diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/vehicles/dto/create-vehicle.dto.spec.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/vehicles/dto/create-vehicle.dto.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5696f00cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/vehicles/dto/create-vehicle.dto.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+import { plainToInstance } from 'class-transformer';
+import { validate } from 'class-validator';
+
+import { CreateVehicleDto } from './create-vehicle.dto';
+
+const base = {
+  vehicleType: 'TRUCK',
+  manufacturer: 'IVECO',
+  model: 'HYT',
+  year: 2020,
+  fuelType: 'DIESEL',
+  capacity: 0,
+  status: 'ACTIVE',
+};
+
+const errorsFor = (over: Record<string, unknown>) =>
+  validate(plainToInstance(CreateVehicleDto, { ...base, ...over }));
+
+const plateErrors = (
+  errors: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof errorsFor>>,
+  property: string,
+) => errors.find((e) => e.property === property && e.constraints?.matches);
+
+describe('CreateVehicleDto — plate format', () => {
+  it('accepts a plate like ET-9875', async () => {
+    expect(plateErrors(await errorsFor({ plateNumber: 'ET-9875' }), 'plateNumber')).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('accepts a plate like AA-8642', async () => {
+    expect(plateErrors(await errorsFor({ plateNumber: 'AA-8642' }), 'plateNumber')).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('upper-cases a lower-case plate before validating', async () => {
+    const dto = plainToInstance(CreateVehicleDto, { ...base, plateNumber: 'et-9875' });
+    expect(dto.plateNumber).toBe('ET-9875');
+    expect(plateErrors(await validate(dto), 'plateNumber')).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('rejects a free-text plate like assadasd', async () => {
+    expect(plateErrors(await errorsFor({ plateNumber: 'assadasd' }), 'plateNumber')).toBeDefined();
+  });
+
+  it('rejects a plate with no letters or no digits', async () => {
+    expect(plateErrors(await errorsFor({ plateNumber: '1234' }), 'plateNumber')).toBeDefined();
+    expect(plateErrors(await errorsFor({ plateNumber: 'ABCD' }), 'plateNumber')).toBeDefined();
+  });
+
+  it('rejects a bad trailer plate but allows a valid one', async () => {
+    expect(
+      plateErrors(await errorsFor({ plateNumber: 'ET-1', trailerPlateNo: 'asdasdasda' }), 'trailerPlateNo'),
+    ).toBeDefined();
+    expect(
+      plateErrors(await errorsFor({ plateNumber: 'ET-1', trailerPlateNo: 'AA-8642' }), 'trailerPlateNo'),
+    ).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('allows an empty trailer plate (optional)', async () => {
+    const errors = await errorsFor({ plateNumber: 'ET-1', trailerPlateNo: '' });
+    expect(plateErrors(errors, 'trailerPlateNo')).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/vehicles/dto/create-vehicle.dto.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/vehicles/dto/create-vehicle.dto.ts
index 33d441ecb..4dda3c053 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/vehicles/dto/create-vehicle.dto.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/vehicles/dto/create-vehicle.dto.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,30 @@
-import { IsString, IsEnum, IsNumber, IsOptional, IsUUID } from 'class-validator';
+import { IsString, IsEnum, IsNumber, IsOptional, IsUUID, Matches } from 'class-validator';
+import { Transform } from 'class-transformer';
 import { VehicleType, FuelType, VehicleStatus, VehicleAvailability } from '../entities/vehicle.entity';
 
+/**
+ * A vehicle plate is two or three letters, a hyphen, then two to six digits —
+ * e.g. ET-9875 or AA-8642. Kept in one place so plate, power-plate and trailer
+ * all match and the message stays consistent.
+ */
+export const VEHICLE_PLATE_REGEX = /^[A-Z]{2,3}-\d{2,6}$/;
+export const VEHICLE_PLATE_MESSAGE =
+  'must be letters and numbers like ET-9875 or AA-8642';
+
+/**
+ * Trim and upper-case a plate before validating, so "et-9875" is accepted. An
+ * empty optional plate (trailer/power) becomes undefined so @IsOptional skips it
+ * rather than failing the pattern.
+ */
+const normalizePlate = ({ value }: { value: unknown }) => {
+  if (typeof value !== 'string') return value;
+  const trimmed = value.trim().toUpperCase();
+  return trimmed === '' ? undefined : trimmed;
+};
+
 export class CreateVehicleDto {
+  @Transform(normalizePlate)
+  @Matches(VEHICLE_PLATE_REGEX, { message: `Plate number ${VEHICLE_PLATE_MESSAGE}` })
   @IsString()
   plateNumber!: string;
 
@@ -47,10 +70,14 @@ export class CreateVehicleDto {
   code?: string;
 
   @IsOptional()
+  @Transform(normalizePlate)
+  @Matches(VEHICLE_PLATE_REGEX, { message: `Power plate number ${VEHICLE_PLATE_MESSAGE}` })
   @IsString()
   powerPlateNo?: string;
 
   @IsOptional()
+  @Transform(normalizePlate)
+  @Matches(VEHICLE_PLATE_REGEX, { message: `Trailer plate number ${VEHICLE_PLATE_MESSAGE}` })
   @IsString()
   trailerPlateNo?: string;
 
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/components/fleet/FleetFormDialog.tsx b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/components/fleet/FleetFormDialog.tsx
index 8686f9cdf..5d1247358 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/components/fleet/FleetFormDialog.tsx
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/components/fleet/FleetFormDialog.tsx
@@ -249,6 +249,16 @@ const FleetFormDialog = ({
           }
         }
       }
+
+      // Format check (e.g. plate numbers). Skipped for an empty optional field —
+      // "required" above already owns the empty case. Upper-cased to match the
+      // server, which stores plates upper-case.
+      if (field.pattern && stringValue && stringValue !== FLEET_SELECT_NONE) {
+        const candidate = field.pattern.uppercase === false ? stringValue : stringValue.toUpperCase();
+        if (!field.pattern.regex.test(candidate)) {
+          next[field.name] = field.pattern.message;
+        }
+      }
     });
     setErrors(next);
     return Object.keys(next).length === 0;
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/pages/fleet/config/resources.ts b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/pages/fleet/config/resources.ts
index 3487cbed8..0e6633eab 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/pages/fleet/config/resources.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/pages/fleet/config/resources.ts
@@ -69,6 +69,11 @@ export interface FleetFormFieldDef extends FormFieldDef {
    * (e.g. a license expiry); "past" (default) = cannot be in the future.
    */
   dateBound?: "past" | "future";
+  /**
+   * Format the value must match, checked on submit. The value is upper-cased and
+   * trimmed before the test, matching the server. Empty optional fields skip it.
+   */
+  pattern?: { regex: RegExp; message: string; uppercase?: boolean };
 }
 
 export interface FleetListFilterDef {
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/pages/fleet/config/vehicles.ts b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/pages/fleet/config/vehicles.ts
index eb1508601..f25be0ff7 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/pages/fleet/config/vehicles.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-web/backoffice/src/pages/fleet/config/vehicles.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
 import type { FleetResourceConfig } from "./resources";
 
+/**
+ * A plate is two or three letters, a hyphen, then two to six digits — ET-9875,
+ * AA-8642. Mirrors VEHICLE_PLATE_REGEX on the API so the form and the server
+ * agree on what a plate looks like.
+ */
+const PLATE_PATTERN = {
+  regex: /^[A-Z]{2,3}-\d{2,6}$/,
+  message: "Use letters and numbers like ET-9875 or AA-8642",
+};
+
 const VEHICLE_TYPE_OPTIONS = [
   { label: "Truck", value: "TRUCK" },
   { label: "Van", value: "VAN" },
@@ -77,9 +87,9 @@ export const vehiclesConfig: FleetResourceConfig = {
   ],
   formFields: [
     { name: "code", label: "Code", type: "text" },
-    { name: "plateNumber", label: "Power Plate No", type: "text", required: true },
+    { name: "plateNumber", label: "Power Plate No", type: "text", required: true, pattern: PLATE_PATTERN },
     // { name: "powerPlateNo", label: "Power Plate No", type: "text" },
-    { name: "trailerPlateNo", label: "Trailer Plate No", type: "text" },
+    { name: "trailerPlateNo", label: "Trailer Plate No", type: "text", pattern: PLATE_PATTERN },
     { name: "vehicleType", label: "Vehicle Type", type: "select", required: true, options: VEHICLE_TYPE_OPTIONS },
     { name: "manufacturer", label: "Manufacturer", type: "text", required: true },
     { name: "model", label: "Model", type: "text", required: true },