In Argentina they are called sp. chapas patentes or simply sp. patentes , they are used to uniquely number vehicle numbers on Argentina's roads. The current numbering system is a sequence of three letters and three numbers arranged consecutively, but before the numbering system came to this format, it underwent several changes.
The history of license plates in Argentina can be divided into two phases,
- decentralized release (until 1972 );
- centralized release (since 1972 ).
During the decentralized issue, car license plates were issued by each municipality, or province of Argentina, while during the second phase, the state took upon itself the standardization of design and style.
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1900-1972: Decentralized Edition
Formal license plates were first issued in 1900 , although few records of this have been preserved. The period between 1916 and 1972 brought many different designs and styles. Since each district could issue its own license plate , some information was preserved for the history of each of them, if we look at their appearance in the past.
1972-1994: Provincial Issue with Province Indication
In 1972, the national government standardized license plates, up to a format containing one letter and six digits, the letters extruded on the plate are printed in white on a black background. License plates were issued sequentially, the first letter of the license plate corresponded to the province that issued it (or the city, as in the case of Buenos Aires). Some provinces issued license plates with the same letters, there were scattered inscriptions. (such as X for the province of Córdoba, A for the province of Salta , and N for the province of Misiones ; this standard is still used in ISO 3166-2: AR .
In only two regions, the number of license plates issued exceeded one million license plates, and thus a conflict arose in the formatting of license plates issued in the province of Buenos Aires and the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires . This problem was solved by changing (decreasing) the height of the letter and applying another additional number under it.
1994 to the present day: National Standard
In 1993 , the government issued a decree that all cars sold after January 1, 1994 were required to have licensed car plates of a new design, all used cars produced after this date will receive new license plates, and the remaining cars will receive new signs over time .
This new design contains three letters and three numbers, and there are no letters indicating the name of the province where the numbers are issued.
In order to simplify the transition, all license plates issued for cars sold before the date of switching to a new numbering contain the letter R (and sequentially S , T , U , V , W , partially X series), while cars that receive their first numbers come with numbers in alphabetical order starting from AAA 000 . Letters and numbers are squeezed out on a plate in white, on a black background. The plates also have a white border with the word Argentina (light blue) on top. All materials are reflective to improve their visual perception on the road. Some numbers contain a small letter "D" or "T" between the letters and numbers in the number, it indicates that this license plate is duplicated or repeated three times, provided that the previous one was exactly the same destroyed or lost.