Vehicle license plates in Turkey are more than just identification numbers, they also express the purpose of the vehicle's use and the status of its owner. The official plates that stand out among them refer to the special plates used on vehicles belonging to the state or some private institutions and organizations. Thanks to the special symbols and colors used, vehicles designated for official duty can be easily identified and given priority when necessary. Let's now take a look at the tips that will help you understand what it means when you see a vehicle with a different license plate on the roads.

Types of Official License Plates

In Turkey, official license plates differ according to the type of vehicle used in it and the status it carries. Official license plates are generally divided into categories such as state vehicles, diplomatic vehicles, and vehicles belonging to municipalities and public institutions. These plates differ to reflect the role and importance of the vehicle in public service.

Black Plates

In traffic, you must have come across license plates with white text on a black background. Such uses can be easily noticed because they differ from the overall design of the plate. If you are wondering which institution the official black plate belongs to, the answer is: vehicles designated for official service. In other words, license plates written in black and white are used on vehicles designated for ministries, municipalities and directorates of these institutions. In addition, ambulance and fire department license plates are examples of the use of black. In addition to these alternatives, professional chambers' unions and associations representing public institutions can also use black license plates.

Red Plates

When you think of license plates for official vehicles, the color that comes to your mind most is probably red. The reason for this is that the license plates designated for senior officials are red. However, there are two different types of this red color that we encounter in the vehicles of high-ranking officials. In one, yellow text is used on a red background color, while in the other, we see a red line on white. So what is the difference between these two?

Red and Yellow Plates Red and yellow plates, known as protocol plates, are used for high-ranking government officials. We see license plates in this color on the vehicles of the President, the Presidents of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Constitutional Court, the Chief of the General Staff, the governors and the ministers. In such official vehicles, there is a parallel numbering for the administrative levels of the state. The numbers below, without any additions, are engraved in yellow text on a red plate.

0001 Plate: Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey - Legislative
0002 Plate: Vice President - Executive
0003-0036 Plate: Chairman of the Constitutional Court - Judiciary
0004 Plate: Chief of the General Staff
0005 Plate: Minister of Foreign Affairs
0007 Plate: Deputy Prime Minister
0011 Plate: Minister of State for Sports
0016 Plate: Minister of National Defense
0017 Plate: Minister of Interior
0018 Plate: Minister of Finance
0021 Plate: Minister of Health
0023 Plate: Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs
0025 Plate: Minister of Industry and Trade
0026 Plate: Minister of National Education
0027 Plate: Minister of Tourism
0028 Plate: Minister of Energy
0029 Plate: Force Commander
0030 Plate: Minister of Environment Rates
0033 Plate: Minister of Transport
0035 Plate: Minister of Justice

There are no numbers or letters on the official vehicle of the President. Right on the red background is the presidential flag in golden yellow. This fortress consists of a shining sun in the center and around it are 16 stars representing the 16 great Turkish empires in history. Other vehicles belonging to the Presidency use license plates such as CB 999. Apart from all these plates we mentioned, you can also see plates with golden text in red. Unlike the symbols mentioned above, these vehicles may have different suffixes such as city symbols. Vehicles designated for members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey have different symbols, also known as GNAT plates. To give examples:

TBMM 021
TBMM 069
TBMM 087

Finally, vice presidents, council members, senior administrators and governors can also have vehicles with red and yellow license plates. These types of vehicles have provincial identification symbols, letters and numbers, as we are used to seeing on standard license plates.

Red and White Plates

In these red plates, unlike the use of golden yellow, the background appears white. Red is preferred for the text. Red and white license plates are found on vehicles designated for senior government officials. These officers; They consist of high-ranking people in public institutions such as the police chief, district governor, and university rector.

Green Plates

Green plates, which we can also summarize as diplomatic plates, are used by diplomatic representatives appointed in Turkey. In other words, officials working in the embassy and consulate can have license plates written in white on a green background. It is also possible to see some symbols on these vehicles, which provide diplomatic immunity and certain privileges. Since the officers are on an international duty, these symbols consist of abbreviations of some English words.

CC (Consular Corps): Consular office vehicle
CG (Consul General): Vehicles provided to consular officers with diplomatic immunity
CD (Diplomatic Corps): Vehicles of diplomatic officers such as Ambassador, Undersecretary and Attaché
CM (Chief of Mission): Vehicles of embassy officers with diplomatic immunity

* In official vehicles used by some diplomatic communities it is used as green text on a white background.

Blue plates

Represent license plates, which use the white line on the backBlue, official vehicles of the General Directorate of Security. On vehicle license plates, the letter A appears after the district code. The letters used as A, AA and AAA are accompanied by numbers. The number used at the end also indicates the branch to which the vehicle is attached. In this way, the classification and assignment of vehicles to individuals is done. In vehicles owned directly by the Gendarmerie, the letters between JAA and JZZ are used instead of the letter A. *When white is used on the background of the plate and blue is used in the font, it represents the tools used by members of the international organization.

Military vehicles

In addition to the official colored plates, military vehicles are used with black text written on a white background. The feature that allows us to distinguish between these types of vehicles is that they are composed entirely of numbers. The first number on the military plate indicates the rank of the person assigned.

0: Chief of the General Staff

1: First Army Command

2: Second Army Command

3: Third Army Command

4: Fourth Army Command

5: Naval Forces Command

6: Air Forces Command