This paper presents an effective license plate location algorithm

which employs color and texture analysis to extract the number plate from the complicated background image. Based on the HSV color model

the algorithm calculates the distance and the similarity in the color space to segment the color image. Only those parts of the input image that fulfill a set of license plate properties need to be considered for a more thorough inspection. To the segmented image

the texture and structural features are analyzed to locate the license plate correctly. The algorithm has been tested with 60 color image obtained from tollgete

crossroad and parking lot

etc. More than 95% image can be proceesed correctly

whereas other images are disturbed by the complex backgrounds of the images. It is shown that

different from most license plate location methods

the algorithm has fewer limits to the car size

the car position in the image and the image background. Meanwhile

with the fast focusing technique

the view angle of the video camera can cover a wider area while the processing time can still be fast. So

the algorithm can be employed to the applied vehicle license plate recognition system.