Kano State Plate Number Codes — Full List of All 44 LGAs

Kano has 44 Local Government Areas — the highest LGA count of any Nigerian state — reflecting its position as one of the country's largest and most densely populated states.

Every Nigerian vehicle plate number follows the format ABC-123-XY, introduced nationwide in 2011.

• First 3 letters (ABC) — the Local Government Area (LGA) where the vehicle was registered. Every LGA in Nigeria has its own unique 3-letter code.
• Middle 3 digits (123) — a serial number unique to that LGA, running from 001 to 999 before resetting.
• Last 2 letters (XY) — a batch code. The first of the two also encodes the registration year: A = 2011, B = 2012, C = 2013, and so on sequentially.

Plates issued before the 2011 revision used a different layout (2 letters, 3 digits, then 3 letters), but the LGA code itself is the same information either way.

Kano State — Full LGAs List

Kano's Trading Legacy and Its Vehicle Market

Kano is Northern Nigeria's largest commercial hub, with a trading history that predates Nigeria itself — the city has been a major trans-Saharan trade centre for centuries, and that commercial identity carries directly into how vehicles move through the state today. With 44 Local Government Areas, Kano has more LGA-level plate codes than any other state in the country, a direct reflection of its size and population.

Commercial and cargo vehicles make up an unusually large share of Kano's registered fleet compared to most southern Nigerian states, since the city remains a primary distribution point for goods moving between northern Nigeria and neighbouring countries like Niger and Chad. If you're buying a pickup, truck, or commercial van in Kano specifically, checking its registration history is arguably more important than for an equivalent private car — high-utilisation commercial vehicles accumulate wear, ownership changes, and modification history far faster than personal vehicles do.

Kano Municipal (KMC) covers the historic city centre and old commercial districts, while central, high-density LGAs like Fagge (FGE) and Nassarawa (NSR) see some of the heaviest used-vehicle turnover in the state. Vehicles registered under Kano's more rural LGA codes — and there are dozens, from Ajingi to Wudil — but being sold in the central city markets aren't unusual, since commercial vehicles in particular travel widely within the state for work. Still, it's worth understanding a vehicle's actual history rather than assuming a central plate code guarantees a central-market background.

Because commercial vehicle fraud — cloned plates on stolen cargo vehicles, mismatched engine and chassis numbers after repairs — is a real risk in any high-commercial-volume market, pairing this LGA lookup with a full chassis check is worth the extra few minutes regardless of what type of vehicle you're buying.

Run the seller's number through our Chassis Number Check before finalising any purchase in Kano, and use the Vehicle Papers Checklist to confirm every document lines up.

Check a Kano State Plate Instantly

Rather than searching this table manually, use the free Nigeria Plate Number Checker — enter any plate number and it decodes the LGA, registration year, and format automatically.

Looking for other states? See the complete list of Nigeria plate number codes for all 36 states.