Unification of Vehicle License Plates: Interior Minister Responds to Parliamentary Inquiry

Unification of Vehicle License Plates: Interior Minister Responds to Parliamentary Inquiry

Algiers – November 2025 – In a published statement, the Minister of the Interior, Local Assemblies, and Transport, Saïd Sayoud, responded to a written question submitted by Member of Parliament Azzeddine Zahouf concerning the issue of unifying vehicle license plate numbering nationwide.

In his reply, Minister Sayoud affirmed: “I have received, with utmost attention, your written question regarding the unification of vehicle license plates at the national level.”

He explained that, within the framework of strengthening road safety, enhancing the protection of property, and ensuring public order, the development of vehicle identification and registration procedures constitutes one of the principal priority objectives. This approach seeks to implement the government’s strategic orientations aimed at establishing an integrated national policy in this domain. Work is currently underway on a comprehensive revision of the relevant legal and regulatory frameworks. This revision encompasses several axes, foremost among them the establishment of clear standards governing traffic rules and the modernization of mechanisms related to vehicle identification and registration.

In the same context, the minister noted that his department is contributing, alongside various concerned sectors, to drafting the new legal system dedicated to road safety. The forthcoming draft traffic law constitutes a central pillar of this effort and is expected to be followed by a series of complementary regulatory decrees, ensuring the effective implementation of the new national traffic policy.

The minister further emphasized that updating the vehicle registration system remains contingent upon the promulgation of the new legal framework regulating traffic rules. This process is embedded in a participatory approach grounded in coordination and consultation between all relevant stakeholders.

He concluded by recalling that the Council of Ministers meeting held on 2 November 2025, under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic, examined the new measures included in the draft traffic law. This legislation aims to introduce stricter and more rigorous provisions capable of reducing traffic accidents, taking into account all components of the traffic governance chain—driving schools, drivers, vehicles of all categories, and monitoring devices.

Below is the written question addressed by Member of Parliament Azeddine Zahouf to Minister of the Interior, Local Assemblies, and Transport Saïd Sayoud:

Honourable Minister,

I address you on behalf of citizens who suffer from the negative repercussions of the current vehicle-registration system, seeking comprehensive clarification on the reasons behind the delay in implementing the project for unified national license plates. The existing provincial numbering system, tied to the place of issuance, has ceased to be a mere administrative tool and has instead become a source of serious social effects that cannot be overlooked, most notably:

1. Entrenching regional divides and discrimination:

The license plate has become a marker that fosters differentiation between citizens based on region, creating psychological and social barriers and provoking regressive sentiments that undermine the principle of national unity and equal citizenship.

2. Encouraging assaults and hostile behaviour:

Vehicles bearing plates from certain provinces have been subjected to vandalism (scratching or damage), while their owners have faced harassment, insults, or physical and verbal attacks solely due to their regional origin as indicated by the plate—particularly during travel by football supporters or the summer season. This generates insecurity and deprives public roads of their character as safe national spaces for all.

3. Damaging the social fabric and reinforcing stereotypes:

This system reinforces negative stereotypes among citizens from different regions, weakens the sense of shared national belonging, and transforms natural regional differences into sources of tension and resentment rather than factors of enrichment and cohesion.

4. Restricting freedom of movement and settlement:

Some citizens have become hesitant or fearful to travel to other regions with their vehicles due to the risk of problems or assaults, thereby limiting their freedom of movement and their ability to settle anywhere within the national territory.

5. Increasing administrative pressure on certain municipalities:

Civil status services and vehicle-registration offices in several municipalities are overburdened by the current system, which imposes additional administrative and technical challenges in processing registration requests tied to the province of issuance—especially when citizens move from one province to another or change residence.

Based on the above, I respectfully request your answers to the following:

• What, precisely, are the administrative and technical obstacles delaying the implementation of a unified license-plate system?

• Are there any studies or concrete plans within the ministry to implement a unified system? If so, what is the proposed timeline?

We hope, Honourable Minister, that you will provide clear and comprehensive answers. Addressing this issue is not a mere technical or administrative undertaking, but a necessary step toward strengthening national cohesion, eliminating a manifest form of discrimination, and ensuring every citizen’s right to move safely and confidently across every part of the nation.

With highest respect and consideration.

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Unification of Vehicle License Plates: Interior Minister Responds to Parliamentary Inquiry

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