Citizens of Armenia paid 234 million 400 thousand drams for 224 "beautiful" license plates. This occurred within just two days following the government's decision on new criteria for sought-after license plates.
As stated by Ruslan Marandyan, head of the legal department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during a press conference on July 28, the criteria are set by the government, while the price is determined by the Minister of Internal Affairs. He emphasized that these are not "particularly sought-after" license plates, which, as before, are acquired through electronic auctions.
Explaining the differences, the head of the department noted that for highly sought-after plates, they consist of five zeros and two Latin letters (series) or four zeros, one digit, and two letters. For simply sought-after plates, they contain two zeros (or three if it is a legal entity), two letters, and three digits, and if the latter repeat, the price will be higher. The prices for highly sought-after license plates range from 250 thousand to 8 million drams. For example, the combination 00 +- (letters) XXX (numbers) costs 250 thousand drams, while the combination XX (numbers) +- (letters) 000 costs 600 thousand drams. All this applies only to vehicles with 7 characters (5 digits and 2 letters).
Tigran Gevorgyan, deputy head of the registration and examination services, permits, and licensing department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, stated that these license plates can be purchased at the time of vehicle registration. The advantage is that after the sale of the vehicle, they can remain with the owner for about six months, and he can register a new vehicle with them or transfer them to a close relative. If the plates are not used during this time, they are returned to the general database and can be sold.
Gevorgyan added that since February 1, 2024, the auctions for particularly sought-after plates have generated 892 million drams for the state budget (for 49 plates). Following the approval of the new criteria, 224 plates were sold in the last two days, and citizens paid 234 million 400 thousand drams. The highest demand is in the category priced at 600 thousand drams.
It was also noted that the license plates of government vehicles do not belong to either the sought-after or particularly sought-after categories and cost the same as regular plates – 12 thousand drams.
