bearing the HKSAR emblem in place of a registration plate, the official transport of the
Chief Executive of Hong Kong Vehicles of the
Chief Executive do not have registration plates. Instead, they have the
Emblem of Hong Kong in front and at the rear. During
British administration, the vehicle of the
Governor bore the
St Edward's Crown emblem.
Usual numbers displayed on a vehicle below a standard Hong Kong plate Regular registrations consist of a two-letter prefix followed by a number between 102 and 9998 (refer to the
Special Registration Marks section for a list of withheld numbers) without leading zeroes. The letters "I", "O" and "Q" are not used in prefixes to avoid ambiguity. Some prefixes are reserved and have
special meanings. From May 2025, the vehicle registration marks returned to
Transport Department which were not allocated to any vehicles will be used, starting from the plates WA to WZ in reverse alphabetical order. In other words, VA to VZ will be used after registration marks beginning with WA to WZ have been allocated, and UA to UZ after exhaustion of plates beginning with VA to VZ and so on. Such arrangement is considered to be able to avoid the need of modifying existing computing systems and laws.
Motorcycles Formerly, motorcycles used a different set of registration marks. Like the marks for cars, the very first numbers had no prefixes. Later, marks with a single-letter prefix were issued. For example: "B 281", "C 367", &c. The separate issuance system of registration marks for motorcycles has been discontinued and merged with the main system. Some registered motorcycles still bear the early marks. Hence, a unique registration mark without letter prefix could be found on two different types of vehicles.
Unusual numbers One-letter prefixes • "
A" prefix for ambulances of the
Fire Services Department of the government • "
F" prefix for fire engines and other vehicles of the Fire Services Department of the government • "
T" prefix for use by the motor trade, especially on vehicles that are still unlicensed. These plates are unusual in that they are not specific to any vehicle. They are red-on-white and usually displayed in a plastic holder attached temporarily to the vehicle by rubber straps. The 'T' is followed by up to five numerals.
Special prefixes • "
AM" is reserved for government vehicles. • "
LC" is reserved for Legislative Council vehicles. • "
ZG" (for Zhù Gǎng
駐港 which means "stationed in Hong Kong") is for the People's Liberation Army in Hong Kong. ZG plates are not issued with the standard fonts seen on civilian plates. The font used is the same as that of mainland Chinese plates. However, the plates are still black-on-white in the front and black-on-yellow in the rear. • "
ZM", "
ZN" and "
ZP" is used for vehicles registered in
Macau which are permitted to enter Hong Kong via
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. • formerly "
UC" was reserved for the then
Urban Council. Now available to civilian vehicles. • formerly "
RC" was reserved for the then
Regional Council. Now available to civilian vehicles. • formerly "
HA" was reserved for the
Hospital Authority. Now available to civilian vehicles.
Letter suffix • "
T" suffix for
semi-trailers and have a prefix up to 5 digits.
Letters-only These are specific car
numbers with no numbers, simply letters only • "
CJ" for the
Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal • "
CS" for the
Chief Secretary for Administration • "
FS" for the
Financial Secretary • "
SJ" for the
Secretary for Justice Other unusual numbers • "
VV" non-exclusively for
village vehicles; small vehicles on narrow paths where usual vehicles are prohibited. The numerals may have leading zeroes. They are used on
Lantau Island and Lamma Island to take provisions from the wharf to the villages.
VV stands for "village vehicle". They are also available to public. • The registration marks used by vehicles of
British Army in Hong Kong used the same format as
British military vehicles elsewhere: two numbers, then two letters, and two numbers. For example, "15KL44".
Special registration marks A car number is a special registration mark if • it has no prefix; or • its numerals are any of the following: • (1-digit numbers) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (1 is reserved for the
Commissioner of Police) • (two repeated digits) 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99 • (three repeated digits) 111, 222, 333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, 999 • (four repeated digits) 1111, 2222, 3333, 4444, 5555, 6666, 7777, 8888, 9999 • (multiples of 10) 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 • (multiples of 100) 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 • (multiples of 1000) 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000 • 123, 234, 345, 456, 567, 678, 789 • 1234, 2345, 3456, 4567, 5678, 6789 • (other two digit) 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98 • (two double digits) 1100, 1122, 1133, 1144, 1155, 1166, 1177, 1188, 1199, 2200, 2211, 2233, 2244, 2255, 2266, 2277, 2288, 2299, 3300, 3311, 3322, 3344, 3355, 3366, 3377, 3388, 3399, 4400, 4411, 4422, 4433, 4455, 4466, 4477, 4488, 4499, 5500, 5511, 5522, 5533, 5544, 5566, 5577, 5588, 5599, 6600, 6611, 6622, 6633, 6644, 6655, 6677, 6688, 6699, 7700, 7711, 7722, 7733, 7744, 7755, 7766, 7788, 7799, 8800, 8811, 8822, 8833, 8844, 8855, 8866, 8877, 8899, 9900, 9911, 9922, 9933, 9944, 9955, 9966, 9977, 9988 • (4-digit
palindromes) 1001, 1221, 1331, 1441, 1551, 1661, 1771, 1881, 1991, 2002, 2112, 2332, 2442, 2552, 2662, 2772, 2882, 2992, 3003, 3113, 3223, 3443, 3553, 3663, 3773, 3883, 3993, 4004, 4114, 4224, 4334, 4554, 4664, 4774, 4884, 4994, 5005, 5115, 5225, 5335, 5445, 5665, 5775, 5885, 5995, 6006, 6116, 6226, 6336, 6446, 6556, 6776, 6886, 6996, 7007, 7117, 7227, 7337, 7447, 7557, 7667, 7887, 7997, 8008, 8118, 8228, 8338, 8448, 8558, 8668, 8778, 8998, 9009, 9119, 9229, 9339, 9449, 9559, 9669, 9779, 9889 • (3-digit
palindromes) 101, 121, 131, 141, 151, 161, 171, 181, 191, 202, 212, 232, 242, 252, 262, 272, 282, 292, 303, 313, 323, 343, 353, 363, 373, 383, 393, 404, 414, 424, 434, 454, 464, 474, 484, 494, 505, 515, 525, 535, 545, 565, 575, 585, 595, 606, 616, 626, 636, 646, 656, 676, 686, 696, 707, 717, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 787, 797, 808, 818, 828, 838, 848, 858, 868, 878, 898, 909, 919, 929, 939, 949, 959, 969, 979, 989 • (repeated two digits) 1010, 1212, 1313, 1414, 1515, 1616, 1717, 1818, 1919, 2020, 2121, 2323, 2424, 2525, 2626, 2727, 2828, 2929, 3030, 3131, 3232, 3434, 3535, 3636, 3737, 3838, 3939, 4040, 4141, 4242, 4343, 4545, 4646, 4747, 4848, 4949, 5050, 5151, 5252, 5353, 5454, 5656, 5757, 5858, 5959, 6060, 6161, 6262, 6363, 6464, 6565, 6767, 6868, 6969, 7070, 7171, 7272, 7373, 7474, 7575, 7676, 7878, 7979, 8080, 8181, 8282, 8383, 8484, 8585, 8686, 8787, 8989, 9090, 9191, 9292, 9393, 9494, 9595, 9696, 9797, 9898 Although unlisted above, some traditional
lucky numbers may be reserved, especially numbers that contain 3 or 8, which are pronounced in
Cantonese similarly to words that mean "long life" and "prosperity" respectively. For example, 168 is always a reserved number since its pronunciation in Cantonese means "Rich all-time". Lucky numbers are allocated only after sale by public auction which takes place from time to time. The proceeds of the auction goes to the Government Lotteries Fund to be used for charitable purposes.
Owners of number 1 to 10 The plate "
1" is reserved for the Commissioner of Police, while plate numbers '2' to '10' have all been sold at auction. Some of the owners are Hong Kong
celebrities. The current owners of number plates
1 to
10 are: • 1 : Reserved for the
Commissioner of Police • 2 : Wong Ming Hung, bought for HKD $9.5 million in 1993, previously reserved for the
Financial Secretary • 3 : Cheng Kung See, bought for HKD $1.03 million in 1983 • 4 :
Cecil Chao, bought for HKD $147,000 in 1978 • 5 :
Joseph Lau Luen Hung, bought for HKD $2.5 million in 1993 • 6 : Sir
Run Run Shaw, bought for $330,000 in 1978 • 7 : Originally bought by Heng Ji Kau for HKD $4.8 million; due to his passing, it is now held by his daughter-in-law Leung Yee Lai • 8 : Law Ding Bon, bought for HKD $5 million in 1988 • 9 :
Albert Yeung, bought for HKD $13 million in 1994 • 10 : Yung Wing Dou, bought for HKD $206,000 in 1977 ==Auction of numbers==