UK Number Plates
1903 - 1932 (Dateless Number Plates)
The concept of the vehicle number plate was first introduced in the 'Motor Car Act 1903'. The initial format was in use until 1932. It consisted of a one or two letter code representing the local authority where the vehicle was registered (allocated by size of population, A = London), followed by a number between 1-9999. When all the numbers in the sequence had been used, the local Authority was allocated another two letter code on a first come first served basis.
1932 - 1963
In 1932 the format changed to three letters and a number between 1-999. The first letter and three numbers were sequentially issued from AXX 1 - AXX 999 before moving to BXX 1.. The second and third letters were an area identifier. When the sequence was used up, the format was reversed to be 3 numbers followed by three letters.
1963 - 1982 (Suffix Number Plates)
The next format to be introduced was the seven characters long. Three letters, a number between 1 and 999, plus a suffix letter indicating the year the registration number was issued. The suffix 'A' was issued in 1963, through to 'Y' in 1982. Letters I, O, Q, U and Z were not used for the suffix letters, due to the possibility of them being misread. New suffixes were originally assigned on January 1st each year. This changed to 1 August in 1967 in an attempt to even out vehicle sales over the year.
1983 - 2001 (Prefix Number Plates)
After the suffix format reached 'Y', the format was reversed. It was now a prefix letter indicating the year, a number between 1 and 999, followed by three characters. Letters I, O, U and Z were excluded from the prefix sequence and Q was now used for vehicles of indeterminate age (kit cars, stolen, imports without documentation). Beginning 1 March 1999 the prefix changed twice a year to try and flatten the peak of sales in August.
2001 - (Current System)
The current number plate format was introduced on 1 September 2001. The registration format is seven characters long and is made up of a two letter area code, two number age identifier and a random three letter sequence. The first letter of the area code is a mnemonic for the region and the second letter is the local DVLA office (although all the local DVLA offices closed in 2013) the car was registered at. The local area codes are listed below. The age identifier changes on 1 March and 1 September each year. For registrations between 1 March and 31 August, the identifier is the last two digits of the year (e.g. 1 March 2001 - 31 August 2001 = 01). Between September and February, 50 is added to the number ( e.g. 1 September 2011 - 29 February 2012 = 61).
Mnemonic | Region | Office | Area Codes |
---|---|---|---|
A | Anglia | Peterborough | AA AB AC AD AE AF AG AJ AK AM AN |
Norwich | AO AP AR AS AT AU | ||
Ipswich | AV AW AX AY | ||
B | Birmingham | Birmingham | BA BB BC BD BE BF BG BH BJ BK BL BM BN BO BP BR BS BT BU BV BW BX |
C | Cymru (Wales) | Cardiff | CA CB CC CD CE CF CG CH CJ CK CL CM CN CO |
Swansea | CP CR CS CT CU CV | ||
Bangor | CW CX CY | ||
D | Deeside | Chester | DA DB DC DD DE DF DG DH DJ DK |
Shrewsbury | DL DM DN DO DP DS DT DU DV DW DX DY | ||
E | Essex | Chelmsford | EA EB EC EE EF EG EJ EK EL EM EN EO EP ER ES ET EU EV EW EX EY |
F | Forest and Fens | Nottingham | FA FB FC FD FE FF FG FH FJ FK FL FM FN FP |
Lincoln | FR FS FT FV FW FX FY | ||
G | Garden of England | Maidstone | GA GB GC GD GE GF GG GH GJ GK GL GM GN |
Brighton | GP GR GS GT GU GV GW GX GY | ||
H | Hampshire and Dorset | Bournemouth | HA HB HC HD HE HF HG HH HJ |
Portsmouth | HK HL HM HN HP HR HS HT HU HV HX HY | ||
Isle of Wight | HW | ||
K | No official mnemonic | Borehamwood (formerly Luton) | KA KB KC KD KE KF KG KH KJ KK KL |
Northampton | KM KN KO KP KR KS KT KU KV KW KX KY | ||
L | London | Wimbledon | LA LB LC LD LE LF LG LH LJ |
Borehamwood (formerly Stanmore) | LK LL LM LN LO LP LR LS LT | ||
Sidcup | LU LV LW LX LY | ||
M | Manchester and Merseyside | Manchester | MA MB MC MD ME MF MG MH MJ MK ML MM MP MT MU MV MW MX |
N | North | Newcastle | NA NB NC ND NE NF NG NH NJ NK NL NM NN NO |
Stockton | NP NR NS NT NU NV NW NX NY | ||
O | Oxford | Oxford | OA OB OC OD OE OF OG OH OJ OL OM OO OP OT OU OV OW OX OY |
P | Preston | Preston | PA PB PC PD PE PF PG PH PJ PK PL PM PN PO PP PR PS PT |
Carlisle | PU PV PW PX PY | ||
R | Reading | Reading | RA RB RC RD RE RF RG RH RJ RK RL RM RN RO RP RR RS RT RV RW RX RY |
S | Scotland | Glasgow | SA SB SC SD SE SF SG SH SJ |
Edinburgh | SK SL SM SN SO | ||
Dundee | SP SR SS ST | ||
Aberdeen | SV SW | ||
Inverness | SX SY | ||
V | Severn Valley | Worcester | VA VB VC VE VF VG VH VJ VK VL VM VN VO VP VR VS VT VU VV VX VY |
W | West of England | Exeter | WA WB WD WE WF WG WH WJ |
Truro | WK WL | ||
Bristol | WM WN WO WP WR WS WT WU WV WW WX WY | ||
Y | Yorkshire | Leeds | YA YB YC YD YE YF YG YH YJ YK YL |
Sheffield | YM YN YO YP YR YS YT YU YV | ||
Beverley | YW YX YY |