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|
 Current regular legal standard number plate from Portugal | |
| Country |  Portugal |
|---|---|
| Country code | P |
| Current series | |
| Size | 520 mm × 110 mm 20.5 in × 4.3 in |
| Serial format | Not standard |
| Colour (front) | Black on White |
| Colour (rear) | Black on White |
The Portuguese vehicle registration plate system for automobiles and motorcycles is simple and sequential. The system has no link to geographical locations or similar. It is an incremental numbering system consisting of three groups of two characters, separated by dashes. This system started in 1937 with AA–10–00, which ran out on 29 February 1992. This then went on to 00–01–AA and changed to 00–AA–01 in 2005. This last sequence was exhausted early in 2020, and it was announced on 3 March that it had been replaced by the sequence AA–00–AA. (The first registration issued was actually AA–01–AA, the 00 having been reserved.) Moreover, the letters W and Y, never before used, and the letter K, used only for a short-lived series for imported vehicles in 1997 (see below), are being employed in the new system, meaning that this sequence should last more than six-and-a-half times as long as the previous. At current rates that it would not need replacing at least until the end of the 21st century, but the expected lifetime of the series is stated as being forty-five years.
In 2020 with the change to the AA–01–AA, the yellow ribbon containing the date of first registration is being discontinued due to authorities in other countries mistaking the registration date as an expiration date.[1] In addition, the dashes that separate each block of numbers or letters have been removed from the new plate format. Owners of vehicles that need replacement plates will be able to choose whether such plates are produced according to either the old or new format.