Vehicle registration in Ecuador is composed of two parts.
The plates are 154 mm high and 404 mm wide and are reflective in order to improve their visibility. The unique letter-number combination consists of three letters followed by three or four digits ranging from 000 to 9999. Formats in use are ABC-123 (old format) and ABC-1234 (new format). The word "Ecuador" appears in uppercase letters at the top of the plate. The plates are using FE-Schrift typeface since 2022.
The first letter in the letter-number combination indicates the province of issue. The second letter, also called the "key letter", identifies the type of license plate (described below). Some plates have a small 'D' at the top right of the plate, meaning Duplicata or duplicate. The 'D' is used when the original plate is, for instance, lost or damaged.http://licenseplatemania.com/landenpaginas/ecuador.htm
| Province | Letter | Province | Letter | Province | Letter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azuay | A | Galápagos | W | Pastaza | S | |
| Bolívar | B | Guayas | G | Pichincha | P | |
| Cañar | U | Imbabura | I | Orellana | Q | |
| Carchi | C | Loja | L | Sucumbíos | K | |
| Cotopaxi | X | Los Ríos | R | Tungurahua | T | |
| Chimborazo | H | Manabí | M | Zamora-Chinchipe | Z | |
| El Oro | O | Morona Santiago | V | Santa Elena | Y | |
| Esmeraldas | E | Napo | N | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | J |
Depending on the type of vehicle, license plates have different colors. Since June 2012, with the modification of the vehicle code, the form of the license plates was modified. Private vehicles continue with black characters on a white background. For non-private vehicles, the new license plates keep the same differentiating color as previously used, but the color is no longer applied to the entire license plate. These newer plates only have a colored upper border, and the rest of the license plate is white. This change was made in a way that improves the visibility of license plates, in particular to cameras and radars. All older style plates were expected to be replaced by 2019; however, the older style plates will remain valid until replaced.[1]
The background color of license plates varies according to the second letter and identifies the type of vehicle as shown in the following table.
| Image | Type | Second letter | Color | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private vehicle | Any except those shown below. | White-silver | EBA-0234 | ||
| Police vehicles but is being phased out. Changing to government vehicle. | W | White-silver | AWB-0123 | ||
| Commercial vehicles (such as taxis or buses) | A, U, Z | Orange | AAB-0123 | ||
| Government vehicles | E | Gold | PEB-0001 | ||
| Official use vehicles | X | Gold | GXA-0100 | ||
| Vehicles of the decentralized autonomous governments (regions, provinces, cantons, parishes) | M, S | Lime green | LMA-0010 |
Only in the Guyas province there is a light blue crest with the legend COMISION DE TRANSITO DE LA PROVINCIA DEL GUAYAS at the top left of the plate.[2]
The plates have a XX-0123 format with ECUADOR in black capital letters on top of the plates. The first two letters denote different types of plates based on the user of the vehicle.
Plates for vehicles belonging to International Organizations have white lettering on red background.
The vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ecuador use plates that begin with the letter "F," and they have white writing on black background. These plates normally have the additional letter(s) "T" for Army vehicles, "N" for Naval vehicles, and "AE" for Air Force vehicles. Black on light blue colors are used for vehicles of military institutions. The registration consists of three letters followed by a hyphen and three numerals. DAC-### stands for Direccion General de Aviacion Civil.
Bikes have black on yellow with X·#### or X·##### format.
Temporary plates have white on black format with ECUADOR written in white capitals.
The older style single color Ecuadorian license plates are in the process of being replaced, but it is possible that some may still be seen on vehicles.
| Image | Type | Second letter | Color | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private vehicle | Any except those shown below. | White-silver | EBA-0234 | ||
| Police vehicles | W | White-silver | AWB-0123 | ||
| Commercial vehicles (such as taxis or buses) | A, U, Z | Orange | AAB-0123 | ||
| Government vehicles | E | Gold | PEB-0001 | ||
| Official use vehicles | X | Gold | GXA-0100 | ||
| Vehicles of the decentralized autonomous governments (regions, provinces, cantons, parishes) | M, S | Lime green | LMA-0010 |
The following plates that are in a different format are also being replaced.
| Image | Type | Letters | Color | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diplomatic service vehicles | CC (Consular Corps) CD (Diplomatic Corps) OI (International Organization) AT (Administrative and Technical Personnel) | Blue | CC-0012 | ||
| International Organization | IT | Red | IT-0654 |