Vehicles registered in Slovakia were generally assigned to one of the districts (okres) and from 1997 until 2022, the license plate coding () generally consisted of seven characters and takes the form XX-NNNLL, where XX was a two letter code corresponding to the district, NNN was a three digit number and LL were two additional letters (assigned alphabetically).
From January 2023, a new state-wide numbering scheme was introduced, preserving the same layout, but replacing the initial two-letter district code with arbitrary letters of the alphabet (assigned alphabetically, starting with AA). Other changes include new font and a smaller coat of arms.
Appearance
There are three design varieties that are in valid use.
Between 1 April 1997 and 30 April 2004, the plates contained the Coat of Arms of Slovakia in the top left corner and the country code SK in the bottom left. The two district identifiers were separated from the serials by a dash.
On 1 May 2004, Slovakia joined the European Union. In order to harmonise the visual look of the plates with the rest of the EU, the Slovak Coat of Arms was replaced by the so-called euroband, a vertical blue bar with representing the Flag of the EU. The country code SK was inserted into the euroband. The number 0 and letter O have been differentiated as well, the number has a stroke through it (similar to the German font.)
The latest type has been used since 1 June 2006. The Slovak Coat of Arms has returned to the plates replacing the dash while keeping the EU part intact.
Starting from 2023, there is no longer an abbreviation of the district on the license plate. At the same time, the creation system abolished registration number based on the abbreviation of the district, whereas its presentation on the table has not changed. The composition of the registration numbers remains the same (2 letters - 3 digits - 2 letters), but registration numbers starts to be generated again from combination AA-001AA.