán | YUC | 31 | YWA–ZCZ | YN–YU | |||
| Zacatecas | ZAC | 32 | ZDA–ZHZ | YV–ZJ | |||
| Type | Private | Public | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antique automobile | AB-12, 1AB-12AB-123 in Mexico City | ||
| Bus | 12-ABC-34, 1-ABC-2312-AB-3 in Mexico City | B-12345-A, 123-456-A000-A-123, 000-12-34, 300-001 to 399-999, and 650-001 to 850-000 in Mexico City (000 = the bus route number) 123--456 in Estado de México–Ciudad de México joint Transporte Metropolitano issues, where the letters denote the municipality | |
| Dealership demo car | 1-AB-23C, 1-AB-234 | ||
| Handicapped driver | 123-AB | ||
| Motorcycle | A123B in Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Estado de México, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala and Zacatecas; A 123 B in GuanajuatoABC12 (following exhaustion of A123B allocation) in Durango, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Quintana Roo and Yucatán; 1234 A in Mexico City | ||
| Passenger | ABC-123-D, ABC-12-34 D12-ABC, 123-ABC in Mexico City | Public Passenger vehicles = TaxisD-123-ABC, 12-34-ABC [A/B]-12345 for free taxis, and M-12345 for site taxis in Mexico City | |
| RV and Trailer | 1AB-234-C, 1-AB-2345A-0A-00, A-00-00 in Mexico City | 12345-AB, A-123-456850-001 to 999-999 in Mexico CityRarely issued | |
| Truck | AB-1234-C, AB-12-345C-123-AB, 12-34-AB in Mexico City | 1-ABC-234, 1-ABC-23D500-001 to 650-000 in Mexico City |
| Type | Private | Public | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antique Automobile | AB-12 | ||
| Bus | ZAB-12-34 | C-123-ZAB, 12-34-ZAB | |
| Handicapped | 123-AB | ||
| Passenger | D12-ABC-3, 123-ABC-4BAB-12-34 in Baja California in approx. 2004 - 2016 (Note that BAB-123-C are not border plates) | C-123-ZAB, 12-34-ZAB | |
| Truck | ZAB-123-C, ZAB-12-34BA-12-345 in Baja California in approx. 2002 - 2016 | C-123-ZAB, 12-34-ZAB |
| Type | Serial format | |
|---|---|---|
| Freight (purple plate) | 12-[A/B/C]B-3C, 123-[A/B/C]B-4 | |
| Passengers (orange plate) | 12-[H/J]B-3C, 123-[H/J]B-4 | |
| Tourism (green plate) | 12-RB-3C, 123-RB-4 | |
| Border freight (tan plate) | 12-E[M-Z]-3C, 123-E[M-Z]-4 | |
| Hauling (yellow/orange plate) | 1234-XB | |
| Rental (blue plate) | 12-[MW-PZ]-3C, 123-MW-4 | |
| Handicapped (burgundy plate) | ||
| Diplomatic (blue plate with Aztec symbol) | ||
| I.F.A. (white with dark blue letters) |
The current 000-AAA plate series for Mexico City (until 2016 the Distrito Federal) was introduced in 1972, allowing registration for 10,950,300 private automobiles. This series was not affected by plate designs, and continued to be used until its ending in early 2015 (999-ZZZ). However, in 2001 all vehicles using combinations around 000-LWU and older received all-new combinations beginning with 000-MAA. Following the established series, vehicles after 999-ZZZ are registered as A01-AAA, in order not to use a combination used in the past, Letters I, O and Q are not used.