In what year did the car numbers change?

History of license plates

The state registration number is a kind of document certifying the “identity” of the car. Its history is not much shorter than the history of the car itself. However, vehicle registration existed even before the invention of the car. From the second half of the 19th century, horse-drawn carriage drivers, and later also cyclists, were numbered in cities.

Accounts vary as to where the first car license plate was issued. There are several versions of where and how this happened. In any case, we can say that in Europe the first numbers appeared in the 90s of the 19th century. In the Russian Empire, this event occurred somewhat later. The first license plates on cars were installed at the very beginning of the twentieth century. This happened, by the way, not in the capital, which was then St. Petersburg, but in Riga in 1904.

Initially, only numbers were written on the numbers. In those distant times, the number of cars was very small and only the wealthiest citizens owned them. There was no unified state registration system. Each city had its own rooms, which varied greatly in size and appearance. They were changed annually after passing inspection. This circumstance created additional inconvenience for car owners of that time.

Before the 1917 revolution, no fundamental changes were introduced in accounting rules. Cars remained a luxury item and were found mainly in large cities and in very limited quantities. And even after the revolution, the new authorities did not immediately get around to registering cars. However, time passed, and there were more and more cars in the Soviet Union. And since accounting and control were extremely important under socialism, as the number of cars increased, the need to register them also increased. Standard numbers of a uniform type for the entire country were introduced in the USSR in 1931. On a white field, a letter and two pairs of numbers were depicted in black.

During the 1930s, the numbering system was reformed more than once. Already in 1934, the letter was replaced by a number, the number itself began to reflect the territorial affiliation of the car, and under the numbers they wrote the name of one of the 45 dortrans (regions) into which the Soviet Union was divided. The license plate colors remain unchanged.

In 1936, a new reform was carried out. The number now consisted of a two-letter index designating the region and two pairs of numbers separated by a hyphen. The colors have changed: white numbers and letters on a black background.

After the end of World War II, in 1946, license plates were changed again. The color of the number has radically changed. Now the background is yellow, the letters and numbers are black. Registration plates of this type existed in the Soviet Union until the end of the 50s.

Since 1959, white letters and numbers on a black background have reappeared. True, the number of letters has increased. Now there are three of them. The letters, as before, reflected the territorial affiliation of the car. In the entire history of the USSR, such license plates existed longer than all others - more than two decades, until the early 80s.

In 1981, the last change of license plates in the Soviet Union took place. The new license plates had black letters and numbers written on a white background. Using such numbers it was easy to determine the owner of the car. On cars owned by government agencies, all three letters were located after the four-digit number, while on cars owned by private owners, one letter was in front, and the rest, respectively, behind the numbers.

The license plate standard currently in force in the Russian Federation was introduced in 1994. Their format has completely changed. Now all numbers have a letter first, then three numbers, followed by two more letters. On the right side of the sign appeared the image of the flag of the Russian Federation and the letter designation of the state - RUS. The region began to be designated by two-digit (later three-digit) numbers.

To facilitate travel abroad, they began to use only those letters of the Cyrillic alphabet that have a similar style in the Latin alphabet. There are only 12 such matching letters (A, B, E, K, M, N, O, R, S, T, U, X) instead of the 27 previously used, so the limit of possible numbers was not too large, and it will be completely exhausted in the coming years.

However, in Moscow, a three-digit regional designation has recently been introduced - 177, next in line are the 199 and 197 series. The unit on the left side is substituted because the other digit simply does not fit on a standard-sized license plate. A similar situation exists in other densely populated regions of the country with a significant number of cars. However, numbers with a three-digit region designation, apparently, will not last long. The next “numbered” reform is probably just around the corner, and it is difficult to say what measures will be taken. Various options are possible, for example, you can increase the number of characters on the numbers.

Over the years, in addition to the usual civilian ones, there were, and still exist today, various special license plates. For example, military vehicles always had license plates that were different from those issued to private car owners or installed on vehicles owned by civilian institutions. A similar situation occurred with cars of diplomatic missions of foreign countries.

In addition to its identification function, a car license plate has for some time now begun to serve as an indicator of the social status of the car owner. This fashion became especially widespread in the 90s of the last century. At that time, a large number of people who quickly got rich appeared, and some of them sought in any way to stand out from the general mass of less nimble and successful fellow citizens. The easiest way to show off was to purchase a luxury foreign car and get “cool” license plates.

For example, numbers in which all the numbers are the same are considered prestigious - 111, 555, 777. A pair of zeros in front or behind, according to some car owners, also looks good. For example, 001, 007 or 100. License plates with the same letters, such as AAA, LLC, are also very popular. Most of these “beautiful” license plates do not provide their owner with any privileges on the road and hardly allow one to hope for a more favorable attitude from inspectors.

You have to pay to own the coveted license plate, sometimes quite significant sums. Officially, all motorists receive license plates on a general basis. However, it is on expensive foreign cars that, as a rule, you can see “beautiful” license plates. According to some reports, there are even tariffs for prestigious rooms. The price varies quite widely - from several hundred to several thousand dollars.

Some lawmakers are even calling for the sale of luxury rooms to officially begin. In their opinion, there is nothing wrong with this. If a person wants to stand out, then he must be given such an opportunity. Especially if this person is able to pay well for his imaginary superiority on the road. However, most car enthusiasts are unlikely to be interested in such a service.

History of license plates in Russia: from the very first to the present day

Registration of vehicles by city authorities was accompanied by the issuance of plates with numbers even before the invention of the automobile. It is not surprising that with the advent of cars and, subsequently, the authorities responsible for road safety, the latter were responsible for recording vehicles and issuing registration numbers.

Fiscal authorities were the first to begin assigning individual numbers to vehicles. Cart owners who drove cabs on the city streets were required to pay a certain tax annually to the city treasury. The plaque with the number issued in return was just a certificate of payment - so that the cabbies would not be “pulled” once again by the guardians of the law.

However, the practice of visual “certification” took root, and later, when the need arose to visualize the registration of the first cars, they did not reinvent the wheel - the owner of the car received a plate with a number. And again, it was not at all about the possibility of searching the “database” for a specific car among its peers.

License plates began to play such a role only with the spread of mass conveyor production of cars. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, there were so few cars that in the event of an offense or other incident, identifying the culprit was not difficult. Nevertheless, registration was required in most large cities - just for the sake of order.

It is believed that Munich takes the lead in issuing registration numbers. There, plates with numbers began to be installed on cars in 1899. The baton was picked up in large cities of other countries: Paris (1900), New York (1901), London (1903).

In pre-revolutionary Russia, the decision on the need to register cars was made by city authorities. On June 25, 1900, the City Duma of St. Petersburg adopted a resolution “On the procedure for passenger and freight traffic in the city of St. Petersburg by car.”

Among other regulatory provisions, there was a clause introducing mandatory medical examination of drivers, annual technical inspection of cars and their mandatory registration with the issuance of license plates - “tin cans”. However, due to the small number of cars and the “exotic” nature of the law, the innovation did not take root in St. Petersburg. Riga residents were the first in the Russian Empire to master the practice of mandatory attachment of a registration number to a car in 1904.

Serious progress occurred at the end of the first decade of the 20th century. As a result of the first International Conference on Motoring Problems held in Paris in September 1909, the “International Convention on the Movement of Motor Vehicles” was adopted, regulating everything related to the registration and operation of automobiles.

In February 1910, Nicholas II ratified these rules, and new administrative regulations for motorists came into force in Russia. Among other innovations was the mandatory registration of vehicles, but it was still in charge of local authorities.

Meanwhile, there were more and more cars, and very soon the “authorities” remembered the practice of “certifying” cab drivers. Mandatory annual re-registration of all cars was introduced, as a result of which the owner received a new license plate each time.

To determine whether a motorist owed money to the city treasury, Moscow resorted to a trick: license plates of a new color were issued every year. St. Petersburg numbers of the early 20th century were not distinguished by their intricacy. They were white with black numbers.

At the same time, the number of vehicles in Russian cities was so insignificant that numbers alone were sufficient for accounting. Moreover, in most populated areas they easily managed with three-digit numbers. The exceptions were St. Petersburg and Moscow, where license plates had four digits. In the Mother See, for example, by 1914 there were 2,200 officially registered cars.

During the First World War and the post-revolutionary period, vehicles changed location, owners and purpose so often that there was no talk of any clear accounting. And in the early 20s, the Soviet government returned to the pre-revolutionary practice of registering cars with local governments.

In Moscow, by the end of the 20s, the number of cars increased noticeably, and for the ease of reading license plates and making them easier to remember, a letter was added to the numbers for the first time in Russian history. Moscow license plates of those years looked like this: one letter and two pairs of numbers, separated by dashes. Black characters were applied to a white background. The front and back numbers were the same. It was this standard that some time later became the first all-Union standard. This happened at the very beginning of the 1930s.

On March 20, 1932, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, inspired by successful local experience, adopted a resolution “On the centralization of recording accidents and incidents in local transport in the bodies of the workers’ and peasants’ militia,” which turned it into a private practice. After the Great Patriotic War, license plates on cars became yellow in color from the Moscow ORUD into the national system. From now on, local vehicle registration was carried out not by city officials, but by police units.

The “Moscow” standard of license plates did not last long. Already in 1934 a new standard was introduced. The place of the letter at the beginning of the “cipher” was taken by another number, and under the five-digit code the name of the region was simply written: “Moscow”, “Leningrad”, etc. The colors of the signs remained the same, the rear and front numbers were no different from each other.

From 1932 to 1936, ORUDs were in charge of registering cars and issuing license plates. On July 3, 1936, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted the "Regulations on the State Automobile Inspectorate (SAI) of the Main Directorate of the Workers' and Peasants' Militia of the NKVD of the USSR." From this moment until the present day, administrative and technical work, including the registration of vehicles, has been carried out by the State Traffic Inspectorate and its successor, the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate.

At the same time, in 1936, a new standard for license plates was introduced: white symbols were applied to a black background - two letters, the first of which “encrypted” the region, and two pairs of numbers separated by a dash. At the same time, on the front numbers all the signs were located in one line, and on the rear ones - in two, with letters at the top.

In pre-war rear numbers the letters were in the center, and in post-war ones - in the left corner. At the same time, however, only in the Moscow region, for the first time there was a division of series according to purpose. A few privately owned cars were allocated the MI series; for passenger cars of government officials - “MA” series.

Shortly before the war, Red Army vehicles received special plates. The registration code consisted of one letter and five numbers, grouped as follows: “A-9-99-99”. The USSR Armed Forces adhered to this numbering system until the early 60s, when a new type of army license plates were introduced: four numbers and two letters written in white paint on a black background. Letter combinations still did not make it possible to determine the military and geographical affiliation of the vehicle.

Another reform affected civilian license plates in 1946. The new license plates changed color: black characters were applied to a yellow background. The letters became smaller in size than the numbers and were located in the upper left corner on the front sign and in the top line in the middle on the back.

The country's vehicle fleet grew rapidly in the post-war years, and pretty soon the code of two letters and four numbers exhausted all possible combinations. In 1959, a new standard had to be introduced: white characters on a black background, and there were three letters. Such numbers were issued until 1981-82.

Another change in the standard occurred shortly after the 1980 Moscow Olympiad. For the first time since 1934, the numbers were decorated with black numbers and letters on a white background. The main innovation was the division of license plates into “private” and “official”.

Two of the three letters were still consonant with the name of the region, the third also changed in alphabetical order by series, but it was the location of this letter that made it possible to determine the “belonging” of the vehicle. On private car license plates it was the first, before the numbers, and on state transport license plates it was the last, after the two “regional” letters.

The next (currently valid) license plate standard in Russia was introduced in 1994. On the new numbers, the letter designation of the region was replaced by a digital one - each region was assigned a two-digit (in exceptional cases - three-digit) code. All three letters, as well as numbers, are subject to sequential rotation.

Forgotten dates. 20 years on new numbers.

On January 1, 1994, new license plates were introduced in Russia. Their appearance was completely unusual - the new number consisted entirely of innovations. Now, probably, few people remember this feeling. And I managed to travel in old, Soviet license plates.

Let's remember how it was, what changed for what 20 years ago.

Until 2004, in Russia, and earlier in the USSR, license plates of the 1977 model were in force. They consisted of 4 numbers and three letters. In the basic version, excluding military numbers and numbers for trailers, the number began with a letter, followed by 4 numbers, and then two more letters.

But the license plates of the cars belonging to the organizations were different - there were numbers first, and then all three letters together.

The region was encoded in the letters. As a rule, the letters that were present in the name of a city or region of the USSR were used. Moreover, there was a fair amount of confusion - for cities that began with one letter, different combinations with the second letter were used. For example, for Moscow there were series MN, MM, MK, and others. For the Moscow region - MO, ME, MF, MH. But there have never been MI or MB numbers either in Moscow or in the region, because... these combinations were used for another city on “M” - the capital of Belarus, Minsk. And “MU” is already the Murmansk region. Moreover, the cities were mixed with regions and even entire republics. “LD” is the city of Leningrad, and “LI” and “LK” are the Lithuanian SSR! Sometimes there weren’t enough series with the letters of the city name, and then completely abstract ones were added. For example, in the same Leningrad there were numbers of the “SR” series.

There was another interesting thing - in Moscow, the number of the taxi company was encoded in the license plate of a taxi car. Knowing this, as well as the location of the parks, it was possible to use this in an agreement with the taxi driver; they were more willing to drive often closer to their park. I still remember many of the park numbers and their locations. Among other things, there were also special series by which it was possible to determine whether a state car belonged to a particular department.

You probably noticed that all the letters of the Russian alphabet were used in the rooms, including those that have no analogues in the Latin alphabet, such as “ZH”, “B”, etc. It is clear that recording such numbers abroad (for example, by foreign border guards, police) would present difficulties. That's why they were in the USSR. special “exit numbers” that were issued for leaving the country. Since the number of cars leaving was tiny (in fact, like the number of citizens), this scheme worked. Now it is unthinkable to imagine this hemorrhoid.

Examples of numbers of away series of the Latvian SSR.

Soviet license plates were stamped from steel, and therefore often rusted. Smears of rust on a white background impaired the readability of the license plate, and homemade tinting as a rule did not help for long.

It must be said that by the early nineties there were a lot of cars with older license plates, the so-called “black” ones, model 1958.

And so, in 1993, it was decided to end this mess and introduce completely new signs in the new Russia, with a different principle of formation. The country was divided into regions with code numbers. For the first time, a separate field on the license plate was allocated for the region, separate from the main code. For the first time, the national flag of Russia was present on the sign. Thus, the license plate became colored, which was difficult to even imagine before.

Three letters were left, as before, one was in front. For the first time, a restriction on the use of letters was introduced - only those that have analogues in the Latin alphabet were allowed. An exception was made for “U” - when written in Latin, it can still be replaced with “Y” with an interference. The numbers became three. For the first time, the division between “private” and “state” signs was abolished. Military, diplomatic signs, and signs of cars belonging to foreign organizations and citizens under temporary import conditions (yellow) had a special appearance. As well as trailers, motorcycle signs, agricultural equipment signs. And finally, the last innovation - the numbers began to be stamped from aluminum alloy, and the paint had a reflective coating.

When we saw new numbers on the streets, it was very unusual. It must be said that back then there were much fewer cars than now and series came out more slowly. For several months, only “AA” and “AB” drove around the city. By the way, for the first six months or a year (and in the regions even longer), the numbers were made without the colored Russian flag. Apparently, color printing was not yet fully debugged. Now among collectors such numbers are probably very rare.

I received new issues in May 1994, and I already had the “BB” series. By the way, with the introduction of new numbers, the hunt for beautiful numbers did not immediately begin. It took some time to develop a new fashion - what numbers are now beautiful. Therefore, at first the following combinations were possible:

When everyone got used to the new rooms, it became clear that they were better and more convenient. Separating the region code into a separate block was indeed a great solution. True, in those difficult years it was difficult to imagine what kind of automobile boom awaited the country, and sooner or later additional region codes would have to be introduced, and later three-digit codes. But that was all later.

And then everyone noticed how rotten numbers became a thing of the past, thanks to the transition to aluminum. However, over time, another problem emerged - the thin aluminum base of the license plate was much more difficult to straighten in case of damage than the old steel one - it was very difficult to return the crumpled license plate to a decent form. Replacing a damaged license plate with a new one has been a very complicated procedure for many years, and only became significantly easier last year.

Well, what about the old numbers? They were quietly exploited for a very long time. There was no requirement for immediate replacement of license plates; it occurred naturally when the vehicle was re-registered. However, many sold cars by proxy, or simply did not change the car, especially for older people - those were the times. For some, the car was completely laid up until better times. Therefore, for a long time the eye clung to the old number on the street, which remained a symbol of a bygone era. Although, of course, Soviet numbers, and especially black ones, have become less and less common.

But only in 1999 a decree was issued according to which, from a certain date (I don’t remember which) license plates were declared invalid. model 1957, that is, black, issued before 1977. Owners of cars with such signs were ordered to undergo re-registration. Since then, black license plates have been illegal. Later, “white” Soviet numbers are still valid.

And since 1994, they began to issue driver’s licenses of a new type - the so-called “plastic” ones. Unusually small and cute in a foreign way. However, this is a completely different story.

Black, white, “exit” and even with Latin letters: Soviet license plates from the 50s to the 80s

What were the “government” license plates in the USSR, and how did they differ from ordinary ones? Was it true that there were special series for cars traveling abroad? Which republic had unique license plates using Latin letters? We continue our research into Soviet license plates. In the first part we touched on the early era from the 30s to the 50s, and now we will go through the more familiar period from the late 50s to the 80s.

On the front single-line sign of the numbers introduced in 1959, there were first four large numbers (two and two separated by a dash), then three smaller letters. On the back two-line sign there are numbers at the top, letters at the bottom closer to the center. The cross-section of all marks and grooves is triangular.

The font of the previously used “yellow” numbers, which we talked about in the first part, was more “square”, while the “black” ones were rounded. Now the region was designated by a combination of the first two letters. Most often it indicated the name of the city, region, republic.

The division of series of letters by type of transport began to spread across the country. In Moscow and the Moscow region, the previous division into “private”, “passenger state” and “cargo” series was in effect. In Leningrad, only series of private cars were allocated; state registration of cars and trucks was usually given the same series. The exception is “LEB”, intended only for passenger public transport. In many cities and regions, the same series were given for any car.

Finally, in many union republics, some series designated the capital, others - specific regions. The growth of the private car fleet is reflected in the number series. For example, in the Moscow region, most of the series of the 60s from “YUA” to “YUAYA” were distributed to trucks and buses, and among the series of the second half of the 70s: “YUVA” - “YUVYA” and “YUGA” - “YUGZ” “private” ones prevailed "

Most of the legends revolve around the “special series”. In Moscow, initially there were special series: for route buses - “MMA” and taxis - “MMT”. The “MML” series was first found on government cars, then it was transferred to taxis. At the end of the 70s, another “taxi” series “MMM” and a “bus” series “MMN” appeared. The supposedly “government” series “MOS” was officially considered just a passenger car for the state. In GON and other departmental motor depots there were cars with the usual passenger car series of state registration: “MOK”, “MKO”, “MKZh”, “MMZh”, “MNN”. The same series were worn by medical, training and police cars. There were no special series for the police and the KGB in black numbers in Moscow - they received the usual “state” series.

In each region, special “traveling” series were issued for the international movement with common letters of the Latin and Russian alphabet: “AVT” in Moscow, “AVO” in the Moscow region, “AVE” in Leningrad, “AEV” in Gorky, “VSV” in Vologda , "VRN" in Latvia and so on. Sometimes part of the digital “dozens” of civil series was used as “on-site” ones - for example, “MOO” and “MOR” in Moscow. A unique phenomenon is the “away” series of Estonia “SSA”, an ordinary black number with letters of the Latin alphabet.

Black numbers for motorcycles, like yellow ones, were one sign, a smaller copy of the rear car number. There was no division into “state” and “private” series for motorcycles even in Moscow; the letter combinations were the same as any automobile series. Trailers were issued with a two-line sign with numbers on top, two letters in the lower left corner, followed by the words “trailer” in small print.

For cars of design bureaus of automobile factories and institutes, as well as cars from the assembly line that were tested on public roads, special numbers were assigned with four regular numbers and the inscription “sample”, the format was close to the usual ones - one-line in front, two-line in the back. Separate types of numbers existed for tractors, tractor trailers and mopeds.

For a long time, cars with new “black” and old “yellow” license plates were seen on the roads at the same time. In the mid-60s, more than 50% of cars in the country were driven with old standard license plates. In Moscow, the traffic police organized a massive re-registration of state and freight transport in 1967 for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution, and private cars in 1970, for the 100th anniversary of V.I. Lenin. In other cities and regions, “yellow” numbers were replaced by “black” ones with a natural renewal of the fleet until the 70s. “Yellow” license plates can still be found on the retro technology market, sometimes together with ancient carrier cars. “Black” license plates are not uncommon; they are still found even on veteran cars.

In the 70s, the All-Union Research Institute for Traffic Safety, together with the State Traffic Inspectorate, developed a new standard that complied with international standards. This is how fundamentally new “white” numbers GOST 3207-77 were created. Different types of transport now have different numbers. In private cars, the third letter was moved forward, in front of the numbers, and made smaller. For state transport, three letters, as before, followed four numbers. But passenger cars were issued a pair of single-line plates, while trucks and buses were given a rear two-line plate. Now the traffic police inspector and any citizen could determine the form of ownership of the car at first glance. The size of the sign and the font increased, the dash was eliminated. The white background and black signs suggested the introduction of reflective film, but this innovation was not implemented.