the old 1993 format is still valid even though the new 2011 plates were introduced in february 2011. the old 1993 format was introduced around 1993 with the addition of the national identification strip (in 1995) on the left and a new bigger din 1451 font. spacing between characters changed numerous times and a security hologram was added. the format starts with a two-letter abbreviation of an albanian district name. for instance, the abbreviation for korçë district is ko. a four-digit number follows with a serial letter indicating the order of allocation of each series of numbers. thus, a plate ending in "b" will have been more recently released than one ending in "a" in the same district. since 2002, a smaller font was introduced while plates with the older font are still valid.