Jordan mandates Arabic on government vehicle license plates

Jordan’s Cabinet on Sunday approved an amendment to the specifications of official vehicle license plates in the country.

The move aims to enhance the use of the Arabic language, aligning with the Law for the Protection of the Arabic Language.

The government emphasized that this change will be strictly limited to plates on government and other official vehicles and will not affect private citizens' vehicle plates in any way.

New Look for Official Plates

The core modification to the targeted official license plates involves adding Arabic script alongside the current coding. This addition will include two main elements:

• Owning Entity Name in Arabic: The name of the authority to which the plate belongs will be clearly written in Arabic. Examples provided include "الحكومة" (The Government), "مجلس النواب" (House of Representatives), "المجلس القضائي" (Judicial Council), "سلطة منطقة العقبة" (Aqaba Region Authority), and "هيئة دبلوماسية" (Diplomatic Body).
• The Name "Jordan" in Arabic: The word "الأردن" (Jordan) will also be added to the plate in Arabic.

Current abbreviations and symbols will remain on the plate alongside the new Arabic additions.

Categories Affected by the Change

The amended regulation will apply only to the following specific categories of vehicle plates:

• Government plates
• Plates for the House of Representatives and the Senate
• Plates for the Judicial Council
• Plates for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority
• Plates for diplomatic bodies

Implementation and Next Steps

The amendment's goal is to adopt "Arabic coding" in line with the requirements of the Arabic language protection law.

Implementation will not be immediate. Following the Cabinet's approval of the rationale, the draft regulation will be sent to the Bureau of Legislation and Opinion to complete legislative procedures. This process includes publishing it for public consultation before its final adoption and official issuance.

The government explicitly reiterated that the modification is solely for government and other official entity plates and will exclude plates for private citizens, public transport (such as taxis and buses), commercial vehicles, and tourist vehicles.