License plate OCR & data capturing
Enhance the effectiveness of your organization with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and data extraction. Process license plates safely and quickly with Klippa.
Powered by machine learning.
What we can do with license plates
Our machine learning technology can automate many business processes requiring license plates via our APIs and SDKs.
License plate scanning and recognition
Format conversion and scan quality improvement
License plate extraction to text, CSV, XSLX or JSON with OCR
Data extraction on all types of documents
Classifying customers and vehicles with license plates
(Cross) validating license plate data
License plate field extraction
An image speaks more than a thousand words. Below is an example of the three steps our OCR engine takes to automatically extract data from license plates.

Uploading documents to the API
The first step is providing a picture or a PDF file of a document or photo containing a license plate to our API. Usually this is done from a mobile app, email, FTP or web application.

Image to text using OCR
As soon as a picture or PDF has been received, each page is converted to a TXT file. In this step all the text from the document is extracted, but it is not yet structured.

Getting JSON output from the API
The Klippa Parser takes the TXT gained from the OCR in step 2 and converts it into structured JSON using machine learning. The JSON is then returned as output from the API. The license plate on the document or photo is now extracted.
From here the field can easily be processed into your database. Whether you are processing license plates for registration, identification or other purposes, Klippa is here to help.
The image on the left is a simplified example of the JSON response.
Reduce cost
Spend less on extracting license plate data by using Klippa.
Improve speed
Process license plates automatically within seconds. Perfect for the automotive industry.
Reduce errors
Prevent manual data entry errors with high quality data extraction of license plate data.
Prevent fraud
Automatically recognize errors, duplicates and fraud.

Which documents can you scan for license plate data?
Below is a list of documents for which you can use license plate data extraction. This is not an exhaustive list, but depends on what the client requires.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does license plate OCR cost?What license plate formats are supported?What kind of clients are using Klippa?What languages does Klippa support?Is Klippa license plate capturing GDPR-compliant?Can Klippa convert documents to CSV, XLSX, XML or JSON?
What does license plate OCR cost?
The pricing structure for Klippa license plate capturing depends on the amount of documents. Both pay per use and monthly licenses are available. Get in contact with our product specialists to get an exact quote.
What license plate formats are supported?
There are different formats between countries with regard to composition of the license plate number. In general, we support all standards, including:
– British vehicle registration number, containing 2 regional, 2 date and 3 random numbers.
– American vehicle registration number, for which regulations differ per state.
– Dutch vehicle registration number, which change the random combination of letters and numbers by period of time.
In case you wonder if we support a certain license plate format or have any other question, feel free to contact us.
Did you know that apart from license plates, Klippa’s OCR can scan other types of data fields, such as car titles, VIN and TIN numbers?
What kind of clients are using Klippa?
Klippa’s engine extracts as much data as possible from documents via OCR and machine learning. We support many different types of clients, because our engine is so versatile.
License plate extraction is most commonly used by clients in the automotive, legal, logistics and transportation sector.
License plate extraction is most commonly used by clients in the automotive, legal, logistics and transportation sector.
What languages does Klippa support?
All European languages are supported. Our engine performs best on documents in English, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Italian, Portuguese, English Spanish, German, Hebrew and French. Other languages can be supported on request, we’d just need to train our machine learning models.
Is Klippa license plate capturing GDPR-compliant?
All the services that Klippa offers are fully GDPR-compliant. By default, we use ISO-certified servers within the European Union for processing. If you are not located within the EU, we can also set up servers in a region of choice.
Next to that, a data processor agreement is in place. We do not store any of your or your customers’ data after processing.
Can Klippa convert documents to CSV, XLSX, XML or JSON?
Yes we can. Klippa takes pictures of documents, or their PDF equivalents, and converts them to readable text using OCR. From there we use machine learning to turn the text into structured data. Most of the time we use JSON for this, but depending on your preferences we can also convert documents to CSV, XLSX or XML.
Questions?
Please feel free to ask all your questions.
Get in touch by email, phone or chat!
+31 50 2111631