Abu Dhabi Police to introduce new number plate category

Effective this week a new car registration plate category by Abu Dhabi Police, Category 11, will be disbursed to the public at the emirate’s Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Department.

“This category is the second binary category panel to be released,” said Colonel Suhail Al Kheli, Head of Vehicle Licensing Section at the Abu Dhabi Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Department.

“This number is special as it is a repetition of the number one coinciding with the year 2011,” he added.

The process of issuing vehicle number plates of the category 11 will be achieved in two phases. The first phase will carry ordinary numbers and the second will be the setting of public and electronic auctions for special plate numbers of one, two or three figures. These numbers will be announced by an auction organizing committee from Abu Dhabi police. The proceeds from the auction will be allocated to a fund for people affected by traffic accidents and to support those with special needs.

"The new category will eventually replace the old ones (red, blue, grey and green). The red plates will be replaced by category 4, the blue ones by category 7, the grey by category 8 and the green by category 9,” Col Al Kheli said.

According to Col Al Kheli new categories are issued to keep pace with the latest specifications and international quality standards that maintain security and protect against theft or fraud, in addition to clearer and nicer looking numbers.

The new category fulfils the desires of the public to own plates and numbers with red color only. The licensing Department therefore considered unifying these different colors to show constant coordination in traffic systems in the emirate, in one hand, and providing the public with unified red numbers with no difference in them except in the serial category number.