{"id":3220,"date":"2015-09-07T19:57:17","date_gmt":"2015-09-07T19:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=3220"},"modified":"2015-09-07T23:05:19","modified_gmt":"2015-09-07T23:05:19","slug":"yellow-and-dutch-all-you-need-to-know-about-dutch-car-plates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/yellow-and-dutch-all-you-need-to-know-about-dutch-car-plates\/","title":{"rendered":"Yellow and Dutch – All you need to know about Dutch kentekenplaten!"},"content":{"rendered":"

This March, a\u00a0new\u00a0kentekenplaten\u00a0<\/em>(car plates) system was introduced in the Netherlands. The old system was exhausted. Again!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Do you know which sidecode this is? (Image by Walter Watzpatzkowski at Flickr.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

Here on the Dutch-German border, in the German part, we see the yellow kentekenplaten\u00a0<\/em>more and more. Famously here are the many Dutch that cross the border to do their groceries at the local supermarkets in Germany. Allegedly because they are cheaper. In Germany, we know<\/span> that the\u00a0gelben Nummerschilder\u00a0<\/em>(yellow car plates in German) are the Dutch. That is the easiest way to recognize the Dutch!<\/p>\n

The announcement of the new kentekenplaten\u00a0<\/em>had been kept secret, as many people want the latest and greatest plate available, and thus that would mess up the car market. Because people value this so much, a kentekenplaat<\/em>\u00a0of the new series even increases the value of the car!<\/p>\n

The first kentekenplaat\u00a0<\/em>was attached by the Minister of\u00a0Infrastructure and Environment, Melanie Schultz van Haegen, and the plate number\u00a0was\u00a0GB-001-B<\/em><\/strong>. It is a new combination – 2 letters, 3 numbers, 1 letter. But that is not always the case.<\/p>\n

Also, have the kentekenplaten\u00a0<\/em>always been yellow? And why yellow?\u00a0Here a little history.<\/p>\n

1898\u00a0<\/strong>– The first kentekenplaat<\/em>\u00a0in the Netherlands comes into existence. The number: 1. The Netherlands was the third country after Germany and France to introduce such a national system of\u00a0kentekenplaten.<\/em><\/p>\n

1906\u00a0<\/strong>– After number 2065, a new system had to be introduced. Now, a driver needed a\u00a0rijbewijs\u00a0<\/em>(driver’s license) and a\u00a0nummerbewijs\u00a0<\/em>(number license). These\u00a0nummerbewijzen\u00a0<\/em>were different in each province, and therefore you could see at the\u00a0kentekenplaat\u00a0<\/em>from which province somebody was.<\/p>\n

1951\u00a0<\/strong>– Because of the increasing amount of cars on the road, and because they crossed the province borders more often, a national authority was required to handle all the\u00a0kentekenplaten<\/em>. This was also when the current system was introduced. This meant that the province letters\u00a0were gone too, and it was not possible anymore to recognize from which province somebody came. The numbers of this new system are called\u00a0sidecodes.\u00a0<\/em>The first\u00a0sidecode\u00a0<\/em>combination\u00a0was: XX-99-99.<\/p>\n

All this time, no\u00a0kentekenplaat\u00a0<\/em>was yellow. The ones in 1951 were dark blue, actually.<\/p>\n

1965\u00a0<\/strong>– Since so many people could afford a car in the years after the first\u00a0sidecode\u00a0<\/em>was introduced, the combinations exhausted quickly. A lot of non-logical counting up and down the alphabet, people were confused. And before\u00a0sidecode 1\u00a0<\/em>was completely exhausted, a new\u00a0sidecode\u00a0<\/em>was introduced. Here the letters were added at the end: 99-99-XX.<\/p>\n

Still dark blue though.<\/p>\n

1973\u00a0<\/strong>– again, a third\u00a0sidecode\u00a0<\/em>was introduced: 99-XX-99.<\/p>\n

1978\u00a0<\/strong>– when\u00a0sidecode 3\u00a0<\/em>was almost exhausted, new plates again: XX-99-XX. These were yellow for the first time! A black\u00a0sidecode\u00a0<\/em>on reflective yellow.<\/p>\n

1991<\/strong> – exhausted again! New system: XX-XX-99.<\/p>\n

1999<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0<\/strong>After that fifth sidecode\u00a0<\/em>quickly exhausted,\u00a0sidecode 6 <\/em>was introduced: 99-XX-XX.\u00a0They really tried every possible combination…<\/p>\n

2004\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0sidecode\u00a0<\/em>7\u00a0was introduced, as 6 was exhausted too. Its combination? 99-XXX-9. Ha!<\/p>\n

2013\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0sidecode 8\u00a0<\/em>introduced: 9-XXX-99.<\/p>\n

2015\u00a0<\/strong>– the current\u00a0sidecode 9\u00a0<\/em>was introduced. As seen above, that is XX-999-X.<\/p>\n

And most of\u00a0these plates are yellow, except for\u00a0oldtimers (black), caravans and other things you can pull (white), and temporary plates (also white). For taxis, they are light blue.<\/p>\n

But why yellow? Probably because they are highly visible… And yellow, it is the color of Heineken, of cheese, of klompen… It’s the next color to orange!<\/p>\n

Also, you cannot choose your own\u00a0kentekenplaat<\/em>, as in countries like Belgium or Poland. It is just assigned to your car.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What system is in place in your country? What color do your plates have? Anything else special about them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

This March, a\u00a0new\u00a0kentekenplaten\u00a0(car plates) system was introduced in the Netherlands. The old system was exhausted. Again! Here on the Dutch-German border, in the German part, we see the yellow kentekenplaten\u00a0more and more. Famously here are the many Dutch that cross the border to do their groceries at the local supermarkets in Germany. Allegedly because they…<\/p>\n

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