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Sri Lanka Vehicle Number Plate Checker - Series, Province and the Years It Covers

Type a number plate and see which series it belongs to, what the province letters mean and the dates the Department of Motor Traffic has announced for that series.

Maintained by Hirantha Sandaruwan Lakshan. Rules checked 28 October 2026 against Daily Mirror, 4 January 2018 and 2 more sources.

About this tool

For a car in the CA series (July 2013 to January 2018) it also gives an even-pace estimate of when the number was issued, clearly labelled. A plate never proves a registration year: that is on the vehicle's CR book. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

How it works

Sri Lankan plates went through three main styles. The old numeric plates put ශ්‍රී (Sri) between two numbers, such as 19 ශ්‍රී 1234. Two English letters and four digits (KA-1234) came in July 2000, and three letters (CAB-1234) in August 2012. Cars moved to three letters with CAA 0001 on 13 July 2013.

The CA car series ran from CAA 0001 to CAZ 9999, about 246,000 cars, until CBA 0001 on 3 January 2018, according to the Commissioner General of Motor Traffic. Inside that span the checker places a number in proportion and gives the month it would fall in if registrations had been spread evenly. They were not even, so the estimate can be months out, which is why it is shown only for the CA series and always as an estimate.

No start dates have been published for later series such as CBE, or for the series of other vehicle classes, so for those the checker gives only what is certain: for example, a CB plate was issued in or after January 2018 and any three-letter plate in or after August 2012. It does not guess a vehicle class from the first letter, because the department does not publish the full list.

Province letters (WP, CP, SP and so on) were dropped from the plates of vehicles registered after 1 January 2023, so a recent vehicle has none. Preferred numbers can also be bought out of sequence. The certificate of registration (CR book) shows the real date of first registration; check it before buying a vehicle.

Worked examples

CAK-4521

A car in the CA series, issued between 13 July 2013 and 3 January 2018. At an even pace, CAK-4521 falls around May 2015, an estimate, not the registration date.

WP CBE-1203

WP is the Western Province. CB is the car series that began with CBA 0001 on 3 January 2018, so this plate was issued in or after January 2018; no date for CBE itself has been published.

KA-5678 and 19-1234

KA-5678 is a two-letter plate, from July 2000 until the three-letter series began. 19-1234 is the old numeric series written with ශ්‍රී, issued before July 2000.

Frequently asked questions

Can I find a vehicle's year from its number plate?

Only roughly. The plate shows its series and the series has known start dates, but the exact date of first registration is on the CR book. For the CA car series this checker adds an even-pace estimate, labelled as one.

When did the CAA number plates start?

CAA 0001 was introduced on 13 July 2013, and the CA series ran to CAZ 9999 before CBA 0001 on 3 January 2018, according to the Commissioner General of Motor Traffic.

What do WP, CP and SP on a number plate mean?

They are province codes: WP Western, CP Central, SP Southern, NW North Western, NC North Central, NP Northern, EP Eastern, UP Uva and SG Sabaragamuwa. Vehicles registered after 1 January 2023 are issued plates without them.

What is a ශ්‍රී (Sri) number plate?

The old numeric plates, written as a number, ශ්‍රී and a second number, such as 19 ශ්‍රී 1234. They were issued before the two-letter series began in July 2000.

Why does the checker not tell me the vehicle class?

Apart from C for the car series, which the Department of Motor Traffic's own announcements use, the department does not publish which first letter means which class, so the checker does not guess.

Why can a plate's series not match the vehicle's age?

Preferred numbers can be bought out of sequence, a vehicle can be registered years after it was made, and imported used vehicles get a new number when they are first registered here.

Updated Oct 28, 2026