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UK Number Plate Formats

There are several 'types' of UK registrations and these all follow set formats. Here's our guide to identifying them.


Dateless Number Plates

Issued 1903 - 1963

Number plates were introduced to UK vehicles back in 1903. The distinguishing feature of these original marks is that they have no year identifier on them, meaning it's impossible to tell (just by looking) when they were first issued - hence them gaining the moniker 'dateless'.

These registrations carry a history with them, some now having been on vehicles for over 100 years, and their rarity usually makes for a higher asking price. That extra expense though does get you something that looks very unique on todays roads.

The format is very simple to follow - between 1 and 3 letters followed by between 1 to 4 digits. This was then reversed in 1932 to be between 1 and 4 digits, followed by between 1 and 3 letters.

As today, certain letter combinations were never made available for various reasons (not wanting to cause offence to certain people, reserved for special use and the like), and the letters I, Q and Z were not permitted.

Example Reg

ABC 123
123 ABC

Irish Number Plates

Issued 1903 - Present

Northern Ireland adopted the same kind of 'dateless' system as the mainland, with no way (just by looking) of identifying when the reg were first issued, but to distinguish vehicles registered there, Irish reg always contain the letter I or Z in their letter combinations.

This format continues to this day, and as Northern Irish reg are perfectly valid on vehicles registered in England, Scotland and Wales, Irish reg are a great way to get a dateless plate onto your vehicle at a fraction of the price of a non-Irish dateless plate.

These registrations are remarkable value and are amongst some of the cheapest available.

Example Reg

OIL 1234
BAZ 1234

Suffix Number Plates

Issued 1963 - 1982

With the number of vehicles on the roads rapidly expanding, it was decided to phase out dateless registrations in favour of a format that would reveal a little more information about the vehicle. Enter the suffix plate, so called because the last letter (the suffix) would identify the age of the vehicle.

The format in full is made up of three letters (again, the letters I, Q and Z are not permitted), between 1 and 3 digits, and the suffix letter on the end. The chart below shows the year of issue that each suffix letter relates to.

Suffix Released
A1963
B1964
C1965
D1966
E1967
F1967
G1968
H1969
J1970
K1971
L1972
Suffix Released
M1973
N1974
P1975
R1976
S1977
T1978
V1979
W1980
X1981
Y1982

Certain letters were not used for the suffix - I and Z were restricted for Irish use only, Q was retained for 'special case' vehicles (those where the age of the vehicle could not be accurately determined e.g kit cars), and the letters O and U were deemed to look too similar to other characters (such as the number 0, letter V etc.) so to avoid confusion were not used.

Example Reg

AHM 3D
HAN 114H

Prefix Number Plates

Issued 1983 - 2001

When the suffix combinations ran out, the format was mirrored, putting the year identifying letter at the front of the reg, and making these 'prefix' plates. The year identifying prefix letter, between 1 and 3 digits and three letters on the end (the letters I, Q and Z still not permitted).

The chart below shows the year of issue that each prefix letter relates to.

Prefix Released
A1983
B1984
C1985
D1986
E1987
F1988
G1989
H1990
J1991
K1992
L1993
Prefix Released
M1994
N1995
P1996
R1997
S1998
T1999
V1999
W2000
X2000
Y2001

As with the suffix reg, certain letters were not used for the prefix - I and Z were restricted for Irish use only, Q was retained for 'special case' vehicles (those where the age of the vehicle could not be accurately determined e.g kit cars), and the letters O and U were deemed to look too similar to other characters (such as the number 0, letter V etc.) so to avoid confusion were not used.

Example Reg

A10 MAR
R45 HAD

Current Number Plates

Issued 2001 - Present

When the prefix combinations ran out, an entirely new format was produced. Sometimes called 'millennium' reg (because they began at the turn of the new millennium), these reg contained more characters than previous reg, and used a number as the year identifier rather than letters.

The format is as follows - two letters (excluding I, Q and Z), a two digit number that identifies the age of the vehicle, and three further letters. For the first time, the letter Z was permitted on non-Irish reg in these last three letters, opening up lots of combinations like BAZ and GAZ.

There are now also two number plate releases every year, rather than just an annual event. This means two sets of numbers relate to the same year, one the first half, one the second half.

The chart below shows the year of issue that each number series relates to.

Number Released
512001
022002
522002
032003
532003
042004
542004
052005
552005
062006
562006
072007
572007
082008
582008
092009
592009
102010
602010
112011
612011
122012
622012
132013
632013
142014
642014
152015
652015
162016
662016
172017
672017
182018
682018
192019
692019
202020
702020
212021
712021
222022
722022
232023
732023
242024
742024
252025
752025
Number Released
262026
762026
272027
772027
282028
782028
292029
792029
302030
802030
312031
812031
322032
822032
332033
832033
342034
842034
352035
852035
362036
862036
372037
872037
382038
882038
392039
892039
402040
902040
412041
912041
422042
922042
432043
932043
442044
942044
452045
952045
462046
962046
472047
972047
482048
982048
492049
992049

Example Reg

MR57 EVE
TR15 TAN

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