Plates and vehiclesDocuments and OCRComputer vision

FastPlateOCR

Lightweight models that read characters from an already cropped license plate and run on an ordinary CPU. Filming vehicles and people and storing such records is personal data processing: agree the procedure and retention with a lawyer.

Developer
ankandrew (open project), not disclosed
First release
Apr 2024
Latest release
Mar 2026
Sizes
XS and S models on the CCT architecture
License
Commercial use allowedMIT
Russian
Not supported
Running
On your own serverAlso runs without a GPU
Industries
Manufacturing and logistics, Security, Retail and marketplaces, Public sector
Deploy on your server GitHub

What it does

  • Reading a plate at entry and exit
  • Matching a plate against a whitelist of passes
  • Going through archived camera footage
  • Fine-tuning reading for your own plate format

Where it is used

Warehousing and logisticsSite security and checkpointsParking lots and car washesCar dealers and service centres

Hardware requirements

LaptopLaptop or regular PC, up to 8 GB of VRAM — smaller versions
fits
1 GPUOne GPU with 16–80 GB — mid-size versions
no versions
ClusterServer with several GPUs — flagship versions
no versions

Versions

  1. v1.1.0, модели v2 global с определением региона
  2. v1.0.2
  3. v1.0.1
  4. Первые открытые модели (релиз arg-plates)

How to run it

On your own serverWeights are downloaded from Hugging Face and served with vLLM (load and API) or llama.cpp (modest hardware). The model then runs in a closed network with no per-request fees.
How much hardware you needCalculate the VRAM for the model size, context length and number of concurrent requests.Open the hardware calculator

I can set this up end to end: pick the model size, deploy it on your server and connect it to your systems.

Frequently asked questions

Can FastPlateOCR be used in a commercial project?

Yes. License: MIT. It allows commercial use, but it is still worth having a lawyer review the license before launch.

What hardware does FastPlateOCR need?

At minimum: Laptop or regular PC, up to 8 GB of VRAM — smaller versions. Some versions also run on an ordinary CPU, without a GPU. You can calculate the exact VRAM for your model size and context in the hardware calculator.

Does FastPlateOCR support Russian?

No. The developer documentation lists the supported languages and Russian is not among them.

Where can I download FastPlateOCR and what does it cost?

The FastPlateOCR weights are open and free to download. You only pay for the hardware it runs on and for the setup. Source links are at the bottom of this page.

How I deploy it for clients

  1. SelectionI pick the model size for your task and hardware and test it on your examples.
  2. DeploymentI deploy it on your server or in a closed network and provide an API.
  3. Fine-tuningI fine-tune it on your data (LoRA) or connect a knowledge base — whichever is cheaper for the task.
  4. IntegrationI connect it to your CRM, ERP, bot, website or team chat and set up monitoring.

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Details

Source: github.com/ankandrew/fast-plate-ocr/releases. Data checked against the model card on 22 Sep 2026. Have a lawyer review the license before commercial launch.