Starting June 10, Poland will introduce a modified design for smaller license plates, responding to a growing number of imported vehicles from North America that require reduced-size plates. The change, driven by a looming shortage of registration combinations in Warsaw, reverses the order of vehicle and regional identifiers.
The current small plates consist of four characters: the EU symbol and PL logo, a letter for the voivodeship (e.g., W for Mazowieckie), and a three-character vehicle identifier. With the influx of cars from the United States and Canada – often equipped only with smaller plate mounts – the existing pool in Mazowieckie is nearing exhaustion.
The initiative came from the Warsaw City Hall, which requested an amendment to increase registration capacity. The Ministry of Infrastructure proposed allowing a second variant of the small plate where the vehicle identifier appears before the voivodeship letter. This effectively doubles the possible combinations.
What changes for owners
– The goal is to prevent a situation where new cars cannot be registered due to a lack of available combinations – said a ministry official in the project justification. The new plates will be gradually introduced from June 10, but owners of existing vehicles do not need to replace their current plates. The change only applies to newly registered cars that require small plates.
Additionally, the amendment updates plates for historic vehicles in two counties: Chełmno and Tarnowskie Góry. At the request of local starosts, new county codes will be added: CE and CM for Chełmno, and TR and TN for Tarnowskie Góry. This aims to better differentiate historic vehicle registrations.
Background and future outlook
The growing popularity of North American cars in Poland is a key driver. Many imported models, from pickups to SUVs, have rear license plate recesses designed for smaller dimensions. The current four-character format was introduced in 2000 and had sufficient capacity until the recent surge in imports.
The Ministry estimates that the new configuration will provide enough combinations for at least a decade, even with increasing vehicle numbers. Similar adjustments may follow in other voivodeships if they face similar capacity issues.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. pureshot / Shutterstock
