SHILLONG, JUNE 7: Meghalaya has brought new curbs on the display of designation boards on government and official vehicles, with the Transport department notifying regulations that limit such plates strictly to a defined set of constitutional and administrative authorities.
The Display of Name Boards on Motor Vehicles Regulations, 2026, notified on June 1 under TPT No. 72/2025/5 and framed under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, came into effect from its publication in the official Gazette.
The rules tighten who can carry name boards and how they must be displayed. According to the notification, no vehicle will be allowed to carry a board indicating the name of the government, a department, or the designation of any officer unless it falls under the categories listed and has prior approval from the Transport department.
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“No motor vehicle other than those specified below, in the manner described against each such vehicle, shall exhibit any boards showing the name of the government or the government department or the designation of the dignitaries/officer(s) using it without permission of the government, viz., Transport department,” the order says.
All approved boards will now have to follow a uniform design: 50×15 centimeters, red background with white or golden lettering. University vice chancellors, pro vice chancellors and registrars are the only exception, with their vehicles required to use light blue boards with white text. The plates must be fixed at the front and rear, near the number plate and separate from the registration mark. A central feature of the regulations is that the board must come off when the officer is not using the vehicle. The notification repeatedly stresses this condition for every category, from the Governor down to assistant commissioners.
“When the Hon’ble Chief Minister/Deputy Chief Minister is not travelling in the vehicle, the board shall be removed or suitably covered,” it notes, applying the same rule to ministers, judges, MPs, MLAs, secretaries, police and district officials.
Vehicles permitted to display boards include those used by the Governor, who must also display the National Emblem and carry the words “GOVERNOR OF MEGHALAYA”; the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister; cabinet ministers; the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly; members of Parliament and MLAs; the Chief Justice, judges and registrars of the High Court; district judges, special judges of POCSO, NDPS, MACT and land acquisition courts, and chief judicial magistrates; the Chief Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary; the DGP, PCCF & Head of Forest Force and officers of secretary rank and above; deputy commissioners and superintendents of police along with their additional and deputy-rank officers, executive magistrates and assistant commissioners; heads of departments; chairpersons, members and secretaries of constitutional and statutory bodies at the Centre and state; chief executive members, deputy CEMs, chairmen and deputy chairmen of autonomous district councils with the council name; and government vehicles assigned to Lok Bhavan marked “LOK BHAVAN”.
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MLAs who also head PSUs or boards may add the name and designation of that body.
The Transport department has also made it clear that a name board does not grant any extra road privileges.
The notification specifies that it does not allow tinted glass, black films, sirens, beacons or red flashing lights, and that use of such equipment will continue to be regulated under the Home (Police) department order of November 28, 2025.
Any future changes to the regulations will be vetted by a committee led by the Chief Secretary, and the new rules will override all earlier notifications on the subject.
Officials said the objective is to bring uniformity and prevent unauthorized use of official designation plates on vehicles across the state.