The Addis Ababa Driver and Vehicle Licensing and Control Authority has denied claims that the city is facing a shortage of vehicle license plates, insisting that the service remains fully operational for motorists who meet the required procedures.
In a response to Capital, the Authority said there is no current deficit of license plates and that all eligible customers are being served across its branches.
The statement comes amid growing complaints from vehicle owners who say they are waiting up to a month to obtain new plates. Some customers also allege that intermediaries are demanding large unofficial payments to speed up the process.
Several motorists told Capital that delays in plate issuance have created opportunities for illegal brokers, locally referred to as “facilitators,” who offer to expedite the service for fees reaching 30,000 birr.
Under official procedures, the cost of a new license plate is around 17,000 birr, according to customers interviewed outside licensing offices.
Responding to the allegations, officials from the Authority acknowledged that a temporary shortage of Code 2 and Code 3 license plates occurred about five months ago, in early October 2025, due to printing-related issues. However, they say the disruption lasted only two days and has since been resolved.
“The rumors circulating outside originate from parties who lack accurate information. Customers should verify facts directly with the responsible institutions,” the Authority said.
Despite the assurance, motorists visiting licensing offices say the process remains slow. Some customers told Capital that obtaining new plates can take up to 30 days, which they believe has fueled the emergence of informal brokers operating around service centers.
The issuance of new license plates is part of a broader national reform led by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics aimed at replacing older vehicle plates with a new standardized system.
Transport Minister Alemu Sime previously said the program is intended to address several long-standing challenges in the country’s vehicle registration system.
One of the primary objectives is to curb illegal plate swapping, a practice in which individuals attach plates from auctioned or decommissioned vehicles to newly imported cars without customs clearance.
The reform is also intended to update national vehicle registration data. The last comprehensive vehicle registration was conducted in 2001/2002, and authorities estimate that Ethiopia currently has around 1.6 million vehicles. The project aims to close the data gap by producing nearly two million new plates.
Officials say the new system will also address security and discrimination concerns linked to the previous regional plate identifiers—such as those indicating Addis Ababa, Oromia, or Amhara—which in some cases exposed drivers to profiling or regional bias.
Under the new system, vehicles will instead carry a uniform national identifier, using the country codes “ETH” or “ኢት”, without regional labels.
The Ministry says the rollout of the new plates is continuing nationwide as part of efforts to modernize Ethiopia’s vehicle registration and transport management system.
