reg styles

Since 1904 there have been many different styles of number plates.
Each time a current style uses up all the combinations available a new format is released.

KJT 1 / 459 KD / MUU 929

This was the original Pre-1963 style.
It has no year letter and hence these plates are very much in demand.
Plates that have three numbers and three letters are called Cover Plates and are popular to hide the age of modern vehicles.
The ultimate number 1 plates make any car look distinctive and add a certain touch of class but they command very high prices.
The value of these plates depends on many things ranging from the year of release to the rarity of the letters.
Plates with the letters showing first are likely to be more expensive than the other way round.

ABC 1A

This style started in 1963 and finished in 1983.
Commonly called Suffix plates they are popular and thousands are still in circulation.
Many interesting combinations can be found among this selection and we carry one of the largest stocks in England of this particular style of plate.
The DVLA kept back numbers like COL IN to be auctioned at a later date.

A1 ABC

This style started in 1983 and finished in 2001.
Commonly called Prefix plates they are a cheap alternative to the suffix plate and we offer this style as Make Your Own Plates. Go to the MAKE YOUR OWN PLATE page for more information.
The last two letters (I.E. BC in the above example) were the area identifier where the registration was first issued.
The DVLA kept certain numbers back from general release, they included 1 to 31 and 33, 40, 44, 50, 55, 60, 66, 70, 77, 80, 88, 90, 99, 100, 111, 121, 123, 200, 222, 300, 321, 333, 400, 444, 500, 555, 600, 666, 700, 777, 800, 888, 900, 999. These are now available at auction or in the Make Your Own Plate scheme.
The DVLA also kept back numbers like G1 LLY, K1 NGS and S1 MON to be auctioned at a later date.
The prefix Q was not issued but has since been used by DVLA to identify some kit cars and any car that has had so many modifications that the true date of registration can not be justified. A vehicle with a Q plate can not have a cherished plate transferred to it or have the Q plate removed under a transfer application.

AB51 ABC

This style started in September 2001.
Commonly called The New Format !!, we offer this style as Make Your Own Plates. Go to the MAKE YOUR OWN PLATE page for more information.
They consist of two letters, two numbers and three letters.
The first two letters represent the area where the registration was first issued, unless added as a Make Your Own Plate.
The next two numbers are the year identifier - 51 means September 2001. 02 means March 2002, 52 will mean September 2002 etc. So basically if the number is less than 50 it was released in March and you need to add 2000 to the number to get the year of release and if it is higher than 50 it was a September release and you need to add 1950 to the number to get the year of release. (I.E. 1950 + 51 = 2001, 2000 + 02 = 2002).

THE FOLLOWING LIST SHOWS ALL THE YEAR IDENTIFIERS AND WHEN THEY WILL BE ISSUED

Year	March	September
2001		51
2002	02	52
2003	03	53
2004	04	54
2005	05	55
2006	06	56
2007	07	57
2008	08	58
2009	09	59
2010	10	60
2011	11	61
2012	12	62
2013	13	63
2014	14	64
2015	15	65
2016	16	66
2017	17	67
2018	18	68
2019	19	69
2020	20	70
2021	21	71
2022	22	72
2023	23	73
2024	24	74
2025	25	75
2026	26	76
2027	27	77
2028	28	78
2029	29	79
2030	30	80
2031	31	81
2032	32	82
2033	33	83
2034	34	84
2035	35	85
2036	36	86
2037	37	87
2038	38	88
2039	39	89
2040	40	90
2041	41	91
2042	42	92
2043	43	93
2044	44	94
2045	45	95
2046	46	96
2047	47	97
2048	48	98
2049	49	99

THE FOLLOWING LIST SHOWS ALL THE LOCAL MEMORY TAGS INDICATING THE AREA OF FIRST ISSUE

Local Memory Tag	DVLA office	Local Identifier
A	Peterborough	A B C D E F G H J K L M N
	Norwich	O P R S T U
	Ipswich	V W X Y
B	Birmingham	A - Y
C	Cardiff	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O
	Swansea	P R S T U V
	Bangor	W X Y
D	Chester	A B C D E F G H J K
D	Shrewsbury	L M N O P R S T U V W X Y
E	Chelmsford	A - Y
F	Nottingham	A B C D E F G H J K L M N P
F	Lincoln	R S T V W X Y
G	Maidstone	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O
G	Brighton	P R S T U V W X Y
H	Bournemouth	A B C D E F G H J
	Portsmouth	K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y
		HW Reserved for the Isle of Wight
K	Luton	A B C D E F G H J K L
K	Northampton	M N O P R S T U V W X Y
L	Wimbledon	A B C D E F G H J
	Stanmore	K L M N O P R S T
	Sidcup	U V W X Y
M	Manchester	A - Y
N	Newcastle	A B C D E G H J K L M N O
N	Stockton	P R S T U V W X Y
O	Oxford	A - Y
P	Preston	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T
P	Carlisle	U V W X Y
R	Reading	A - Y
S	Glasgow	A B C D E F G H J
	Edinburgh	K L M N O
	Dundee	P R S T
	Aberdeen	U V W
	Inverness	X Y
V	Worcester	A - Y
W	Exeter	A B C D E F G H J
	Truro	K L
	Bristol	M N O P R S T U V W X Y
Y	Leeds	A B C D E F G H J K L
	Sheffield	M N O P R S T U V
	Beverley	W X Y

Please Note: If one office depletes its stock of registration marks due to exceptionally high demand then marks may be transferred between DVLA local offices.

There is one guiding rule on the assignment / transfer of a registration to your vehicle and that is you can not make a vehicle appear newer. Hence you could not put a 1997(R) registration on a 1996(N) vehicle because it would give the impression that the vehicle was newer than first registered. But you are allowed to make a vehicle appear older.