Here's another piece of useless Cloth Monkey information for you. If you live in Washington or New York, you constantly run across cars bearing diplomatic license plates. (If you have any sense at all, stay as far away from them as possible -- they drive like maniacs and aren't accountable under US law for any accidents they cause.) The State Department has coded the plates so that they can tell what country the plates are issued to, but they have been close-mouthed about releasing the codes.
A bootleg copy has been floating around for a few years, and here it is for your edification. The only inside story I know about these codes is that when they were updated during the first years of the Reagan administration, State Department honcho Dana Rohrbacher (who is now a congressman) decided to use "FC" for the Soviet Union; FC standing for "Fuck Communism." Looks like we did.
This list is a little out of date -- things happened pretty quickly around the end of the 80s, and some new places (most of the old Soviet Union, the little pieces of Yugoslavia, etc.) aren't in here. But then, how often would you ever see one of their cars? Most of these places are operating their embassies out of a suite at HoJo's.
Additional handy-dandy note: the layout of the plates in DC is either a D (diplomat) or S (staff), followed by the country code, followed by a three-digit number (for example, S FC 001). In New York, it's the other way around (001 FC S). The reason for this is that some countries are limited to a fifty-mile radius from their embassy or consulate, so the authorities have to be able to tell the two cities apart.
Update: Thanks to fellow bureaucrat Rich Lowe at the Patent and Trademark Office, I've updated the diplomat plate list, and have included some US government plate codes.
Diplomatic License Plates Alpha Prefix Codes
- C (prefix) - Foreign Consul, e.g. "CAB 123"
- D (prefix) - Diplomat, e.g. "DAB 123"
- S (prefix) - Non-diplomatic Staff, e.g. "SAB 123"
- A (suffix) - United Nations Secretariat, e.g. "12345 A"
- A (suffix) - Foreign Mission to U.N. and family members, e.g. "12345 A"
- D (suffix) - United Nations Diplomat, e.g. "123 ABD"
Diplomatic License Plates Country Codes
- AA - Congo
- AC - Ivory Coast
- AF - Japan
- AH - Madagascar
- AJ - Panama
- AK - Cape Verde
- AQ - Syria
- AU - Uganda
- AV - Israel
- AW - Organization of African Unity
- BL - South Africa
- BY - Solomon Islands
- BZ - Iraq
- CB - Cambodia / Kampuchea
- CC - Ethiopia
- CS - Afghanistan
- CT - Bhutan
- CU - Botswana
- CV - Burma / Myanmar
- CW - Cameroon
- CX - Burundi
- CY - China
- DA - Colombia
- DB - Costa Rica
- DC - Cuba
- DD - Cyprus
- DF - Dominican Republic
- DG - Ecuador
- DH - French Caribbean
- DI - Israel
- DJ - France
- DK - Greece
- DL - India
- DM - Iran
- DN - Denmark
- DP - Bangladesh
- FC - Former USSR
- FF - Antigua
- FG - Central African Republic
- FH - Ireland
- FI - Israel
- FJ - Lebanon
- FK - Kenya
- FL - Liberia
- FM - Libya
- FN - Malta
- FP - Morocco
- FR - Philippines
- FS - Netherlands
- FT - Qatar
- FV - Sri Lanka
- FW - Holy See (Vatican)
- FX - Sierra Leone
- FY - South Africa
- FZ - Suriname
- GC - Sweden
- GD - Ukraine
- GG - Zambia
- GM - Turkey
- GP - Albania
- GQ - North Korea
- HL - St. Lucia
- HN - Mongolia
- HV - Belgium
- HW - Guatemala
- HX - Benin
- HY - Guinea-Bissau
- HZ - Haiti
- JB - Honduras
- JC - Kuwait
- JD - Mauritius
- JF - Nigeria
- JG - Portugal
- JH - Somalia
- JJ - Chad
- JK - Turkey
- JM - Yugoslavia
- JP - Tunesia
- JQ - Togo
- KQ - Equ. Guinea
- KH - Hungary
- KJ - Lithuania
- KK - Fiji
- KL - Jordan
- KM - Jamaica
- KN - Gabon
- KP - Luxembourg
- KR - Malaysia
- KS - Mexico
- KT - Namibia
- KU - Sao Tome et Principe
- KV - Saudi Arabia
- KW - Seychelles
- KX - Sudan
- LC - Venezuela
- LG - Turkey
- LD - Vietnam
- LH - Israel
- LK - Delegate to the EEC
- LW - Germany
- MK - Djibouti
- ML - Diego Garcia
- MN - United Nations
- MP - Bahamas
- MQ - Monaco
- MW - Maledives
- NA - Oman
- NB - New Guinea
- NC - Paraguay
- ND - Romania
- NQ - Angola
- PA - Austria
- PB - Barbados
- PC - Belize
- PD - Bermuda
- PF - Bolivia
- PG - Belarus
- PH - Czech Republic
- PI - Israel
- PK - Norway
- PL - Chile
- PM - Brunei
- PR - Argentina
- PS - Zimbabwe
- PV - Zaire
- QA - North Yemen
- QD - Burkina Faso
- QL - St. Kitts and Nevis
- QM - Bulgaria
- QN - Laos
- QP - Lesotho
- QR - Malawi
- QS - Mozambique
- QT - New Zealand
- QU - Nicaragua
- QV - Niger
- QW - Poland
- QX - Pakistan
- QY - South Yemen
- QZ - Indonesia
- RB - Rwanda
- RC - St. Vincent
- RD - Senegal
- RL - Uruguay
- SG - Israel
- ST - Dominica
- SX - Russia
- TG - Mali
- TF - Algeria
- TG - Canada
- TH - Egypt
- TJ - Germany
- TK - Netherlands Antilles
- TL - El Salvador
- TM - Iceland
- TN - Nepal
- TP - Mauritania
- TR - Italy
- TS - Iraq
- TT - Guyana
- TU - Guinea
- TV - Ghana
- TW - Gambia
- TX - Finland
- TY - Grenada
- TZ - Peru
- UA - Bahrain
- UF - Estonia
- UH - Spain
- UX - Trinidad and Tobago
- VF - Thailand
- VG - Tanzania
- VH - Switzerland
- VJ - Brazil
- VK - Singapore
- VL - Swaziland
- WB - United Arab Emirates
- WD - South Korea
- WM - Western Samoa
- WZ - United Kingdom
- XF - Turkey
- XZ - Australia
- YM - Hong Kong
- YR - Russia
General Service Administration (GSA) Prefix Codes
- G11 - Sedan - intermediate / subcompact
- G12 - Sedan - compact
- G14 - Sedan - standard regular
- G21 - Station wagon - subcompact / compact
- G23 - Station wagon - standard regular
- G31 - Ambulance, bus
- G41 - Truck - cargo 1/2 ton and under (4x2)
- G42 - Truck - cargo 3/4 ton (4x2)
- G43 - Truck - cargo 1 ton (4x2)
- G61 - Truck - cargo 1/2 ton and under (4x4)
- G62 - Truck - cargo 3/4 ton (4x4)
- G63 - Truck - cargo 1 ton (4x4)
- G71 - Truck - cargo 12,500 - 23,999 GVW
- G81 - Truck - cargo 24,000 GVW gasoline
- G82 - Truck - cargo 24,000 GVW diesel
- G91 - Truck, trailer, semi-trailer (special purpose vehicle)
Federal Government Vehicle Alpha Prefix Codes
- A - Agriculture
- ACT - Action
- AF - Air Force
- C - Commerce
- CA - Civil Aeronautics Board
- CE - Corps of Engineers
- CPSC - Consumer Product Safety Commission
- CS - Civil Service Commission
- D - Defense
- DA - Defense Contract Audit Agency
- DOT - Department of Transportation
- DA - Defense Supply Agency
- E - Energy Research and Development Administration
- EO
- Executive Office of the President
- Council of Economic Advisors
- National Security Council
- Office of Management and Budget
- EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
- EPS - Executive Protection Service
- FA - Federal Aviation Administration
- FC - Federal Communications Commission
- FD - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- FM - Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
- FP - Federal Power Commission
- FR - Federal Reserve System
- FT - Federal Trade Commission
- G - Interagency Motor Pool System
- GA - General Accounting Office
- GP - Government Printing Office
- GS - General Services Administration
- H - Housing and Urban Development
- HW - Health, Education and Welfare
- I - Interior
- IA - Information Agency
- IC - Interstate Commerce Commission
- J - Justice
- JB - Judicial Branch
- L - Labor
- LA - Department of Commercial Development Land Agency
- LB - Legislative Branch
- N - Navy
- NA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- NG - National Guard Bureau
- NH - National Capital Housing Commission
- NL - National Labor Relations Board
- NP - National Capital Planning Commission
- NRC - Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- NS - National Science Commission
- OEO - Office of Economic Opportunity
- P - Postal Service
- PC - Panama Canal Company
- RB - Renegotiation Board
- RR - Railroad Retirement Board
- S - State Department
- SB - Small Business Administration
- SE - Securities and Exchange Commission
- SH - Soldiers and Sailors Home
- SI - Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Art
- T - Treasury
- TV - Tennessee Valley Authority
- VA - Veterans Administration
- W - Army
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