vehicles 0.4.1 → 0.8.0

data/data/plates/lv.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,924 @@
+# plates/lv.yml — Latvia (PRD-PLATES gate L1, EU/EEA wave 2). DRAFT for
+# verification: researched by an Opus L1 researcher, never applied directly.
+#
+# THE LATVIAN SOURCE CHAIN — THE FULL INSTRUMENT LINE, DATED TO THE DAY
+#
+# Latvia is the best-documented of the three Baltic files for INSTRUMENT
+# CONTINUITY: likumi.lv carries the whole succession of registration
+# regulations back to 1998, each with its own commencement and repeal date, and
+# the current one carries the plate description as an ANNEX rather than
+# delegating it away. The chain actually verified in this pass:
+#
+#   Satiksmes ministrijas 20.06.1998. noteikumi Nr. 37   in force 01.07.1998
+#   Satiksmes ministrijas 22.03.1999. noteikumi Nr. 10   in force 01.04.1999
+#   Satiksmes ministrijas 05.12.2000. noteikumi Nr. 25   in force 07.12.2000
+#   MK 27.04.2004. noteikumi Nr. 446                     in force 01.05.2004
+#   MK 22.12.2009. noteikumi Nr. 1610                    in force 30.12.2009
+#   MK 30.11.2010. noteikumi Nr. 1080  (CURRENT)         in force 04.12.2010
+#
+# THE CRITICAL STRUCTURAL FACT: MK 1080 IS ONLY HALF THE LAW.
+# Its 7. pielikums ("Numura zīmju apraksts") fixes plate TYPES and DIMENSIONS,
+# SYMBOL COUNTS and the SPECIAL-PURPOSE COLOURS — and deliberately stops there.
+# It states no base colour for an ordinary plate, no character height, no
+# typeface and nothing about the EU band, because punkts 6 defers all of that
+# to the national standard: "Ja numura zīme atbilst piemērojamo standartu
+# prasībām, tad tā atbilst šo noteikumu prasībām." The standard is LVS 20
+# ("Transportlīdzekļu valsts reģistrācijas numura zīmes"), it is PAYWALLED and
+# not on likumi.lv, and its text was NOT obtained. Every colour, height and
+# font fact a render layer wants therefore sits behind a wall this pass did not
+# cross — recorded as gaps.lvs_20, and the reason `design.background` here is
+# sourced to CSDD's own wording rather than to the regulation.
+#
+# FOUR FACTS THAT SHAPE THIS FILE
+#
+# 1. THE INDEPENDENCE TRANSITION IS DATED, AND IT IS A WINDOW, NOT A DAY.
+#    This is the slice's headline finding and it is PRIMARY. Latvia did not
+#    switch in one act: Satiksmes ministrijas 20.09.1994. noteikumi Nr. 1 set a
+#    ROLLING withdrawal of the Soviet-pattern plates — see
+#    `soviet_withdrawal` below for the verbatim text and the three dates.
+#    NOTE WHAT THIS IS NOT: it is not the date the Latvian series STARTED. That
+#    instrument regulates the EXCHANGE of old plates for new ones already in
+#    existence, so the new series necessarily predates it. See
+#    gaps.series_start.
+#
+# 2. THE HYPHEN IS STATUTORY, AND ONLY ON ONE PLATE TYPE. 7. pielikums 2.3:
+#    "A tipa numura zīmēs burti no cipariem atdalīti ar horizontālu svītru."
+#    A horizontal stroke separates the letters from the digits — on the A type
+#    ONLY. B, C, F and G types carry the same marks with no stroke prescribed.
+#    So Latvia's famous "AA-1234" is specifically the 520 x 110 plate, and the
+#    same mark on a motorcycle prints without the hyphen.
+#
+# 3. THE CHARSET RULE EXISTED AND WAS REPEALED, TO THE DAY. Q, W, X and Y were
+#    excluded from general-use marks from 04.12.2010 until 31.12.2015 and the
+#    exclusion was deleted with effect from 01.01.2016. Both ends are primary
+#    and both are recorded — this is the single most likely thing for a
+#    competing dataset to have wrong, because the rule is still widely repeated
+#    as current. See common.charset.
+#
+# 4. "RED ON WHITE" IS A MIS-DESCRIPTION AND THIS FILE DOES NOT REPEAT IT.
+#    Latvia uses red in THREE different ways and the regulation distinguishes
+#    them: the DIPLOMATIC plate has a red BACKGROUND ("fons ir sarkanā krāsā"),
+#    the TRADE plate has red SYMBOLS on an ordinary ground ("simboli ir sarkanā
+#    krāsā"), and the TRANSIT plate carries a red FIELD of specified size
+#    ("izvietots noteikta izmēra sarkanas krāsas laukums") rather than being
+#    red overall. Three different claims, three different series.
+jurisdiction: lv
+authority:
+  name: CSDD — Ceļu satiksmes drošības direkcija (Road Traffic Safety Directorate)
+  url: "https://www.csdd.lv/transportlidzeklis/transportlidzekla-numura-zimes/izvelne/"
+binding: vehicle
+instrument:
+  act:
+    citation: "Ceļu satiksmes likums"
+    delegating_provisions: "10. panta 1.^4 daļa, 10.^2 panta ceturtā daļa, 21. panta otrā daļa (and Nolietotu transportlīdzekļu apsaimniekošanas likuma 6. panta trešā daļa)"
+    quoted: >-
+      MK 1080's own izdošanas norma, verbatim: "Izdoti saskaņā ar Ceļu
+      satiksmes likuma 10. panta 1.^4 daļu, 10.^2 panta ceturto daļu un
+      21. panta otro daļu un Nolietotu transportlīdzekļu apsaimniekošanas
+      likuma 6. panta trešo daļu". The Act also fixes HOW MANY plates a vehicle
+      carries — 9. panta otrā daļa: "Mehāniskajiem transportlīdzekļiem jābūt
+      divām valsts reģistrācijas numura zīmēm, bet motocikliem, tricikliem,
+      kvadricikliem, traktortehnikai (izņemot lauksaimniecības mašīntraktoru),
+      mopēdiem un piekabēm, kuru izgatavotājs paredzējis uzstādīt tikai vienu
+      numura zīmi, — vienai valsts reģistrācijas numura zīmei."
+    source: "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/45467-celu-satiksmes-likums  # 9. panta otrā daļa (one or two plates); 4.^1 panta ceturtā daļa (trade plates delegated to the Cabinet)"
+  regulation:
+    citation: "Ministru kabineta 2010. gada 30. novembra noteikumi Nr. 1080 „Transportlīdzekļu reģistrācijas noteikumi”"
+    adopted: "2010-11-30"
+    published: "Latvijas Vēstnesis, 192, 03.12.2010"
+    in_force_from: "2010-12-04"
+    status: "spēkā esošs (in force as at this pass)"
+    plate_annex: "7. pielikums „Numura zīmju apraksts” — current wording per MK 13.02.2024. noteikumi Nr. 97, in force 22.02.2024"
+    repealed_predecessor: >-
+      MK 1080 punkts 86, verbatim: "Atzīt par spēku zaudējušiem Ministru
+      kabineta 2009.gada 22.decembra noteikumus Nr.1610 „Transportlīdzekļu
+      reģistrācijas noteikumi” (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2009, 204.nr.)."
+    amendment_count: "14 amending regulations to date: Nr. 645/2012, 174/2014, 796/2015, 29/2017, 294/2017, 495/2018, 678/2018, 560/2019, 637/2020, 479/2021, 682/2021, 97/2024, 418/2025, 170/2026"
+    source: "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # the consolidated text; 7. pielikums carries every format claim in this file"
+  standard:
+    citation: "LVS 20 „Transportlīdzekļu valsts reģistrācijas numura zīmes”"
+    editions_traced: "LVS 20-92 (bound by CSDD rīkojums 04.01.1996 and by MK 19.01.1999 Nr. 15); LVS 20:2003 (bound by MK 446 from 01.05.2004); LVS 20:2003/A1:2006; LVS 20:2009 (named by CSDD's current page)"
+    deferral_clause: >-
+      MK 1080 7. pielikums punkts 6, verbatim: "Ja numura zīme atbilst
+      piemērojamo standartu prasībām, tad tā atbilst šo noteikumu prasībām."
+    status: "PAYWALLED AND NOT OBTAINED — see gaps.lvs_20. No dimension, colour or typeface claim in this file rests on it."
+    source: "https://www.csdd.lv/numura-zimju-apraksts/vispareja-informacija-2  # CSDD: 'Valsts numura zīmes tiek izgatavotas atbilstoši standartā LVS 20:2009 „Transportlīdzekļu valsts reģistrācijas numura zīmes” noteiktajiem nosacījumiem.'"
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# THE INDEPENDENCE-ERA TRANSITION — LATVIA'S OWN DATES, ITS OWN INSTRUMENT.
+# Recorded here rather than as a series because the plates being withdrawn are
+# Soviet, i.e. outside this jurisdiction file.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+soviet_withdrawal:
+  instrument: "Satiksmes ministrijas 20.09.1994. noteikumi Nr. 1 „Noteikumi par vecā parauga transporta līdzekļu valsts reģistrācijas numura zīmju un vadītāja apliecību nomaiņu”"
+  adopted: "1994-09-20"
+  in_force_from: "1994-09-20"
+  published: "Latvijas Vēstnesis 112, 24.09.1994"
+  purpose: >-
+    Verbatim: "…Satiksmes ministrija nosaka šādu kārtību vecā parauga (bijušās
+    PSRS parauga) transporta līdzekļu valsts reģistrācijas numura zīmju un
+    vadītāja apliecību nomaiņai pret jaunā parauga Latvijas Republikas valsts
+    reģistrācijas numura zīmēm un vadītāja apliecībām." — the procedure for
+    exchanging OLD-PATTERN (former USSR pattern) plates for NEW-PATTERN Republic
+    of Latvia plates.
+  three_dates:
+    - "1995-01-01 — from this date a vehicle needed new-pattern plates to leave Latvia: 'Sākot ar 1995.gada 1.janvāri, lai izbrauktu ar transporta līdzekli ārpus Latvijas Republikas, transporta līdzeklim nepieciešamas: - jaunā parauga valsts reģistrācijas numura zīmes…'"
+    - "1995 — plates bearing CYRILLIC letters had to be exchanged by the end of the vehicle's roadworthiness-test term: '1995.gadā transporta līdzekļiem vecā parauga valsts reģistrācijas numura zīmes, kurās ir slāvu alfabēta burti, jānomaina ar jaunā parauga… līdz norādītā transporta līdzekļa tehniskās apskates termiņa beigām.'"
+    - "1996 — ALL remaining old-pattern plates had to be exchanged: '1996.gadā visiem transporta līdzekļiem vecā parauga valsts reģistrācijas numura zīmes jānomaina…'"
+  enforcement_corroboration:
+    - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/34016  # CSDD rīkojums Nr. 11-3/1, 06.01.1995, p. 1.8: no roadworthiness test for vehicles with Cyrillic-lettered plates — 'Valsts tehniskā apskate netiek veikta transporta līdzekļiem, kuriem ir numura zīmes ar slāvu alfabēta burtiem…'"
+    - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/38869  # CSDD rīkojums Nr. 11-3/2, 04.01.1996, p. 1.8: no test for plates not conforming to LVS 20-92 — the enforcement moves from an alphabet test to a STANDARD test in one year"
+  reading: >-
+    THE POINT, AND THE TRAP. This is a WITHDRAWAL window for the Soviet plate,
+    not the birth of the Latvian one. It gives Latvia three primary dates
+    (1.1.1995 for foreign travel, 1995 for Cyrillic plates, 1996 for the rest)
+    and it gives NONE of them to Estonia or Lithuania, whose transitions were
+    separate national acts on separate timetables. Latvia's neighbours are NOT
+    covered by this instrument and must never inherit its dates.
+  source: "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/239628  # Satiksmes ministrijas 20.09.1994. noteikumi Nr. 1"
+
+common:
+  plate_types:
+    note: "7. pielikums punkts 1 — seven lettered blanks, each with its own millimetre size and its own mounting rule."
+    types:
+      A: { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm, use: "front and rear; NOT fitted to motorcycles, tricycles, quadricycles or mopeds" }
+      B: { w: 280, h: 200, unit: mm, use: "rear, where the vehicle's construction cannot take an A type" }
+      C: { w: 240, h: 130, unit: mm, use: "rear of motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles" }
+      E: { w: 300, h: 110, unit: mm, use: "vehicles issued special-purpose plates" }
+      F: { w: 177, h: 130, unit: mm, use: "rear of motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles that cannot take a C type" }
+      G: { w: 133, h: 165, unit: mm, use: "rear of mopeds" }
+      H: { w: 133, h: 165, unit: mm, use: "rear of off-road vehicles" }
+    csdd_divergence: >-
+      CSDD's own type page reproduces A, B, C, F, G and H with the same
+      millimetres but OMITS the E type, which the regulation retains, and adds a
+      practice rule the regulation does not contain: "Ja transportlīdzeklim
+      iepriekš bija izsniegta E tipa numura zīme, veicot numuru maiņu, CSDD
+      izsniedz C tipa numura zīmi." A divergence between the instrument and the
+      issuing authority, recorded and not averaged (PRD-PLATES §5.3).
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 1.1-1.7"
+      - "https://www.csdd.lv/numura-zimju-apraksts/nr-zimju-tipi-19  # CSDD's type table and the E-to-C replacement practice"
+  charset:
+    alphabet: "Latin alphabet letters and Arabic numerals — 7. pielikums says only 'latīņu alfabēta burti', with no diacritics rule"
+    excluded_letters_history:
+      rule_text: >-
+        7. pielikums punkts 2.7, in the wording in force 04.12.2010 to
+        31.12.2015, verbatim: "vispārējās izmantošanas numura zīmēs, izņemot šo
+        noteikumu 12.punktā minētās numura zīmes, nevar tikt izmantoti latīņu
+        alfabēta burti „Q”, „W”, „X” un „Y”." The identical provision stood in
+        the predecessor MK 1610/2009, 7. pielikums p. 2.7.
+      repealed_by: >-
+        Ministru kabineta 22.12.2015. noteikumi Nr. 796, item 1.35: "svītrot
+        7. pielikuma 2.7. apakšpunktu", with commencement "Noteikumi stājas spēkā
+        2016. gada 1. janvārī."
+      in_force: "2010-12-04 to 2015-12-31 (and earlier under MK 1610 from 30.12.2009)"
+      current_position: >-
+        NO LETTER EXCLUSION IS IN FORCE. From 1 January 2016 the regulation says
+        only "latīņu alfabēta burti". THIS IS THE FILE'S SHARPEST CORRECTION:
+        the claim that Latvia excludes Q is repeated as current in secondary
+        compilations and is NOT supported by the regulation as it stands. If an
+        exclusion still operates in practice it does so through LVS 20 or CSDD
+        allocation practice, neither of which could be sourced — so no regex or
+        regex_strict in this file excludes any letter. Encoding an unverified
+        exclusion would reject valid marks, the worse failure.
+      verification: "the boundary was checked by fetching the consolidated text at 31.12.2015 (rule present) and at 01.01.2016 (rule absent)"
+      sources:
+        - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145/redakcijas-datums/2010/12/04/  # the original redaction carrying p. 2.7"
+        - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/278917  # MK 22.12.2015. Nr. 796, item 1.35 and its 01.01.2016 commencement"
+        - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/202855  # MK 1610/2009, 7. pielikums p. 2.7 — the same exclusion, earlier"
+    no_leading_zero: true
+    no_leading_zero_basis: >-
+      Not stated as a prohibition but implied by the way the annex counts:
+      the digits "veido skaitļus no 1 līdz 9999" (form NUMBERS from 1 to 9999),
+      i.e. a numeric range rather than a digit string. Encoded in
+      `regex_strict` as [1-9]\d{0,3}, never in `regex`.
+    vanity_content_rule: >-
+      MK 1080 p. 12.3: an individual mark must not be "latviešu valodas
+      normatīvajām prasībām neatbilstošs burtu salikums" — a letter combination
+      not conforming to the normative requirements of the Latvian language.
+      Not machine-encodable; recorded.
+  colours:
+    hex_basis_note: >-
+      READ THIS BEFORE USING ANY HEX IN THIS FILE. MK 1080 states colours ONLY
+      for special-purpose plates (red diplomatic ground, red trade symbols, red
+      transit field, yellow taxi ground, green off-road symbols, black military
+      ground with white symbols, blue electric symbols). For an ORDINARY plate
+      the regulation states NO colour at all — punkts 6 defers to LVS 20, which
+      is paywalled and unread. The only authority statement located for the
+      ordinary plate's colour is CSDD's contrast of the general-use "baltās"
+      (white) plates with the taxi "dzeltenās" (yellow) ones. Every hex below is
+      `hex_basis: observed`; the white is CSDD-worded, and none of it is a
+      colorimetric specification.
+    retroreflection: '7. pielikums 5.4: "numura zīmēm ir atstarojoša materiāla pārklājums, un tās ir aizsargātas pret koroziju" — reflective coating and corrosion protection, for every plate except where a class rule says otherwise (the military plate is expressly non-reflective).'
+    source: "https://www.csdd.lv/transportlidzekla-numura-zimes/taksometru-numuru-zimes  # CSDD's 'dzeltenās' vs 'baltās' wording — the sole authority basis for the ordinary plate being white"
+  eu_band:
+    side: left
+    content: eu-stars+LV
+    dating: >-
+      NOT ESTABLISHED, AND DELIBERATELY NOT GUESSED. No Latvian instrument
+      names, defines or dates the EU band. A full-text search of the likumi.lv
+      corpus for the phrase "Eiropas Savienības simboliku" returns exactly ONE
+      act — MK 1080 — which refers to plates bearing EU symbols as an existing
+      category without ever defining or dating them (p. 11.^2: "…ja nomainītās
+      numura zīmes ir ar Eiropas Savienības simboliku…"; p. 14: "…kas nav jaunā
+      parauga numura zīmes ar Eiropas Savienības simboliku…"). There is no
+      transitional provision fixing a start date.
+    nearest_dated_event: >-
+      The only dated, instrument-backed event in the vicinity is the change of
+      BINDING STANDARD: MK 27.04.2004. noteikumi Nr. 446 required plates to
+      conform to "valsts standartu LVS 20:2003" and commenced on Latvia's
+      accession day — punkts 82: "Noteikumi stājas spēkā ar 2004.gada
+      1.maiju." Whether LVS 20:2003 is the edition that introduced the star band
+      in place of the flag+LV COULD NOT BE VERIFIED, because the standard is
+      paywalled. 1 May 2004 is therefore recorded as the standard-change date
+      and is NOT asserted as the band date.
+    predecessor: "before the EU band, a small Latvian flag with the letters LV occupied the left of the plate (secondary)"
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/88052/redakcijas-datums/2004/05/01/  # MK 446 as commenced 01.05.2004, punkts 7 (LVS 20:2003) and punkts 82 (commencement)"
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # p. 11.^2 and p. 14 — EU-symbol plates referred to but never dated"
+      - "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Latvia  # SECONDARY, per-fact: that a Latvian flag with LV occupied the band position before 2004"
+
+region_encoding_gap:
+  decision: "NO decode table is shipped for Latvia. `region_encoding: none` on every series."
+  basis: >-
+    Unlike Estonia and Lithuania, this is not a case of a scheme abolished — it
+    is a case of a scheme that never existed. MK 1080's 7. pielikums assigns
+    meaning to a symbol position in exactly FOUR places, all of them class
+    markers rather than geography: the trade plate's first letter (A-E, the
+    vehicle type) and its last digit (the year of validity); the trial plate's
+    "IZM"; the diplomatic plate's "C"/"CC"/"CD"; and the military plate's
+    "L"/"LA". Every one of those is encoded inline in the relevant series'
+    `charset`, which PRD-PLATES §2.4 makes the right home for a small mapping.
+    No Latvian instrument or CSDD page reached in this pass encodes region,
+    district or era anywhere in a general-use mark.
+  source: "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums, read in full for positional semantics"
+
+out_of_scope:
+  president:
+    status: "NO SERIAL — cannot be a series under this schema."
+    detail: >-
+      MK 1080 punkts 15: "Valsts prezidenta automašīnai kopā ar numura zīmēm
+      izsniedz numura zīmes, kuru centrā attēlots lielais Latvijas Republikas
+      valsts ģerbonis." The President's car is issued, ALONGSIDE its ordinary
+      plates, plates bearing the greater coat of arms of Latvia in the centre.
+      No mark, no pattern, no regex. Note the Latvian construction differs from
+      Estonia's and Finland's: those permit the arms INSTEAD OF plates, Latvia
+      issues them IN ADDITION TO them.
+    source: "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # punkts 15"
+  historic_vs:
+    status: "A SERIES MARKER WITH NO PUBLISHED FORMAT — no series authored."
+    detail: >-
+      MK 1080 punkts 76 refers to "VS sērijas numura zīmes" for a vēsturiskais
+      spēkrats (historic vehicle): "Ja vēsturiskais spēkrats ir reģistrēts,
+      piešķirot VS sērijas numura zīmes, tad, zaudējot vēsturiskā spēkrata
+      statusu, jāveic valsts reģistrācijas numura maiņa." So a VS series
+      demonstrably exists and is named in the body of the regulation — but
+      7. pielikums, which is where every format lives, gives it NO entry: no
+      symbol count, no plate type, no colour. A pattern would be a guess, so
+      none is written. This is a genuine, narrow, well-located gap: a verifier
+      needs only the VS row that the annex does not have.
+    source: "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # punkts 76"
+  export:
+    status: "NOT A SEPARATE CLASS IN LATVIA — recorded so its absence is not read as an omission."
+    detail: >-
+      Several jurisdictions in this dataset have a distinct export plate.
+      Latvia does not: export is handled by the TRANSIT plate, and MK 1080
+      p. 13.1 says so — transit plates are issued to a vehicle "kuru paredzēts
+      izvest no Latvijas" (which it is intended to take out of Latvia). See
+      lv-transit, which therefore carries `categories` and a note covering the
+      export use rather than a separate series existing for it.
+
+gaps:
+  lvs_20: >-
+    THE PRINCIPAL GAP, AND IT IS STRUCTURAL. LVS 20 is where Latvia keeps its
+    base plate colours, character heights and typeface, by the express deferral
+    in 7. pielikums punkts 6. It is sold by the national standards body, its
+    catalogue is JS-rendered, and no edition was obtained: not LVS 20-92, not
+    LVS 20:2003, not /A1:2006, not LVS 20:2009 (the edition CSDD's current page
+    names). PRD-PLATES §4's SAE J686 posture applies exactly — never quote the
+    standard's values until it is bought. Consequence: this file carries NO
+    character height and NO font for any Latvian series, and its ordinary-plate
+    colours rest on CSDD's wording rather than on a specification.
+  series_start: >-
+    THE INDEPENDENCE-ERA START DATE IS NOT ESTABLISHED. The 20.09.1994
+    instrument dates the WITHDRAWAL of Soviet plates (see soviet_withdrawal) but
+    presupposes the Latvian series already exists. A title search of likumi.lv
+    across 01.01.1990-31.12.1999 returns exactly one plate-related act — that
+    one — and the earliest registration rules held there are from 1998, so no
+    instrument establishing the new series is reachable on likumi.lv at all.
+    The nearest primary anchor is the DESIGNATION of the standard, LVS 20-92,
+    whose suffix implies a 1992 edition and which is named as binding by
+    CSDD rīkojums 04.01.1996 and by MK 19.01.1999 Nr. 15. The widely repeated
+    "1993" is SECONDARY and unsupported by any instrument reached. lv-standard-1993
+    is tagged accordingly and its start must not be reported as an instrument date.
+  eu_band_date: >-
+    Not established — see common.eu_band.dating. Do NOT report 1 May 2004 as
+    the band date; it is the date LVS 20:2003 became binding, which is a
+    different claim.
+  2026_redesign: >-
+    Secondary reporting indicates a 2026 Latvian plate redesign replacing the
+    hyphen with a coat of arms. The 2026 amending regulation located
+    (MK 24.03.2026. Nr. 170, in force 28.03.2026) does NOT touch 7. pielikums,
+    and no dated plate-design provision was traced. NO series is authored for it
+    and the hyphen is recorded as current. Flagged for the quarterly audit.
+  chain_discontinuity: >-
+    likumi.lv records MK 446 as ceasing 31.07.2009 while its successor MK 1610
+    only commenced 30.12.2009 — a five-month hole in the chain that no located
+    instrument fills. Recorded rather than explained away.
+  lvs_20_2019: >-
+    A secondary source claims a LVS 20:2019 edition; CSDD's live pages still
+    name LVS 20:2009. Unresolved, and immaterial to any claim in this file
+    because no LVS content is used.
+
+series:
+
+  # =========================================================================
+  # THE GENERAL-USE MARK. 7. pielikums 2.2: "A, B un C tipa numura zīmēs, kuras
+  # paredzētas uzstādīšanai mehāniskajiem transportlīdzekļiem, ir divi latīņu
+  # alfabēta burti un no viena līdz četriem cipariem, kas veido skaitļus no 1
+  # līdz 9999."
+  # =========================================================================
+  - id: lv-standard
+    class: standard
+    categories: [car, van, truck, bus]
+    period: { start: 2004 }
+    period_evidence: enabling-instrument
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "LL-9999"
+      regex: '\A[A-Z]{2}-\d{1,4}\z'
+      regex_strict: '\A[A-Z]{2}-[1-9]\d{0,3}\z'
+      charset:
+        letters: "2 Latin alphabet letters. NO letter is excluded — the Q/W/X/Y exclusion was repealed with effect from 01.01.2016 (see common.charset)."
+        digits: "1 to 4, forming a NUMBER from 1 to 9999 — hence no leading zero, which is what regex_strict carries and regex cannot"
+      separator_note: >-
+        THE HYPHEN IS STATUTORY AND TYPE-SPECIFIC. 7. pielikums 2.3, verbatim:
+        "A tipa numura zīmēs burti no cipariem atdalīti ar horizontālu svītru."
+        The horizontal stroke is prescribed for the A type ONLY; the B and C
+        blanks carry the same mark with no stroke prescribed. The pattern
+        spells the A-type printed form, per PRD-PLATES §2.6 rule 2, and a
+        separator-forgiving consumer recovers the B/C form.
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm }
+      plate_variants:
+        - { w: 280, h: 200, unit: mm, note: "B type — rear only, where the construction cannot take an A type; no hyphen prescribed" }
+      background: { color: "#FFFFFF", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed, spec_note: "THE REGULATION STATES NO COLOUR for an ordinary plate — punkts 6 defers to LVS 20, unread. This hex rests on CSDD calling general-use plates 'baltās'. Not a specification." }
+      foreground: "#000000"
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed, note: "no Latvian instrument defines or dates the band — see common.eu_band" }
+      characters: { note: "NO character height or typeface is recorded: both live in LVS 20, which was not obtained (gaps.lvs_20)" }
+      rear_differs: false
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 2.2 (two letters and one to four digits forming 1-9999), 2.3 (the A-type hyphen), 1.1-1.2 (A and B dimensions), 5.4 (reflective coating); punkts 7 (a mark is assigned on first registration in Latvia)"
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/88052/redakcijas-datums/2004/05/01/  # MK 446 punkts 7 and punkts 82 — LVS 20:2003 made binding from 1 May 2004, the dated event this series' start rests on"
+      - "https://www.csdd.lv/numura-zimju-apraksts/vispareja-informacija-2  # CSDD: plates are made to LVS 20:2009"
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/45467-celu-satiksmes-likums  # 9. panta otrā daļa — two plates on a mechanical vehicle"
+    notes: >-
+      THE CURRENT LATVIAN PLATE — "AA-1234", and the hyphen is in the
+      instrument, not in typography. READ period.start CAREFULLY: 2004 is the
+      date MK 446 made the LVS 20:2003 standard binding (in force 1 May 2004,
+      Latvia's accession day), which is the nearest dated instrument event to
+      the modern plate. It is NOT a verified EU-band date and NOT a format
+      change: the two-letters-plus-up-to-four-digits grammar is materially older
+      and ran across the boundary unchanged, which is why lv-standard-1993
+      carries the same format with a different left-hand device. Tagged
+      `enabling-instrument` because MK 446 is the instrument that enabled the
+      current design regime, not because it prescribed this mark.
+
+  - id: lv-standard-1993
+    class: standard
+    categories: [car, van, truck, bus]
+    period: { start: 1993, end: 2004 }
+    period_evidence: secondary-dated
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "LL-9999"
+      regex: '\A[A-Z]{2}-\d{1,4}\z'
+      charset:
+        notes: >-
+          No regex_strict. The Q/W/X/Y exclusion is first traceable to
+          MK 1610/2009 and cannot be projected back onto a series that closed in
+          2004 — the instrument-date rule forbids exactly that anachronism. The
+          leading-zero reading likewise comes from the 2009/2010 annex wording.
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm }
+      background: { color: "#FFFFFF", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed }
+      foreground: "#000000"
+      band: { side: left, content: "lv-flag", note: "a small Latvian flag with the letters LV occupied the band position before the EU symbols (secondary); no colour or geometry specification was reached, so no hex is claimed" }
+      characters: { note: "governed by LVS 20-92, unobtained" }
+      rear_differs: false
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Latvia  # SECONDARY, per-fact: that Soviet plates with the Latin letters LA and LT were used until 1993 when the new Latvian type was introduced, and that a small Latvian flag with LV occupied the left of the plate until 2004 — the sole evidence for period.start"
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/239628  # PRIMARY: Satiksmes ministrijas 20.09.1994. noteikumi Nr. 1 — presupposes this series already exists and sets the Soviet-plate withdrawal window; see soviet_withdrawal"
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/38869  # PRIMARY: CSDD rīkojums 04.01.1996 binding plates to LVS 20-92, whose designation implies a 1992 edition — the nearest primary anchor to this series' start"
+    notes: >-
+      THE INDEPENDENCE-ERA SERIES, AND THE ONE RECORD IN THIS FILE WHOSE START
+      IS NOT PRIMARY. 1993 is SECONDARY and unsupported by any instrument
+      reachable on likumi.lv, where a title search across the whole 1990s
+      returns exactly one plate-related act and the earliest registration rules
+      are from 1998 (gaps.series_start). Two PRIMARY facts bracket it without
+      dating it: the standard is designated LVS 20-92, implying a 1992 edition,
+      and the 20.09.1994 changeover regulation already treats the new Latvian
+      plate as existing. The FORMAT is carried forward from lv-standard and is a
+      RECORDED INFERENCE for this period. Distinct from lv-standard in exactly
+      one respect — the left-hand device — which is why they are two series.
+      Latvia's Soviet-era predecessor plates are not modelled here; their
+      withdrawal is recorded under soviet_withdrawal.
+
+  - id: lv-trailer
+    class: trailer
+    categories: [trailer, semitrailer]
+    period: { start: 2010 }
+    period_evidence: instrument-in-force
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "L-9999"
+      regex: '\A[A-Z]-(?:\d{1,4}|\d{1,2}[A-Z]{2}|\d{1,2}[A-Z])\z'
+      charset:
+        letters: "ONE leading letter, against two on a car"
+        digits: "1 to 4"
+        notes: >-
+          7. pielikums 2.2, verbatim: "A, B un C tipa numura zīmēs, kuras
+          paredzētas uzstādīšanai piekabēm (puspiekabēm), ir viens latīņu
+          alfabēta burts un no viena līdz četriem cipariem… Piekabēm,
+          puspiekabēm un mopēdiem paredzēto numura zīmju pēdējo divu ciparu
+          simbolu vietā var lietot burtu simbolus." One letter and up to four
+          digits — AND the last TWO digit positions may be replaced by letters,
+          which is why the regex carries three alternatives rather than one.
+          This substitution rule is unique to trailers and mopeds.
+      separator_note: "the A-type hyphen rule (2.3) applies; B and C types print no stroke"
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm }
+      plate_variants:
+        - { w: 280, h: 200, unit: mm, note: "B type" }
+      background: { color: "#FFFFFF", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed }
+      foreground: "#000000"
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed }
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 2.2 — the trailer mark and the letters-for-digits substitution"
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/45467-celu-satiksmes-likums  # 9. panta otrā daļa — a trailer designed for one plate carries one"
+    notes: >-
+      THE TRAILER MARK — one letter where a car has two, and the only Latvian
+      general-use mark whose TRAILING positions may be letters. That
+      substitution is the reason this series' regex is a three-way union rather
+      than a simple shape, and it is fully sourced, so `matching` stays strict.
+      period.start 2010 is instrument-dated on MK 1080 and is a FLOOR: the
+      trailer mark is older and its own start is unpinned.
+
+  - id: lv-moped
+    class: moped
+    categories: [moped]
+    period: { start: 2010 }
+    period_evidence: instrument-in-force
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "L-999"
+      regex: '\A[A-Z]-(?:\d{1,3}|\d[A-Z]{2}|\d{1,2}[A-Z])\z'
+      charset:
+        notes: >-
+          7. pielikums 2.2: "A tipa numura zīmēs, kuras paredzētas uzstādīšanai
+          mopēdiem, ir viens latīņu alfabēta burts un no viena līdz trijiem
+          cipariem, kas veido skaitļus no 1 līdz 999", and 2.6 gives the G type
+          the same one-letter, one-to-three-digit mark. The trailer/moped
+          letters-for-digits substitution (last two positions) applies here too.
+      separator_note: "hyphen on the A type; the G type (133 x 165 mm, mopeds) is a tall blank and prints no stroke"
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 133, h: 165, unit: mm }
+      plate_variants:
+        - { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm, note: "A type, where fitted" }
+      background: { color: "#FFFFFF", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed }
+      foreground: "#000000"
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed }
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 2.2 (A type for mopeds) and 2.6 (G type), 1.6 (G dimensions)"
+    notes: >-
+      THE MOPED MARK. Shares the trailer's one-letter shape but caps the digits
+      at three rather than four, and shares its letters-for-digits substitution.
+      The G blank is 133 x 165 mm — TALLER THAN IT IS WIDE, one of only two such
+      plates in the file (the other is the off-road H type, identical in size).
+
+  - id: lv-motorcycle
+    class: motorcycle
+    categories: [motorcycle, tricycle, quadricycle]
+    period: { start: 2010 }
+    period_evidence: instrument-in-force
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "LL9999"
+      regex: '\A[A-Z]{2}\d{1,4}\z'
+      regex_strict: '\A[A-Z]{2}[1-9]\d{0,3}\z'
+      charset:
+        notes: "the same two-letter, one-to-four-digit mark as a car (7. pielikums 2.2 covers the C type in the same sentence) — only the blank differs"
+      separator_note: >-
+        NO HYPHEN. 2.3 prescribes the stroke for the A type only, and a
+        motorcycle takes the C type (240 x 130 mm) or the F type. The pattern
+        therefore spells the mark solid — the same Latvian mark prints WITH a
+        hyphen on a car and WITHOUT one on a motorcycle, which is exactly the
+        situation PRD-PLATES §2.6 exists to make safe.
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 240, h: 130, unit: mm }
+      background: { color: "#FFFFFF", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed }
+      foreground: "#000000"
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed }
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 2.2 (C type shares the car mark), 1.3 (C dimensions), 2.3 (hyphen is A-type only)"
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/45467-celu-satiksmes-likums  # 9. panta otrā daļa — motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles carry ONE plate"
+    notes: >-
+      THE MOTORCYCLE MARK on the C blank. Its mark space is IDENTICAL to
+      lv-standard's, so a Latvian mark alone does not say whether it is on a car
+      or a motorcycle — only the plate size and the absence of the hyphen do.
+      Its smaller sibling on the F blank caps the digits at three and is a
+      separate series.
+
+  - id: lv-motorcycle-f
+    class: motorcycle
+    categories: [motorcycle, tricycle, quadricycle]
+    period: { start: 2010 }
+    period_evidence: instrument-in-force
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "LL999"
+      regex: '\A[A-Z]{2}\d{1,3}\z'
+      regex_strict: '\A[A-Z]{2}[1-9]\d{0,2}\z'
+      charset:
+        notes: '7. pielikums 2.5, F type: "divi latīņu alfabēta burti un no viena līdz trijiem cipariem… no 1 līdz 999" — one digit shorter than the C type'
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 177, h: 130, unit: mm }
+      background: { color: "#FFFFFF", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed }
+      foreground: "#000000"
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed }
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 2.5 and 1.5 — the F type, for machines that cannot take a C type"
+    notes: >-
+      THE SMALL MOTORCYCLE PLATE, for machines whose construction will not take
+      the C blank. Separate series from lv-motorcycle on the digit ceiling
+      (three, not four). Overlaps it in period and categories because the two
+      blanks are alternatives for the same vehicles.
+
+  - id: lv-personalised
+    class: personalized
+    categories: [car, van, truck, bus, motorcycle, trailer]
+    period: { start: 2010 }
+    period_evidence: instrument-in-force
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "LLLL99"
+      regex: '\A(?:[A-Z]+ ?\d+|\d+ ?[A-Z]+)\z'
+      charset:
+        symbol_counts: "A type 2-8 symbols on one row; B type 2-7 (1-3 on the top row, 1-4 on the bottom); C type 2-8 with at most 4 per row; F type 2-5; G type 2-4"
+        rules: >-
+          7. pielikums 3.7, verbatim: "…izmanto ne vairāk kā trīs vienādus
+          simbolus pēc kārtas… Burtu un ciparu simbolus nevar lietot pamīšus…"
+          — at most three identical symbols in a row, and letters and digits may
+          NOT alternate. 3.8: "…simbolus var atdalīt tikai ar vienu atstarpi.
+          Nosakot simbolu skaitu, šo atstarpi uzskata par atsevišķu simbolu." —
+          the symbols may be separated by exactly ONE space, and that space
+          COUNTS as a symbol for the length limit. That last rule is unusual
+          enough to be worth a consumer's attention: Latvia charges the
+          separator against the character budget.
+        notes: >-
+          The regex encodes the non-alternation rule (a run of letters and a run
+          of digits, in either order) and the optional single space. It does NOT
+          encode the per-type length ceilings, which differ by blank, nor the
+          three-identical-symbols rule; those are recorded above. The Latvian-
+          language propriety rule (MK 1080 p. 12.3) is not machine-encodable.
+      separator_note: "a single space is permitted between the groups and is counted as a symbol (3.8); the pattern spells the unspaced form and the regex accepts both"
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm }
+      plate_variants:
+        - { w: 280, h: 200, unit: mm, note: "B type, two rows" }
+        - { w: 240, h: 130, unit: mm, note: "C type, at most 4 symbols per row" }
+      background: { color: "#FFFFFF", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed }
+      foreground: "#000000"
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed }
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums punkts 3 (per-type symbol counts), 3.7 (three-identical and non-alternation rules), 3.8 (the single space counted as a symbol); punkts 12.3 (the Latvian-language rule)"
+    notes: >-
+      THE INDIVIDUAL (VANITY) PLATE. Latvia publishes a genuinely detailed
+      grammar for it — per-blank length ceilings, a repetition cap, a
+      non-alternation rule and a separator that counts against the budget — and
+      the regex captures the two that are expressible without knowing which
+      blank is in use. Because the ceilings are per-type, a consumer that knows
+      the plate size can narrow further than this regex does.
+
+  # =========================================================================
+  # SPECIAL-PURPOSE CLASSES. 7. pielikums punkts 4 — and this is where Latvia
+  # DOES state colours, one class at a time.
+  # =========================================================================
+  - id: lv-transit
+    class: temporary
+    categories: [car, van, truck, bus, motorcycle, trailer]
+    period: { start: 2010 }
+    period_evidence: instrument-in-force
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "LL9999"
+      regex: '\A[A-Z]{2}\d{1,4}\z'
+      regex_strict: '\A[A-Z]{2}[1-9]\d{0,3}\z'
+      charset:
+        notes: "7. pielikums 4.1: A or C type, 3 to 6 symbols, of which the first two are letters and the rest digits forming numbers from 1 to 9999"
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm }
+      plate_variants:
+        - { w: 240, h: 130, unit: mm, note: "C type" }
+      background: { color: "#FFFFFF", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed }
+      foreground: "#000000"
+      marking: { red_field: true, note: '4.1.2, verbatim: "tranzīta numura zīmēs ir izvietots noteikta izmēra sarkanas krāsas laukums" — a red FIELD of specified size is placed on the plate. The regulation does not give the size or position here, and the plate is NOT red overall.' }
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed }
+    validity:
+      rule: "CSDD: 'Tranzīta numura zīmju derīguma termiņš ir 30 dienas.' — 30 days."
+      purpose: "MK 1080 p. 13.1: issued to a vehicle intended to be taken out of Latvia — which is why Latvia has no separate export class (see out_of_scope.export)"
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 4.1.1-4.1.2; punkts 13.1"
+      - "https://www.csdd.lv/transportlidzekla-numura-zimes/tranzita-numura-zimju-sanemsana  # CSDD: the 30-day validity"
+    notes: >-
+      THE TRANSIT PLATE, which is also Latvia's EXPORT plate. Note precisely
+      what the red is: a red FIELD placed on the plate, not a red ground and not
+      red characters — the regulation uses a different formula for each of its
+      three red plates and this file keeps them apart. The red field's
+      dimensions and position are stated only as "noteikta izmēra" (of specified
+      size) without giving the size, which is a real gap in the instrument
+      itself and is recorded as such rather than filled from a photograph.
+
+  - id: lv-dealer
+    class: dealer
+    categories: [car, van, truck, bus, motorcycle, trailer]
+    period: { start: 2010 }
+    period_evidence: instrument-in-force
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "A9999"          # the pattern spells the FIRST member of the
+                                # closed {A,B,C,D,E} set as canonical, so the
+                                # round-trip generates only serials the regex
+                                # can accept (the fi.yml "MLL-999" device)
+      regex: '\A[A-E]\d{2,5}\z'
+      charset:
+        first_letter: [A, B, C, D, E]
+        notes: >-
+          7. pielikums 4.2.2, verbatim: "pirmais simbols ir burts (A, B, C, D
+          vai E), kas norāda transportlīdzekļa veidu… Pēdējais cipars norāda
+          gadu, līdz kuram… derīga." TWO positions carry meaning: the FIRST
+          symbol is a letter from the closed set {A, B, C, D, E} denoting the
+          VEHICLE TYPE, and the LAST digit denotes the YEAR up to which the
+          plate is valid. The letter set is encoded in the regex; the
+          vehicle-type mapping behind each letter is NOT published in the annex
+          and is not invented here.
+        totals: "A type 3-6 symbols; C type 3-4"
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm }
+      plate_variants:
+        - { w: 240, h: 130, unit: mm, note: "C type, 3-4 symbols" }
+      background: { color: "#FFFFFF", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed }
+      foreground: "#D0021B"
+      border: { color: "#D0021B", note: '4.2.3, verbatim: "tirdzniecības numura zīmju simboli ir sarkanā krāsā" — red SYMBOLS on an otherwise ordinary plate' }
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed }
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 4.2.1-4.2.3"
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/45467-celu-satiksmes-likums  # 4.^1 panta ceturtā daļa — trade-plate requirements delegated to the Cabinet"
+    notes: >-
+      THE TRADE PLATE (tirdzniecības numura zīme), and the most information-rich
+      Latvian mark: its first character encodes the vehicle type and its last
+      digit encodes the expiry year, so a single trade mark carries both a class
+      and an era. The vehicle-type meanings of A-E are NOT in the annex and no
+      decode is shipped for them — a narrow, well-located gap. Red symbols, not
+      a red plate: contrast lv-diplomatic.
+
+  - id: lv-trial
+    class: dealer
+    categories: [car, van, truck, bus, motorcycle, trailer]
+    period: { start: 2010 }
+    period_evidence: instrument-in-force
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "IZM999"
+      regex: '\AIZM\d{1,3}\z'
+      regex_strict: '\AIZM[1-9]\d{0,2}\z'
+      charset:
+        literal_prefix: IZM
+        notes: >-
+          7. pielikums 4.3.2, verbatim: "pirmie trīs simboli ir burti, kas veido
+          burtu kombināciju „IZM”, bet pārējie simboli ir cipari… no 1 līdz
+          999." IZM (izmēģinājums — trial) is a fixed literal, so this regex IS
+          the annex's grammar.
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm }
+      background: { color: "#FFFFFF", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed }
+      foreground: "#000000"
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed }
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 4.3.1-4.3.2; punkts 13.3"
+    notes: >-
+      THE TRIAL/EXPERIMENTAL PLATE (izmēģinājuma numura zīme). CLASS CAVEAT:
+      `dealer` is the nearest value in _meta/classes.yml — a plate bound to a
+      business rather than a vehicle — but a trial plate is bound to a testing
+      programme rather than to a trade, and the vocabulary has no better slot.
+      Flagged rather than forced. Its fixed IZM prefix makes it the most
+      unambiguous mark in the Latvian system.
+
+  - id: lv-diplomatic
+    class: diplomatic
+    categories: [car, van]
+    period: { start: 2010 }
+    period_evidence: instrument-in-force
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "CD9999"
+      regex: '\A(?:C|CC|CD)\d{2,5}\z'
+      charset:
+        letter_groups: [C, CC, CD]
+        notes: >-
+          7. pielikums 4.4.2, verbatim: "pirmie simboli ir burti „C”, „CC” vai
+          „CD”… izvietoti numura zīmes augšējā rindā C tipa… vai kreisajā pusē
+          A tipa". Three letter groups, and the annex also fixes their PLACEMENT
+          — on the top row of a C-type plate, or on the left of an A-type. Total
+          symbols: A type 4-7, C type 4-6.
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm }
+      plate_variants:
+        - { w: 240, h: 130, unit: mm, note: "C type, letters on the top row" }
+      background: { color: "#C8102E", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed, spec_note: '4.4.3, verbatim: "diplomātisko numura zīmju fons ir sarkanā krāsā" — the GROUND is red. No RGB is given anywhere; this hex is observed.' }
+      foreground: "#FFFFFF"
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed }
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 4.4.1-4.4.3; punkts 13.4"
+    notes: >-
+      THE DIPLOMATIC PLATE — and THE red plate, the one whose GROUND is red,
+      as against the trade plate's red symbols and the transit plate's red
+      field. The three-way {C, CC, CD} distinction is stated by the annex but
+      its MEANING is not: no Latvian instrument reached says which of the three
+      denotes a head of mission, a diplomat or a consular officer, and no
+      mission-code decode is published. Recorded, not guessed. The foreground
+      colour is an inference from contrast, not a quoted rule — the annex fixes
+      the ground only.
+
+  - id: lv-taxi
+    class: taxi
+    categories: [car, van]
+    period: { start: 2010 }
+    period_evidence: instrument-in-force
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "LL9999"
+      regex: '\A[A-Z]{2}\d{1,4}\z'
+      regex_strict: '\A[A-Z]{2}[1-9]\d{0,3}\z'
+      charset:
+        notes: >-
+          7. pielikums 4.5.2: "pirmie divi simboli ir burti, bet pārējie ir
+          cipari… no 1 līdz 9999 (A) vai no 1 līdz 99 (E)". Two letters then
+          digits — the E type (300 x 110 mm) caps the digits at 99, giving 3-4
+          symbols against the A type's 3-6. NOTE: the widely circulated "TX"
+          taxi prefix is NOT in the annex and is not encoded; see notes.
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm }
+      plate_variants:
+        - { w: 300, h: 110, unit: mm, note: "E type — the special-purpose blank; digits capped at 99" }
+      background: { color: "#F5C400", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed, spec_note: '4.5.3, verbatim: "taksometru numura zīmju fons ir dzeltenā krāsā" — a yellow ground. No RGB is given; observed.' }
+      foreground: "#000000"
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed }
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 4.5.1-4.5.3, 1.4 (E type dimensions); punkts 13.5"
+      - "https://www.csdd.lv/transportlidzekla-numura-zimes/taksometru-numuru-zimes  # CSDD contrasts the taxi 'dzeltenās' plates with the general-use 'baltās' ones"
+    notes: >-
+      THE YELLOW TAXI PLATE. A CORRECTION WORTH STATING: secondary compilations
+      give Latvian taxi plates a "TX" (or TE/TQ) series prefix. The annex
+      prescribes only "two letters", with no reserved combination anywhere, and
+      no CSDD page reached names one. The prefix claim is therefore treated as
+      UNSOURCED and is not encoded — the letters are free in this regex. The one
+      thing that distinguishes a Latvian taxi mark in the string alone is
+      nothing; it is the yellow ground that does the work.
+
+  - id: lv-offroad
+    class: agricultural
+    categories: [offroad]
+    period: { start: 2010 }
+    period_evidence: instrument-in-force
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "LL999"
+      regex: '\A[A-Z]{2}\d{1,3}\z'
+      regex_strict: '\A[A-Z]{2}[1-9]\d{0,2}\z'
+      charset:
+        notes: "7. pielikums 4.6.1: H type, 3 to 5 symbols, first two letters, the rest digits forming numbers from 1 to 999"
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 133, h: 165, unit: mm }
+      background: { color: "#FFFFFF", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed }
+      foreground: "#00843D"
+      border: { color: "#00843D", note: '4.6.2, verbatim: "simboli ir zaļā krāsā" — GREEN SYMBOLS on an otherwise ordinary ground, not a green plate' }
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed }
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 4.6.1-4.6.2, 1.7 (H type dimensions); punkts 13.6"
+    notes: >-
+      THE OFF-ROAD VEHICLE PLATE (bezceļu transportlīdzekļu numura zīme), on the
+      tall 133 x 165 H blank. CLASS CAVEAT: `agricultural` is the nearest value
+      in _meta/classes.yml; a Latvian bezceļu transportlīdzeklis is an off-road
+      vehicle rather than farm equipment, and the vocabulary has no `offroad`
+      value. The vehicle kind is carried precisely in `categories` instead, and
+      the mismatch is flagged rather than hidden. Green symbols, white ground —
+      the third of Latvia's coloured-symbol classes.
+
+  - id: lv-military
+    class: military
+    categories: [car, van, truck, bus, motorcycle, trailer]
+    period: { start: 2010 }
+    period_evidence: instrument-in-force
+    matching: recall-only     # SEE format.charset.dsl_collision — this regex is
+                              # deliberately WIDER than the issuing grammar
+                              # because the human-pattern DSL cannot spell the
+                              # literal the annex prescribes.
+    format:
+      pattern: "LL9999"
+      regex: '\A[A-Z]{2}\d{1,4}\z'
+      charset:
+        letter_groups: [L, LA]
+        issuing_grammar: '\A(?:L|LA)\d{1,4}\z'
+        notes: >-
+          7. pielikums 4.7.2, verbatim: "pirmie simboli ir burti „L” vai „LA”,
+          bet pārējie ir cipari". Two permitted letter groups, then digits. LA
+          is commonly expanded as Latvijas Armija; the annex does not say so and
+          this file does not assert it.
+        dsl_collision: >-
+          A GENUINE SCHEMA STRESSOR, RECORDED RATHER THAN WORKED AROUND
+          SILENTLY. PRD-PLATES §2.2 defines the human pattern DSL as 9=digit,
+          L=letter, everything else literal — so the DSL CANNOT SPELL A LITERAL
+          "L" (nor a literal "9"). Latvia's military mark begins with exactly
+          that letter. Because `pattern` must round-trip against `regex`, and
+          `pattern` can only generate a free letter in the first position, the
+          honest encoding is a WIDER regex plus `matching: recall-only` — a
+          match here is a shape hit, not a claim that the string is a valid
+          Latvian military mark. The true grammar is preserved above as
+          `issuing_grammar` so no information is lost, and it cannot live in
+          `regex_strict` because §2.7 forbids a strict twin on a recall-only
+          series. THE FIX IS A SCHEMA AMENDMENT (an escape for literal L/9 in
+          the DSL), not a data edit; flagged for PRD-PLATES §2.6.
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm }
+      plate_variants:
+        - { w: 280, h: 200, unit: mm, note: "B type" }
+        - { w: 240, h: 130, unit: mm, note: "C type" }
+        - { w: 300, h: 110, unit: mm, note: "E type" }
+        - { w: 177, h: 130, unit: mm, note: "F type" }
+      background: { color: "#000000", finish: non-retroreflective, hex_basis: observed, spec_note: '4.7.3, verbatim: "fons nav gaismu atstarojošs, tas ir melnā krāsā, bet simboli ir baltā krāsā" — the ground is expressly NON-REFLECTIVE and black, the symbols white. The only Latvian plate the regulation bars from retroreflection.' }
+      foreground: "#FFFFFF"
+      band: { side: none, note: "no EU band is prescribed for the military plate by the annex; recorded as prescribed, not assumed" }
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 4.7.1-4.7.3; punkts 13.8"
+    notes: >-
+      THE MILITARY PLATE — black, non-reflective, white symbols, and issued on
+      the widest set of blanks in the Latvian system (A, B, C, E and F). It is
+      the one Latvian class whose colour rule the regulation states in full
+      (ground, reflectivity and symbols in one sentence), which is why this is
+      the only series here whose colours do not depend on the unread LVS 20.
+
+  - id: lv-electric
+    class: electric
+    categories: [car, van]
+    period: { start: 2016 }
+    period_evidence: agency-stated-date
+    matching: strict
+    format:
+      pattern: "LL-9999"
+      regex: '\A[A-Z]{2}-\d{1,4}\z'
+      regex_strict: '\A[A-Z]{2}-[1-9]\d{0,3}\z'
+      charset:
+        notes: >-
+          NO DISTINCT FORMAT. 7. pielikums 4.8, verbatim: "elektrotransportlīdzekļu
+          numura zīmju simboli ir zilā krāsā, un tie atbilst šā pielikuma 2. un
+          3. punktā un 4.4. un 4.5. apakšpunktā noteiktajiem tipiem" — the marks
+          are BLUE and otherwise conform to the general-use, individual,
+          diplomatic and taxi types. So an electric plate is a colour treatment
+          applied to an existing grammar, and this series carries the ordinary
+          car grammar as its representative shape. A CORRECTION: the "EX"/"EY"
+          prefixes circulated in secondary compilations appear nowhere in
+          MK 1080 or on CSDD's pages and are NOT encoded.
+    design:
+      plate: { w: 520, h: 110, unit: mm }
+      background: { color: "#FFFFFF", finish: retroreflective, hex_basis: observed }
+      foreground: "#0057B8"
+      border: { color: "#0057B8", note: '4.8: "simboli ir zilā krāsā" — blue symbols' }
+      band: { side: left, color: "#003399", content: eu-stars+LV, hex_basis: observed }
+    region_encoding: none
+    sources:
+      - "https://likumi.lv/ta/id/222145-transportlidzeklu-registracijas-noteikumi  # 7. pielikums 4.8; punkts 13.7"
+      - "https://www.csdd.lv/transportlidzekla-numura-zimes/elektrotransportlidzeklu-numura-zimes  # CSDD: electric plates are issued free of charge, and the entitlement 'attiecas arī uz transportlīdzekļiem, kuriem līdz 01.01.2016. bija piešķirtas vispārējās nozīmes… numura zīmes' — the only date evidence located for this class"
+    notes: >-
+      THE BLUE-SYMBOL ELECTRIC PLATE. period.start 2016 is
+      `agency-stated-date` and is INFERRED, not quoted: CSDD's page frames the
+      entitlement by reference to vehicles that held general-use plates before
+      1 January 2016, which implies the class began about then but does not say
+      so. No amending regulation was traced to the insertion of 4.8. This is the
+      weakest date in the file and is flagged accordingly. Modelled as its own
+      series because the DESIGN differs (blue symbols) even though the FORMAT
+      does not — PRD-PLATES §2.3's design limb.