Current system

System started: 2001
Characters: 7
Changes per year: 2

Since September 2001, UK vehicle registrations follow a standardised format: two letters, two numbers, three letters (e.g. AB51 CDE).

The first two letters (the memory tag) indicate the registration region. The two numbers show when the vehicle was registered. The last three letters are randomly assigned to make each plate unique.

For example, AB51 CDE was first registered in the Anglia region, at the Peterborough office, between September 2001 and February 2002.

Memory tag

The first two letters (AB) are the area code. They show the region where the vehicle was first registered.

Age identifier

The two numbers (51) show the registration period. The identifier changes every six months.

Random letters

The last three letters (CDE) are randomly assigned so each registration is unique.

Letters I, Q and Z

DVLA does not use any of these in the first two letters (the memory tag), and uses Z only as a random letter.

Plate formats

The decoder shows only what a plate can support. Where a format carries no date, or its meaning is not published, it says so rather than guessing.

Example	Period	What the plate tells you
AB51 CDE	September 2001 onwards	DVLA region and office from the first two letters, and a six-month registration period from the two numbers.
A123 BCD	1983 to 2001	Prefix format. The first letter is the year letter, and the last two letters are the area.
ABC 123D	1963 to 1983	Suffix format. The last letter is the year letter, and the middle two letters are the area.
ABC 123, 123 ABC, AB 1234, A 1234	Before 1963	The area, and roughly when that number series was issued. There is no age letter.
XIA 1234, AZ 1234, MIZ 4321	Various	Area codes containing I or Z. The decoder names the county: Northern Ireland for Antrim, Armagh, Belfast, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, and the Republic of Ireland (not a UK registration) for the rest. No date.
Q123 ABC	Any	A Q registration. Issued when a vehicle's age or identity is in doubt, so no age is shown.
123 D 456	1979 onwards	Diplomatic. The first three digits name the country or organisation (indicative only, as there is no official public list), D is a diplomat and X is accredited non-diplomatic staff.
12 AB 34, JW 57 AB	Various	Looks like a military (Ministry of Defence) registration. The format is not published, so it cannot be dated.
BMN 123 A, MAN 123	Various	Isle of Man. Issued locally rather than by DVLA, with no date.
J 12345, 12345	Various	Jersey or Guernsey. Not DVLA registrations, and no date. Number-only plates also match some trade plates.

Not covered: personal export (X) tags, trade plates (some plate shapes match them, but the decoder cannot identify one), military service letters, Sark plates, current Republic of Ireland plates, and whether a plate is a cherished or personalised registration.

Approximate age is counted in whole years from today, from the end of the registration period back to its start, so a six-month period usually gives a range such as 24 to 25 years. Pre-1963 ranges are widened by two years either side because the source dates are approximate.

Area names for the earlier formats, and the issue dates of pre-1963 number series, are compiled from a third-party historic register of registration series, not from DVLA.

Plates can move between vehicles

A registration can be transferred from one vehicle to another, so the plate dates the number, not always the vehicle. Red-on-white trade plates share some of these shapes and say nothing about a vehicle.

Regional identifiers

The first letter of the memory tag indicates the broad region. The second letter narrows it down to the DVLA office that issued the registration. Older plates take the area from the last two letters of the letter group instead.

Letter	Region	DVLA Offices
A	Anglia	Peterborough, Norwich, Ipswich
B	Birmingham	Birmingham
C	Cymru (Wales)	Cardiff, Swansea, Bangor
D	Deeside to Shrewsbury	Chester, Shrewsbury
E	Essex	Chelmsford
F	Forest and Fens	Nottingham, Lincoln
G	Garden of England	Maidstone, Brighton
H	Hampshire and Dorset	Bournemouth, Portsmouth
K	Borehamwood and Northampton	Borehamwood, Northampton
L	London	Wimbledon, Borehamwood, Sidcup
M	Manchester and Merseyside	Manchester
N	North	Newcastle, Stockton
O	Oxford	Oxford
P	Preston	Preston, Carlisle
R	Reading	Theale
S	Scotland	Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness
V	Severn Valley	Worcester
W	West of England	Exeter, Truro, Bristol
Y	Yorkshire	Leeds, Sheffield, Beverley

Source: DVLA, Vehicle registration numbers and number plates (INF104), edition 4/22, section 05. INF104 leaves the region name blank for K, so “Borehamwood and Northampton” is Motorwise’s own label, taken from the two offices it lists. I, Q and Z are never used in a memory tag, and a few tags (such as MN, reserved for the Isle of Man) are not issued. This table covers current-format plates only.

Six-month windows

New plates are released twice a year, in March and September, so every age identifier maps to a six-month registration window.

March plates

Use the last two digits of the year.

Identifier 24: Mar – Aug 2024
Identifier 25: Mar – Aug 2025
Identifier 26: Mar – Aug 2026

September plates

Add 50 to the last two digits of the year.

Identifier 74: Sep 2024 – Feb 2025
Identifier 75: Sep 2025 – Feb 2026
Identifier 76: Sep 2026 – Feb 2027

Year letters on older plates

Suffix plates (1963 to 1983) put the year letter last and prefix plates (1983 to 2001) put it first. From 1967 each letter ran from 1 August. After prefix S in 1998 the changeover moved to 1 March and 1 September.

Letter	Suffix (ABC 123D)	Prefix (A123 BCD)
A	1963	August 1983 to July 1984
D	1966	August 1986 to July 1987
E	January to July 1967	August 1987 to July 1988
F	August 1967 to July 1968	August 1988 to July 1989
R	August 1976 to July 1977	August 1997 to July 1998
S	August 1977 to July 1978	August 1998 to February 1999
T	August 1978 to July 1979	March to August 1999
V	August 1979 to July 1980	September 1999 to February 2000
W	August 1980 to July 1981	March to August 2000
X	August 1981 to July 1982	September 2000 to February 2001
Y	August 1982 to July 1983	March to August 2001

Suffix letters A to D ran for whole calendar years, 1963 to 1966. Plates before 1963 carry no age letter.

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