Abstract: An apparatus and method for automatically recognizing the characters on a license plate which is fixed on a vehicle. A sensor/controller device is utilized to detect whether the vehicle has reached a predetermined position for image sampling, and to release a trigger signal when the vehicle has reached the predetermined position. An image processing unit is coupled to the sensor/controller device to receive the trigger signal and then to send an image-sampling instruction to an image-sampling device. The image-sampling device is coupled to the image processing unit, and samples a vehicle image including the image of the license plate in response to the image-sampling instruction. The vehicle image is converted into an electric signal by the image-sampling device, which in turn is sent back to the image processing unit.