Vehicle Registration Plates of Singapore - Types of Numbers

Types of Numbers

Private car licence plate numbers began in the early 1900s when Singapore was one of the four Straits Settlements, with a single prefix 'S', then adding a suffix letter S 'A' to S 'Y', but skipping a few like S 'H' and S 'Z' (reserved for taxis and buses), S 'D' (reserved for municipal vehicles), and S 'G' for goods vehicles large and small. No changes were made when Singapore became independent in 1965. Later, the suffix was added. Previously there was no suffix, for example, SS1234, as in the vehicle registration plates of Malaysia.

When 'S' was exhausted at SY, in January 1972, Private cars started with E, Motorbikes with A and Goods Vehicles under 3 tonnes with Y. E was followed by EA, EB with the letters EC in 1973 up to EZ. From 1984, the "S" series of number plates was launched again, but now with two serial suffix letters, starting from SBA. Currently, as of this writing, the SKG series is in issue for private cars.

Other classes of vehicles have registration numbers beginning with specific letters:

• A_ series: Motorcycles (used until 1980)
• CB series: Company or school buses
• F_ series: Motorcycles
• FB_ series: Motorcycles, m/cycle plate started in end of December 2005
• G _ _ series: Goods vehicles (class 3) etc.
• P series: Private buses (PA, PB, PC, PH, PZ were used to separate Private bus, Pte Hire etc., subsequently they were not issued and all are issued under PA
• Q _ _ series: Company vehicles (QBx, QCx etc., except QX and QY)
• SH_ series: Taxis or Street Hire vehicles (SJE - Singapore-Johore Express)
• W_ series: Engineering Plant vehicles (Class 5) (Currently issuing WD)
• X_ series: Very Heavy vehicles - not constructed to carry any load (prime movers/class 5) (Currently issuing XD)
• Y_ series: Goods vehicles (class 3/4/5)

In addition, the following are controlled for specific types of vehicles, including:

• CSS: City Shuttle Service buses
• LTA: Land Transport Authority, formerly known as ROV, Registry of Vehicles (Enforcement Officers)
• MID: Singapore Armed Forces vehicles (post suffix with up to 5 digits before it), originally stood for Ministry of Interior and Defence ex: 12345MID (General ranks are provided with two-digit MID plate staff cars)
• MP: Vehicles operated by the Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command (formally SAFPU prefix)
• PU: Tax-exempt, restricted for exclusive use (with permission) on the island of Pulau Ubin
• QX: Emergency & Law-enforcement agencies (Singapore Police Force, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, etc.)
• QY: Quasi-Government / Statutory Boards
• RD: Research & Development (like fuel-cell cars, smart car rental cars)
• ROV: Defunct; Registry of Vehicles, now known as LTA . Some are still in use.
• RU: Restricted Use vehicles, a special category where taxes are not paid. A vehicle with such a licence restricted to certain areas, for example a pushback truck within Singapore Changi Airport grounds or shuttle buses on Sentosa Island.
• S/CC: Vehicles of the Consular Corps
• S/CD: Vehicles of the Diplomatic Corps
• S/TE: "Technical Employment" vehicles
• S1 to S10: "State Cars" - VIP vehicles for ferrying official government guests and dignatries.
• SBS: Buses operated by SBS Transit
• SEP: "Singapore Elected President" - The Official Car of The President of the Republic of Singapore (SEP 1)
• SJ: Supreme Court Justices - With the Chief Justice's car displaying plate number "SJ 1", and so on.
• SMB: Buses operated by SMRT Buses, used in tandem with the TIB series. Used for buses registered after the merger of TIBS and SMRT in 2004.
• SP: "Speaker of Parliament" (SP 1)
• SPF: Police commissioner of the Singapore Police Force (SPF1)
• SZ/SZA: Rental vehicle. No new issues. New Hire/Rental cars use same series as normal cars
• TIB: Buses operated by SMRT Buses, originally stood for Trans Island Bus Services (TIBS) Used for buses registered before the merger of TIBS and SMRT in 2004.
• TP: Motorcycles of the Traffic Police Department, Singapore Police Force

Special prefixes were used for specific events, such as:

• WTO: For vehicles used during the World Trade Organization's inaugural Ministerial Conference held in Singapore in December 1996
• IOC: For vehicles used during the International Olympic Committee's 117th Session held in Singapore in July 2005
• NDP: For vehicles used during the National Day Parade, 2005, on August 9, 2005
• AIRSHOW: For vehicles used during Singapore Airshow
• APEC: For vehicles used during the APEC Annual Meetings in November 2009.
• SIWW: For vehicles used during Singapore International Water Week
• WCS: For vehicles used during World Cities Summit
• YOG: For vehicles used during the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

They are never used after the events.

Civil Mobilisation Exercise or Vehicle Recalls have a large A3/A2 sticker stuck at the rear and front of the vehicle denoted that the vehicle is being deployed or mobilised for civil 'emergencies'. These usually happens during weekends.