Do You Need an “HR” Sticker on Your Car? These Are the Situations When It Is Required

Croatian drivers often wonder whether they need to place an “HR” sticker on their car when traveling abroad. The answer depends on both the vehicle’s license plates and the country being visited.

Under Croatia’s vehicle registration and marking regulations, the official designation is the distinguishing mark of the Republic of Croatia for international traffic. It is a white elliptical sticker with a major axis of 175 millimeters and a minor axis of 115 millimeters. The black “HR” letters must be 80 millimeters high, with a letter stroke width of 10 millimeters.

There is an exception for travel within the European Union. Croatian plates that already carry the blue EU symbol and the “HR” country mark count as the required designation, so drivers with newer plates do not need to add a separate sticker when visiting another EU member state.

The rule changes outside the EU. Drivers taking a Croatian-registered car to Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro or North Macedonia must display the prescribed “HR” mark. Those with older plates, which lack both the EU symbol and the national code, need the sticker for every trip abroad. A homemade or incorrectly sized sticker does not meet the regulation.