Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR), also known as Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), is quickly becoming an efficient and effective tool for law enforcement agencies to assist police officers in identifying vehicles that are uninsured, stolen, or driven by someone without a license or prohibited from driving. It is also used by law enforcement to control access to restricted areas, to patrol international borders, and, in some parts of the world, as a counter-terrorism measure.

ALPR technology was developed in the mid-1970 and utilizes either CCTV or traffic enforcement cameras along with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to read or then track vehicle registration plates.

Some important applications where ALPR systems are deployed include security and surveillance, traffic management, toll enforcement and vehicle parking. Further, in traffic management applications, usually ALPR is used in red light control, congestion charging and speed enforcement applications. Vehicle parking application for ALPR is the most promising segment and increasing adoption in parking management.