Vehicle registration plates in Saudi Arabia are manufactured by a German company, Erich Utsch AG, which also manufactures registration plates for other Arab countries such as Egypt. According to the manufacturer, the plates are forgery-proof, and the letters and numbers are covered by a security film that is practically impossible to tamper with. Saudi Arabia has taken action to ensure that all people residing within its borders register their vehicles in Saudi Arabia and display a rear as well as a front license plate.
The plates consist of three letters and up to four numbers in Arabic. Both letters and numbers are also translated into the Latin alphabet and into the Western Arabic numerals, respectively. On the rightmost side, the plate contains the Saudi Arabia coat of arms and the international code “KSA” letters written vertically. The lower sticker is the official seal.
The standard plates always have 4 numbers and if necessary they are padded by zeroes. Personalized plates or earlier registrations may contain one, two, or three numbers with or without zero padding. The letter translation into the Latin alphabet is done from left to right, although Arabic letters are read from right to left. Furthermore, the translation is not always correct. There are only 17 Arabic letters used on the registration plates.
The following Arabic letters are used on Saudi registration plates.
| Arabic Letter | Translation | Actual transliteration (if different) |
|---|---|---|
| ا | A | |
| ب | B | |
| ح | J | ḥ |
| د | D | |
| ر | R | |
| س | S | |
| ص | X | ṣ |
| ط | T | |
| ع | E | ‘ |
| ق | G | q |
| ك | K | |
| ل | L | |
| م | Z | m |
| ن | N | |
| هـ | H | |
| و | U | |
| ى | V | ā / ỳ |
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