Every Type of Ghana's New Number Plate, Explained (Private, Commercial, EV, Diplomatic & More)

DVLA's new vehicle registration system isn't a single plate redesign — it's an entire family of plate types, each one colour-coded and formatted differently depending on what kind of vehicle (or vehicle owner) it belongs to. If you've seen the new plates showing up and wondered why some are yellow, some are red, and one even has a QR code printed on it, this guide covers every single type we know about so far.

Every plate in the new system shares a common visual language: the Coat of Arms of Ghana, "Republic of Ghana," the national flag, a faint watermark map of Ghana, a small circle in the top-left corner for the biannual renewal sticker, and the region of registration printed along the bottom (e.g. "Greater Accra"). What changes between plate types is the background colour, the side bands, and the letter/number format itself.

Private Vehicle

Colour: White background, black text
Format example: 958-GRXY

The standard plate for privately owned cars. Three digits, followed by a randomised letter sequence — no embedded registration year.

Commercial Vehicle

Colour: Yellow background, black text
Format example: 9999 GRXY

Ghana has used yellow plates for commercial vehicles (taxis, trotros, buses, haulage) for decades, and that convention carries over into the new system — same letter/number logic as the private plate, just on a yellow background for instant visual identification by the public and enforcement.

Government Vehicle

Colour: Red / yellow / green diagonal band on the left, white field on the right
Format example: GV 9999 04/02

Government-owned vehicles carry a "GV" prefix on a plate split diagonally in Ghana's national colours, followed by a four-digit number and an additional two-part code (visible as "04/02" in DVLA's sample).

Electric Vehicle (EV)

Colour: White plate with a lime-green strip along the bottom, "EV" marked in the strip
Format example: 9999-ADXS

As Ghana's EV population grows, electric vehicles get their own visually distinct plate — same core format as a private plate, but with a bright green identification strip along the bottom carrying the region name and an "EV" tag.

DVLA has also introduced a matching EV identification sticker: a lemon-green circular sticker with a white "EV" inscription, likely intended as an additional at-a-glance marker separate from the plate itself.

Heavy Equipment

Colour: White plate with a blue strip on the left, "EQ" marked in the strip
Format example: EQ 9999-ADXS

For registered heavy equipment (as distinct from standard road vehicles), identifiable by the blue "EQ" side band.

Diplomatic Vehicles — three sub-categories

Diplomatic plates are red with white text, and DVLA has defined three distinct sub-types depending on the nature of the mission:

• DIPLOMATE — for accredited diplomats. Example: 100 CDXS

• CORPS CONSULAIRE — for consular staff. Example: 599 CCXS

• ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE (IO) — for international organisation staff, marked with a blue "IO" side band on the otherwise red plate. Example: IO 8400 CDXS

Trailer

Colour: White plate with a yellow strip on the left marked "T"
Format example: T 598 ADXS

Motorcycles — Private & Commercial

Motorcycle plates use a squarer, two-line layout to fit the smaller mounting space:

• Private motorcycle: navy-blue background, white text. Example: M 598 / NQXS

• Commercial motorcycle (okada): yellow background, black text, same layout. Example: M 598 / NQXS

The "DV" Plate — the one with a QR code and an expiry date

This is arguably the most technically interesting plate in the new system. The DV plate has a red side band, a printed QR code, and — unlike every other plate type — a visible expiry date printed directly on the plate (DVLA's sample shows "31/12/26"), alongside a code reading "DC 001W."

That combination — scannable QR code plus a hard expiry date printed on the plate itself — suggests this plate type is designed for a category of vehicle or use-case that needs to be verified instantly and re-validated on a defined schedule, rather than relying solely on the renewal sticker used by other plate types.

Temporary Registration

Colour: Blue and black striped plate marked "TMP"
Format example: TMP 598 NQXS

For vehicles operating under a temporary registration before full registration is completed.

Ceremonial & Particular Identification Plates

Two more specialised categories round out the system:

• Ceremonial plates — personalised plates for special occasions, e.g. a sample reading "MY BIRTHDAY."

• Particular Identification plates — for notable or traditional office holders, e.g. a sample reading "GA MANTSE" (a Ga traditional chieftaincy title).

Why so many plate types?

At a glance, this looks like a lot of new categories — but each one solves a real identification problem: instant visual distinction between private and commercial vehicles for the public and traffic enforcement, clear diplomatic-immunity signalling for law enforcement, a distinct category for the still-growing EV fleet, and a verifiable, time-boxed credential (the DV plate) for cases where a static plate alone isn't enough.

Every plate in this family also carries the RFID chip we cover in our overview post: Ghana's New Vehicle Number Plates Are Coming — Here's Everything We Know So Far.

Plate samples, colours, and formats in this article are drawn directly from the Technical Committee briefing "What You Should Know About Ghana's New Vehicle Registration Number Plate," November 2025. Final production plates may vary slightly from these samples.