Are license plates counted when they are used up?

After the ZZ prefix is finished, I will go back to WA and play again ~ There is no problem using it for more than 20 years!

Some people are suggesting adding more words and the word "Hong Kong". What a waste of time!

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Which car will have which license plate company? Don't waste time and effort looking for opportunities to show your loyalty.

Add any Chinese characters, whether in Hong Kong, Long or Cantonese, you can save them for now.

The Transport Department has already decided that after the ZZ prefix is used up, the old rule will continue to be used, AB 1234, which means that the 3 million unallocated numbers will be reused. This approach is absolutely acceptable and has the least impact and does not require a major change in the law. It will not affect the existing license plate numbers on the market, and there is no conflict with customized license plates. In addition, there will definitely not be 6 million cars in Hong Kong. I haven't even thought about ordering my own license plate. Basically, there will never be a day when I run out of license plate numbers. , can be used till the end of time.

Traditional license plate numbers, from AA1 to ZZ9999, have 26 times 26, a total of 676 letter combinations. Multiply that by the 9999 numbers after each combination, and finally add 1 to 9999. The correct calculation should be: AA to ZZ has 26 times 26, or 676 combinations. Each combination is matched with numbers from 1 to 9999, a total of 676 times 9999, plus 1 to 9999 combinations. The total is 676 times 9999 plus 9999.
Let's do the math: 676 times 9999 equals 6759324, plus 9999 equals 6,769,323. So the total number of combinations is 6,769,323.

Because Hong Kong license plates do not have the letters I, O, and Q, there are only 23 choices for each position. There are two positions for letters in total, so it is 23 times 23, or 529 combinations. Each combination can be matched with a number from 1 to 9999, so the total is 529 times 9999. Finally, add 1 to 9999. The calculation is 529 times 9999, plus 9999, the total is 5,304,690.

License plates from AA to EZ, old letters, HK, XX, etc. may be retained for auction purposes because of their historical value.

This is the most feasible and simplest method at present. You can rest assured for the time being.

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The Transport Department handles the registration of vehicles and the allocation of vehicle registration marks in accordance with the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374E). The Transport Department will assign a traditional vehicle registration mark to a vehicle for identification purposes when the vehicle is registered or when the owner retains the original registration mark of a registered vehicle. Under the current traditional vehicle registration mark allocation system, except for some prefix English letter series that have been reserved for specific purposes, the Transport Department has been allocating numbers in alphabetical order from "AA" to "ZZ", and the trailing numbers will be randomly drawn and allocated to registered vehicles by the computer system. In response to the question raised by the Hon Lam Lam, the following is a comprehensive reply.

As at the end of March 2023, the Transport Department is allocating traditional vehicle registration marks of the "YN" series. Based on the current allocation speed, it is expected that the allocation of traditional vehicle registration marks of the "ZZ" series will start in late 2024 or early 2025.

Under the current arrangement, if the registered owner does not apply to retain the registration mark originally assigned to the vehicle before cancelling the vehicle registration or assigning another vehicle registration mark to the vehicle, the registration mark will be returned to the Transport Department. The returned number can only be assigned to a vehicle again through auction. According to the records of the Transport Department, as of the end of March 2023, there were about 3 million traditional vehicle registration marks that had been returned to the Transport Department and not reassigned to any vehicle. At the current allocation rate, it is estimated that it can meet the needs for no less than 20 years in the future.

After considering relevant factors, the Transport Department initially plans to continue to use the current traditional vehicle registration mark format. After the allocation of the "ZZ" series of numbers is completed, the traditional vehicle registration marks that have been returned to the Transport Department and are no longer allocated to any vehicle will be reallocated in reverse alphabetical order, starting from the "WA" series; that is, first allocate the "WA" to "WZ" series, then the "VA" to "VZ" series, then the "UA" to "UZ" series, and so on. The arrangement continues to use the current traditional vehicle registration mark format and does not involve changes to the current vehicle registration mark combination format. Therefore, there is no need to amend the relevant laws or significantly change the computer system to avoid affecting stakeholders.

The TD will continue to closely monitor the allocation of vehicle registration marks and will announce the latest information on the allocation of vehicle registration marks to the public in a timely manner depending on the progress of future allocations.