A car license plate starting with a D, what about it?

No vehicle data found…

From the RDW or Finnik we don’t get much wiser. RDW says “No vehicle data were found. Please check the entered license plate number.” At Finnik we get the message “‘D-776-MB’ is not a valid license plate. Please enter a correct license plate number and try again.” We find the answer on a forum where many military personnel are also active.

No license plate, but registration plate

In fact, what you see here is not officially a license plate. It’s a registration plate. That’s an important difference. In fact, Defense vehicles drive outside the regular license plate system. Not because they like it, but because they simply do not always meet the requirements set by the RDW. Think about lighting, emissions or construction. Things that a military vehicle does not necessarily care about.

Added to this is something else. If Defense vehicles did get normal license plates, they would also have to pay road taxes and be insured like any other car. So that is not happening.

Strange license plate construction

Okay, but then why this strange license plate structure? First a letter D, then three digits and then two letters again, in this case MB? Why isn’t this just DM like defense plates of old? This has everything to do with the Dutch license plate structure. DM license plates also go through the possible combinations once and then switch to a new series. In the new series (like A-444-AA) there is simply no room to put two letters like ‘DM’ in front. The system does not allow that. Therefore, it is solved a bit creatively.

The D moves to the front. The M – of Defense Materiel – moves to the back, after the numbers. This creates a combination that looks somewhat strange to the outside world, but makes sense internally. Incidentally, you also come across variants like D-XXX-MX. That’s just another valid construction within the same system.

No license plate, but recognizable

For the average motorist, it may take some puzzling, but within Defense, it is crystal clear. The D stands for Defense, the M for Materiel. Together they form a recognizable code for vehicles that do not fit into the civilian system. And that Defender? So it just belongs in the military fleet. Even though at first glance it just looks ready for a trip to the hardware store.