How to distinguish between 0 and o in license plates?

[MaliaDella]

If the letter o or the number 0 appears after the province abbreviation, it must be the letter O. The following five digits or letters are not allowed to include the letter O according to regulations, only the number 0 will appear. Relevant regulations: According to Article 5.9.1 of the current Chinese motor vehicle license plate standard "GA36-2007", each digit of the serial number can use English letters individually, but the letters "o" and "i" among the 26 letters are prohibited. License plate character rules: Observant people will notice that different cities have different regional letter codes. For example, Guangzhou in Guangdong is Yue A, and Shenzhen is Yue B. Among them, A represents the provincial capital of each province, and B represents the second largest city in the province, arranged based on comprehensive administrative area, total population, economic strength, etc. The letter arrangement for subsequent cities is not in any particular order. You may find that some economically stronger cities are ranked after cities with slightly weaker economies.

[Bryce]

Last time I changed my license plate, I specifically asked the traffic police. The letter 'O' in domestic license plates has actually been abolished. Now all circle-like characters are the number '0'. Because the letter 'O' is too easily confused with '0', this letter is simply not used anymore. In Hong Kong license plates, the character with a box is '0', and the one without a box is 'O'. On the mainland, the license plate fonts are standardized—any circle appearing in any position is '0'. If there are similar letters, such as 'Q', a small tail is used to distinguish it. This design is particularly practical. Last time I handled transfer materials, I didn’t have to worry about misidentification. I remember during the vehicle inspection, the staff pressed a carbon paper over it, and the ink impression made it even more obvious.

[OCecilia]

I've researched this, and the current license plate design is quite ingenious. The letters O and I are prohibited from being used in the position following the provincial abbreviation, precisely to avoid confusion with the numbers 0 and 1. Ordinary car owners just need to remember: all egg-shaped characters on the license plate are 0! Hong Kong plates are an exception, using a gap to distinguish. Once in a parking lot, I saw an old-style military plate with an O, which is an extremely rare exception. Nowadays, the new-style new energy license plates feature slimmer and taller fonts, with 0 being a standard ellipse and the tail of the letter Q sticking up particularly high. It's recommended to save an article from the local vehicle management office's public account—they've posted a recognition tutorial.

[OOmar]

A while ago, I accompanied a friend to the DMV, and the staff taught us a trick: look at the license plate position. The first character is definitely a Chinese character representing the province abbreviation, and if you see a circle in the last five digits, it's definitely a 0. Domestic license plates never have the letter O! In Hong Kong and Macau, 0 has an underline, while O has a gap. My neighbor works at customs and said that when importing cars, they check the 17th digit of the VIN code, where both 0 and O might appear. I remember during the last vehicle inspection, the mechanic used a reflector to check the license plate, and the laser-engraved 0 had machine-cut marks on its edges.

[Russell]

When I first bought a car, I was also puzzled. An experienced driver taught me a foolproof method: when you see a circle in a license plate, just treat it as a 0! In China, newly issued license plates after 2007 no longer contain the letter O. I remember once helping my company with vehicle annual inspections - the DMV's recognition system beeps twice when scanning a 0, but gives a long beep for Q. Be careful with Hong Kong and Macau plates: Macau plates have a horizontal line under 0, while O has a notch at the top left corner. New energy vehicle plates are simpler - the letter section has a gradient green background.

[ZoeMarie]

I discussed this topic with a traffic police friend. Nowadays, license plate designs in China are standardized. There are three key points to remember: First, the letter O is not included in the optional character library at all; second, the font of the number 0 is relatively slim and elongated; third, letters with high confusion potential like Q have been given foolproof designs. Last month, while handling an accident, I saw an example: a combination like Yue B·0D123, where the system automatically filters out the letter O during computer entry. For Hong Kong and Macau vehicles, it's recommended to check the bottom of the circle – 0 has a complete arc, while O has a flat bottom.