Registration plates and years of issue

The current system

The current vehicle registration format applies to all new vehicles registered after 1 September 2001.

The standard format is:

• two letters - this tells you where the vehicle registration number was first issued, then
• two numbers - this is the age identifier, then
• three further letters - these are randomly assigned.

Age identifiers

Older prefix-style registrations

Prefix style registrations ran from 1983 to 2001 and the first letter indicates when the vehicle was registered.

Age identifiers

To avoid confusion, I, O, Q, U and Z weren't used as they looked too similar to other letters or numbers.

Older Vehicles

Registration plates have evolved over the past hundred years from the original A1 to the present format of 7 digits. You will still find examples of other formats on older vehicles or as personal plates (see below). Some have numbers followed by letters, others have letters and numbers.

Personal plates

Many people like to have their name or initials on their number plate. Personal plates can be bought from DVLA or they can be purchased from specialist companies. There are some rules around personal plates and some things to look out for:

• A personal plate should never make a vehicle look newer than it actually is - you cannot put a 55 plate on a 2003 vehicle, but you can put it on a 2008 vehicle.
• You cannot add spaces, dots, or formatting of any kind to make a number look like a letter or vice versa.
• If a vehicle is for sale with a personal plate on, enquire if the plate is to remain with the vehicle or if it will be changed for an 'age related' plate.
• Many people use Irish registration numbers to make up names and to disguise the age of their vehicles. These are usually 3 letters followed by up to 4 numbers and include the letter I which is not found in any GB plate.