Aircraft Registration Prefixes by Country and Territory

By Prof. Raju Vatsavayi

Every civil aircraft carries a registration that begins with its country’s nationality mark: VT for India, N for the United States, G for Britain, JA for Japan. This list gives the current mark for 220 countries and territories from A to Z, with a note where a country holds more than one mark or shares one.

What the list covers

The list covers every country on GKBook’s country list, the Cook Islands, a few well-known territories whose aircraft carry their own letters, such as Hong Kong, Bermuda and the Isle of Man, and the one international common mark, 4YB. The mark shows where an aircraft is registered, which may differ from its operator’s home country. Countries pick their marks from the radio call sign blocks the International Telecommunication Union allots them and notify them to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); this list was checked on Oct. 10, 2026, against ICAO’s list of June 1, 2026, and national aviation rules. Where the two differ, the note gives both. A listed mark does not mean its register still accepts new aircraft. Military aircraft and domestic identification systems for drones and sport aircraft are mentioned only in notes.

Reading the table

The first column names the country or territory; common other names, such as USA or Ivory Coast, also appear in the list and lead to the same entry. The second gives the nationality mark or, for a territory such as Hong Kong, its registration series, and the third adds a note where one helps: what each of several marks is for, a shared mark, or how the registration is written. Territories carry a Territory label, the Cook Islands an Associated state label and 4YB a Common mark label, and the Countries and Territories buttons beside the search box show each group at once. You can search by country or by mark: typing VT finds India.

Aircraft Registration Prefixes by Country

No entry matches that search.

A

Country	Prefix	Notes
Afghanistan	YA	—
Albania	ZA	—
Algeria	7T	—
Andorra	C3	ICAO lists Andorra among states that have notified no nationality mark; C3 is its radio call sign block.
Angola	D2	—
Anguilla	VP-A	Territory Anguilla uses the British VP block with A as the first letter of the suffix.
Antigua and Barbuda	V2	—
Arab Air Cargo	4YB	Common mark International common mark of the operating agency set up by Jordan and Iraq; Jordan acts as the state of registry. It is not a national prefix for Jordanian or Iraqi aircraft.
Argentina	LV, LQ	LV is the civil mark and LQ is for government aircraft.
Armenia	EK	—
Aruba	P4	Territory Aruba has its own mark within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Ascension Island	VQ-H	Territory Saint Helena and Ascension use the British VQ block with H as the first letter of the suffix.Listed under Saint Helena and Ascension
Australia	VH	—
Austria	OE	—
Azerbaijan	4K	—

B

Country	Prefix	Notes
Bahamas	C6	—
Bahrain	A9C	—
Bangladesh	S2	—
Barbados	8P	—
Belarus	EW	—
Belgium	OO	—
Belize	V3	—
Benin	TY	—
Bermuda	VP-B, VQ-B	Territory Bermuda uses the British VP and VQ blocks with B as the first letter of the suffix.
Bhutan	A5	—
Bolivia	CP	—
Bosnia and Herzegovina	E7	—
Botswana	A2	—
Brazil	PP, PT, PR, PU, PS	Brazil uses five marks, all beginning with P.
British Virgin Islands	VP-L	Territory The British Virgin Islands use the British VP block with L as the first letter of the suffix.
Brunei	V8	—
Bulgaria	LZ	—
Burkina Faso	XT	—
Burundi	9U	—

C

Country	Prefix	Notes
Cabo Verde	D4	—
Cambodia	XU	—
Cameroon	TJ	—
Canada	C, CF	Registrations take the form C-F, C-G or C-I. Eligible vintage aircraft built before 1957 may display the older CF form, and some aircraft registered before 1974 may keep a CF display.
Cape Verde	D4	Listed under Cabo Verde
Cayman Islands	VP-C, VQ-C	Territory The Cayman Islands use the British VP and VQ blocks with C as the first letter of the suffix.
Central African Republic	TL	—
Chad	TT	—
Chile	CC	—
China	B	Hong Kong aircraft also use B, in the B-H, B-K and B-L series.
Colombia	HJ, HK	HJ is for microlights and HK for other aircraft.
Comoros	D6	—
Congo, DR	9S	The national aviation authority uses 9S, while ICAO's June 2026 list still shows 9Q. Military aircraft carry 9T.
Congo, Republic	TN	—
Cook Islands	E5	Associated state Self-governing in free association with New Zealand; its own E5 register replaced New Zealand's ZK in 2018.
Costa Rica	TI	—
Côte d'Ivoire	TU	—
Croatia	9A	—
Cuba	CU	—
Curaçao	PJ	Territory Curaçao keeps the PJ mark of the former Netherlands Antilles, shared with Sint Maarten.
Cyprus	5B	—
Czech Republic	OK	—
Czechia	OK	Listed under Czech Republic

D

Country	Prefix	Notes
Democratic Republic of the Congo	9S	The national aviation authority uses 9S, while ICAO's June 2026 list still shows 9Q. Military aircraft carry 9T.Listed under Congo, DR
Denmark	OY	—
Djibouti	J2	—
Dominica	J7	—
Dominican Republic	HI	—

E

Country	Prefix	Notes
East Timor	4W	4W is in national use (the aviation authority registered 4W-AAO in 2025), though ICAO's June 2026 list records no notified mark.Listed under Timor-Leste
Ecuador	HC	—
Egypt	SU	—
El Salvador	YS	—
Equatorial Guinea	3C	—
Eritrea	E3	—
Estonia	ES	—
Eswatini	3DC	The full mark is 3DC.
Ethiopia	ET	—

F

Country	Prefix	Notes
Falkland Islands	VP-F	Territory The Falklands use the British VP block with F as the first letter of the suffix.
Faroe Islands	OY	Territory The Faroe Islands have no mark of their own and use Denmark's OY.
Fiji	DQ	—
Finland	OH	—
France	F	Overseas territories such as French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Reunion use the F-O series.
French Polynesia	F-O	Territory Registration series under France's nationality mark F, with O as the first letter after it.

G

Country	Prefix	Notes
Gabon	TR	—
Gambia	C5	—
Georgia	4L	—
Germany	D	The D-A series is for aeroplanes with a maximum takeoff mass above 20,000 kg.
Ghana	9G, 9GR	9GR is used for remotely piloted aircraft (drones).
Gibraltar	ZD-A to ZD-E; VP-G	Territory Gibraltar's registry guidance of July 2026 issues the ZD-A to ZD-E series, each followed by two letters; ICAO's June 2026 list still shows the British VP-G series.
Greece	SX	—
Greenland	OY	Territory Greenland has no mark of its own and uses Denmark's OY.
Grenada	J3	—
Guatemala	TG	—
Guernsey	2	Territory Guernsey's mark is the single digit 2.
Guinea	3X	—
Guinea-Bissau	J5	—
Guyana	8R	—

H

Country	Prefix	Notes
Haiti	HH	—
Honduras	HR	—
Hong Kong	B-H, B-K, B-L	Territory Registration series under China's nationality mark B, with H, K or L as the first letter after it.
Hungary	HA	—

I

Country	Prefix	Notes
Iceland	TF	—
India	VT	VT comes from the VTA to VWZ radio call-sign block allotted to British India. It is popularly expanded as Viceroy's Territory, a reading the call-sign record does not support.
Indonesia	PK	—
Iran	EP	—
Iraq	YI	—
Ireland	EI, EJ	EI is the normal series and EJ is for VIP or business aircraft.
Isle of Man	M	Territory The Isle of Man register uses M followed by four letters.
Israel	4X, 4Z	Both marks are listed by ICAO; 4X is the familiar one.
Italy	I	—
Ivory Coast	TU	Listed under Côte d'Ivoire

J

Country	Prefix	Notes
Jamaica	6Y	—
Japan	JA	Japanese registrations put digits or letters straight after JA with no hyphen. Separate domestic systems use JR for ultralights, JE for gyroplanes and JX for amateur built aircraft.
Jersey	ZJ	Territory Jersey adopted ZJ in 2015 and closed its aircraft register in 2022; ICAO still lists the mark.
Jordan	JY	—

K

Country	Prefix	Notes
Kazakhstan	UP	—
Kenya	5Y	—
Kiribati	T3	T3 is set by Kiribati's own aviation rules, though ICAO's June 2026 list records no notified mark.
Kosovo	Z6	Z6 was set by Kosovo's aviation regulation of 2011; it is not in ICAO's list.
Kuwait	9K	—
Kyrgyzstan	EX	—

L

Country	Prefix	Notes
Laos	RDPL	—
Latvia	YL	—
Lebanon	OD	—
Lesotho	7P	—
Liberia	A8	—
Libya	5A	—
Liechtenstein	HB	Liechtenstein shares the HB mark with Switzerland; ICAO lists each with its own national emblem.
Lithuania	LY	—
Luxembourg	LX	—

M

Country	Prefix	Notes
Macau	B-M	Territory Registration series under China's nationality mark B, with M as the first letter after it. It used CR-M and CS-M under Portugal.
Madagascar	5R	—
Malawi	7Q	—
Malaysia	9M	—
Maldives	8Q	—
Mali	TZ	—
Malta	9H	—
Marshall Islands	V7	—
Mauritania	5T	—
Mauritius	3B	—
Mexico	XA, XB, XC	XA is for commercial aircraft, XB for private aircraft and XC for government aircraft; ICAO lists the marks with Mexico's national emblem.
Micronesia	V6	—
Moldova	ER	—
Monaco	3A	—
Mongolia	JU	Registrations use four digits after the prefix.
Montenegro	4O	The O in 4O is the letter O, not zero.
Montserrat	VP-M	Territory Montserrat uses the British VP block with M as the first letter of the suffix.
Morocco	CN	—
Mozambique	C9	—
Myanmar	XY, XZ	XY is the familiar series; ICAO also lists XZ.

N

Country	Prefix	Notes
Namibia	V5	—
Nauru	C2	—
Nepal	9N	—
Netherlands	PH	—
New Caledonia	F-O	Territory Registration series under France's nationality mark F, with O as the first letter after it.
New Zealand	ZK, ZL, ZM	ZK is the mark in everyday use; ZL and ZM are also allotted to New Zealand.
Nicaragua	YN	—
Niger	5U	—
Nigeria	5N	—
North Korea	P	P is followed by a number.
North Macedonia	Z3	—
Norway	LN	—

O

Country	Prefix	Notes
Oman	A4O	The mark is A4O, with the letter O.

P

Country	Prefix	Notes
Pakistan	AP	—
Palau	T8	—
Panama	HP	HP is followed by a number and letters that depend on the aircraft's category under national rules.
Papua New Guinea	P2	—
Paraguay	ZP	—
Peru	OB	OB is followed by a sequential number; a P marks a provisional registration and a T a special transfer, under rules updated in 2026.
Philippines	RP	Philippine civil aircraft commonly carry RP-C followed by digits.
Poland	SP	—
Portugal	CS, CR	CS is the mark in current use; CR, also listed by ICAO, belonged to the former overseas territories.
Puerto Rico	N	Territory Puerto Rico has no mark of its own and uses the U.S. N register.

Q

Country	Prefix	Notes
Qatar	A7	—

R

Country	Prefix	Notes
Republic of the Congo	TN	Listed under Congo, Republic
Romania	YR	—
Russia	RA	RA is the civil mark; state aircraft carry RF, a separate series.
Rwanda	9XR	The full mark is 9XR, a three character prefix.

S

Country	Prefix	Notes
Saint Helena	VQ-H	Territory Saint Helena and Ascension use the British VQ block with H as the first letter of the suffix.Listed under Saint Helena and Ascension
Saint Helena and Ascension	VQ-H	Territory Saint Helena and Ascension use the British VQ block with H as the first letter of the suffix.
Saint Kitts and Nevis	V4	—
Saint Lucia	J6	—
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	J8	—
Samoa	5W	—
San Marino	T7	—
Sao Tome and Principe	S9	—
Saudi Arabia	HZ	—
Senegal	6V, 6W	Senegal holds both 6V and 6W.
Serbia	YU	—
Seychelles	S7	—
Sierra Leone	9L	—
Singapore	9V	—
Sint Maarten	PJ	Territory Sint Maarten keeps the PJ mark of the former Netherlands Antilles, shared with Curaçao.
Slovakia	OM	—
Slovenia	S5	—
Solomon Islands	H4	—
Somalia	6O	The O in 6O is the letter O, not zero.
South Africa	ZS, ZT, ZU	ZS is the main series; ZT and ZU are also South African marks.
South Korea	HL	Registrations have no hyphen: HL followed by four digits.
South Sudan	Z8	—
Spain	EC	—
Sri Lanka	4R	—
Sudan	ST	—
Suriname	PZ	—
Swaziland	3DC	The full mark is 3DC.Listed under Eswatini
Sweden	SE	—
Switzerland	HB	Switzerland shares the HB mark with Liechtenstein; ICAO lists each with its own national emblem.
Syria	YK	—

T

Country	Prefix	Notes
Taiwan	B	Taiwan uses B followed by a hyphen and three to five digits, such as B-158, B-1822 or B-11101; China also uses B.
Tajikistan	EY	EY is followed by a number of varying length, such as EY-777.
Tanzania	5H	—
Thailand	HS	—
Timor-Leste	4W	4W is in national use (the aviation authority registered 4W-AAO in 2025), though ICAO's June 2026 list records no notified mark.
Togo	5V	—
Tonga	A3	—
Trinidad and Tobago	9Y	—
Tunisia	TS	—
Turkey	TC	—
Türkiye	TC	Listed under Turkey
Turkmenistan	EZ	—
Turks and Caicos Islands	VQ-T	Territory Turks and Caicos uses the British VQ block with T as the first letter of the suffix.
Tuvalu	T2	ICAO lists Tuvalu among states that have notified no nationality mark; T2 is its radio call sign block.

U

Country	Prefix	Notes
Uganda	5X	—
Ukraine	UR	—
United Arab Emirates	A6	—
United Kingdom	G	Britain uses the single letter G followed by four letters.
United States	N	U.S. registrations are written without a hyphen and are often called N numbers.
United States of America	N	U.S. registrations are written without a hyphen and are often called N numbers.Listed under United States
Uruguay	CX	—
USA	N	U.S. registrations are written without a hyphen and are often called N numbers.Listed under United States
Uzbekistan	UK	UK is Uzbekistan's mark, not the United Kingdom's, which is G.

V

Country	Prefix	Notes
Vanuatu	YJ	—
Vatican City	None notified	The Holy See has notified no nationality mark to ICAO.
Venezuela	YV	Registrations are written without a hyphen.
Vietnam	VN	Vietnam's 2026 decree sets VN, followed by a hyphen, a letter for the aircraft category and three digits; ICAO's June 2026 list still shows the older XV.

Y

Country	Prefix	Notes
Yemen	7O	The O in 7O is the letter O, not zero.

Z

Country	Prefix	Notes
Zambia	9I, 9J	Both marks appear in ICAO's list. The I in 9I is a letter, not the digit 1.
Zimbabwe	Z, Z2	Z2 was added alongside Z in 2023.

More A-to-Z lists

For other A-to-Z lists, see the List of Phobias, the List of Manias, the List of Hobbies, the List of Branches of Science, the List of Collective Nouns, the List of Mottoes and the List of Slogans.

Frequently asked questions

What is an aircraft registration prefix?

It is the nationality mark at the start of a civil aircraft's registration, the code painted on the tail and fuselage. A U.S. aircraft begins with N, a British one with G, a German one with D and an Indian one with VT. The mark shows the country of registry, which may differ from the airline's home country, the owner's nationality or where the aircraft is.

Which country uses the prefix VT?

India. Indian civil aircraft carry registrations such as VT-ABC. The mark comes from the VT radio call sign block allotted to British India; the popular expansion Viceroy's Territory is not supported by that history.

Who allots aircraft registration prefixes?

A country picks its nationality mark from the radio call sign blocks the International Telecommunication Union allots to it and notifies the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) under Annex 7 to the Chicago Convention. The national registry then assigns the rest of each registration. ICAO also assigns common marks to international operating agencies, such as 4YB for Arab Air Cargo.

Why do some countries have more than one prefix?

For different reasons. Mexico uses XA for commercial, XB for private and XC for government aircraft; Brazil holds five marks, PP, PR, PS, PT and PU; Canada lets eligible vintage aircraft show the older CF form; and Ghana uses 9GR for drones.

Do two countries ever share a prefix?

Yes. Switzerland and Liechtenstein share HB. China and Taiwan both use B, and Hong Kong and Macau use registration series under China's B. British territories such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands use the VP and VQ blocks with their own letters.

Is a registration permanent?

Not always. A registration identifies an aircraft on a national register, but it can change when the aircraft moves to another register or its marks are changed with permission. A flight number, such as AI 101, names a scheduled service, not an aircraft.

Why do official sources sometimes disagree?

ICAO publishes the marks states have notified to it, while national rules and registries describe what is used at home, and the two are updated at different times. Vietnam's rules set VN while ICAO's list still shows XV, and DR Congo's authority uses 9S while ICAO shows 9Q. The notes give both.

GK Encyclopedia

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List of Aircraft Registration Prefixes

What the list covers

Reading the table

Aircraft Registration Prefixes by Country

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

Y

Z

More A-to-Z lists

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