The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has made it mandatory for motorcycle owners to install manual number plates at the front of their vehicles by 15 November, in addition to the digital plates already fitted at the rear.
Owners must install the plates on their own, following the specifications set by the authority. Failure to comply with the directive within the deadline may result in legal action, the BRTA said in an urgent public notice.
Under the Road Transport Act 2018 and the Road Transport Rules 2022, motorcycles are required to have radio-frequency identification (RFID)-enabled, retro-reflective number plates at the rear.
However, the BRTA said displaying registration numbers at the front as well is necessary to strengthen traffic management and monitoring.
According to the notice, the front number plates must be made of stainless steel or aluminium, with black Bengali letters and numerals on a white background. Decorative designs and additional embellishments will not be allowed.
The authority has set separate size requirements for scooters and other motorcycles.
For scooters, the front plate must be 200 millimetres long and 100 millimetres wide, with characters at least 20 millimetres high.
For other motorcycles, the plate must measure 285 millimetres in length and 50 millimetres in width. The characters must also be at least 20 millimetres high.
The BRTA has urged motorcycle owners to install the front plates in accordance with the prescribed specifications by 15 November to avoid legal consequences.
