Erbil and Baghdad announce ‘unified’ vehicle license plate 

The federal and regional governments used to issue different car plates until recently. 
A traffic police officer holds a newly issued car license plate in the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil, April 25, 2022. (Photo: Sami Jalal/Facebook)
A traffic police officer holds a newly issued car license plate in the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil, April 25, 2022. (Photo: Sami Jalal/Facebook)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s traffic authorities and their federal government counterparts have begun issuing ‘unified’ registration plates, the Kurdish government announced on Monday. 

The federal and regional governments used to issue different car plates until recently. 

The first car that received the updated plate was in Erbil, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) media announced. 

Unlike the old version, the new plates indicate the issuing province with a specific code. The Kurdish region’s numbers range from 21 to 24, Fadhil Hajee, the spokesperson of the Erbil Traffic Directorate, told Kurdistan 24 on Monday. 

The Kurdish capital is represented by the number 22, while Sulaimani is indicated by 21, he added.

Using the new license plate is required for people who are currently registering their cars, while others can wait until their documents expire and need renewal. 

Those that want to see what their new number plate will look like can enter the vehicle’s existing number on the traffic directorate’s website to see the change. 

In late November 2020, the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani oversaw the signing of a partnership between his government and Muehlbauer Group, a German tech company. The Group was to digitalize the Region's driver license and vehicle registration system.

“Ending reliance on paperwork and providing digital services is not a choice but a necessity,” Barzani said

“End of May, a fully digital driver license & vehicle registration will go online as pilot then rapidly further deployed everywhere,” Hiwa Afandi, the head of KRG Department of Information Technology, tweeted on Monday. 

Afandi also shared footage of a sample driver’s license being produced at the German company.