Vehicle Number Plates Rules and Guidelines

“As per the traffic rules of Mumbai (India), below are the guidelines and rules for number plates (both front and rear) used on various vehicle types.

Traffic police strongly advise following the laid guidelines for font used, height, width, spacing, and number of lines permitted and used for numbers and letters on the plates of two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and four-wheelers, which do not limit bikes, autos, taxis, private cars, rental cars, commercial vehicles used for transportation, trade vehicles, temporary registered vehicles, diplomats, etc. Check your vehicle number plate, as the recommended fonts are Times Roman and Arabic, and see other rules and details…”

Vehicle Number Plate Guidelines

To standardise the fonts used for numbers and letters on all vehicles, the traffic police of Mumbai suggest having a common Times Roman font. But sadly, most two-wheelers and many private cars to use various fancy fonts, which are sometimes not visible when the vehicle is in motion or at a particular distance and are against traffic rules.

The use of such fancy, stylish fonts for numbers on plates that make it read like a fancy word (example: Displaying 4141 using a fancy font looks like the word DADA in Hindi) is also very commonly seen. One should stop this practise; otherwise, one can fall prey to traffic police under a lawful offence and face fines and penalties.

Check out the picture of the vehicle, which displays such stylish fonts and innovative illegal ways. Below are the recommended sizes of fonts and spacing details between two numbers or characters to be used on the number plates (both front and rear) of your registered vehicle (two wheelers, three wheelers, and four wheelers), which are not limited to cars or commercial vehicles but each and every vehicle on the road.

Below 70 CC : For motor cycles (bikes, etc.) that have a below 70 CC engine power, a mandatory height of 15 mm, a width of 2.5 mm, and 2.5 mm of spacing are musts for letters and numbers used on the front number plate.
Above 70 CC and Handicap 3-Wheeler Vehicles: The front number plate should have a height of 30 mm, a width of 5 mm, and a spacing of 5 mm for both numbers and letters used. The rear number plate must have a height of 35 mm, a width of 7 mm, and a spacing of 5 mm, with an extra 2 mm of width (i.e., 7 mm) for numbers.
Less than 500 CC: 3 Wheelers should have a height of 35 mm, a width of 7 mm, and a spacing of 5 mm for both front and rear plates (letters and numbers).
All Other Vehicles: For any other vehicle (bike, car, or any) that does not fall into any of the above categories, the front and rear number plates should have 65 mm height, 10 mm width, and 10 mm spacing for both letters and numbers.

What Colours are Allowed

To identify the vehicle type of each category, the Mumbai traffic department has laid out guidelines and rules for number plate colouring, which have three major differences: the number of lines used in the vehicle, the background colour, and the colours of letters and numbers.

This identifies and differentiates between private, commercial, trade-certified, temporary-registered, rental cabs, and diplomat vehicles (in Delhi and other locations).

Below are the guidelines and rules for the same. In the case of two lines used on plates, the first line should have the state and registering authority code (example: MH 02), and the second line should have other details (M 2289). See the number series for location name details.

Vehicle Type	Background Colour	Colour For Numbers and Letters	Number of Lines Permitted on Plates
Private Vehicles	White	Black	1 or 2
Transport Commercial	Yellow	Black	2
Temporary Registered	Yellow	Red	2
Trade Certified	Red	White	2
Rental Cabs	Yellow	Black	2
Diplomat vehicles (Delhi Location)	Blue	White	2
Diplomat vehicles (Outside Delhi Location)	Yellow	Black	2