UK number plate definition
The current format for vehicle registration in UK was for all new vehicles being registered since that date. The format is composed of two letters, two numbers, a space and three letters. The first two letters correspond to the DVLA memory tag (the DVLA where the vehicle is registered), the following two numbers are the age identifier, that indicate the year and period when the vehicle was registered, and the last three letters are just random letters. There is also an internal automatic validation to make sure that there are no repeated number plates.
In summary, this is how the number plate looks like.
DVLA Memory Tag
The DVLA memory tag indicates the region and DVLA office where the vehicle was registered.
For our sample plate 'KB26 CFC', and according to the DVLA memory tag table, this would represent a vehicle registed in .
| Region | Postal Area | Memory Tag |
|---|---|---|
| Anglia | ||
| Peterborough | AA AB AC AD AE AF AG AH AJ AK AL AM AN | |
| Norwich | AO AP AR AS AT AU | |
| Ipswich | AV AW AX AY | |
| Birmingham | Birmingham | BA - BY |
| Cymru | ||
| 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 | |
| Deeside to Shrewsbury | ||
| Chester | DA DB DC DD DE DF DG DH DJ DK | |
| Shrewsbury | DL DM DN DO DP DR DS DT DU DV DW DX DY | |
| Essex | Chelmsford | EA - EY |
| Forest & Fens | ||
| Nottingham | FA FB FC FD FE FF FG FH FJ FK FL FM FN FP | |
| Lincoln | FR FS FT FV FW FX FY | |
| Garden of England | ||
| Maidstone | GA GB GC GD GE GF GG GH GJ GK GL GM GN GO | |
| Brighton | GP GR GS GT GU GV GW GX GY | |
| Hampshire & Dorset | ||
| Bournemouth | HA HB HC HD HE HF HG HH HJ | |
| Portsmouth | HK HL HM HN HO HP HR HS HT HU HV HW HX HY | |
| Borehamwood | KA KB KC KD KE KF KG KH KJ KK KL | |
| Northampton | KM KN KO KP KR KS KT KU KV KW KX KY | |
| London | ||
| Wimbledon | LA LB LC LD LE LF LG LH LJ | |
| Borehamwood | LK LL LM LN LO LP LR LS LT | |
| Sidcup | LU LV LW LX LY | |
| Manchester & Merseyside | Manchester | MA - MY |
| North | ||
| Newcastle | NA NB NC ND NE NG NH NJ NK NL NM NN NO | |
| Stockton | NP NR NS NT NU NV NW NX NY | |
| Oxford | Oxford | OA - OY |
| 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 | |
| Reading | Theale | RA - RY |
| Scotland | ||
| Glasgow | SA SB SC SD SE SF SG SH SJ | |
| Edinburgh | SK SL SM SN SO | |
| Dundee | SP SR SS ST | |
| Aberdeen | SU SV SW | |
| Inverness | SX SY | |
| Severn Valley | Worcester | VA - VY |
| West of England | ||
| Exeter | WA WB WC WD WE WF WG WH WJ | |
| Truro | WK WL | |
| Bristol | WM WN WO WP WR WS WT WU WV WW WX WY | |
| Yorkshire | ||
| Leeds | YA YB YC YD YE YF YG YH YJ YK | |
| Sheffield | YL YM YN YO YP YR YS YT YU | |
| Beverley | YV YW YX YY |
Letters I,Q and Z will not be used on memory tags.
Age Identifier
The age identified indicates when the vehicle was registered. The sequence is shown on the following table.
For our sample plate 'KB26 CFC', and according to the age identifier table, this would represent a vehicle registed .
| Date | Code | Date | Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2001 - Feb 2002 | 51 | ||
| Mar 2002 - Aug 2002 | 02 | Sep 2002 - Feb 2003 | 50 |
| Mar 2003 - Aug 2003 | 03 | Sep 2003 - Feb 2004 | 51 |
| Mar 2004 - Aug 2004 | 04 | Sep 2004 - Feb 2005 | 52 |
| Mar 2005 - Aug 2005 | 05 | Sep 2005 - Feb 2006 | 53 |
| Mar 2006 - Aug 2006 | 06 | Sep 2006 - Feb 2007 | 54 |
| Mar 2007 - Aug 2007 | 07 | Sep 2007 - Feb 2008 | 55 |
| Mar 2008 - Aug 2008 | 08 | Sep 2008 - Feb 2009 | 56 |
| Mar 2009 - Aug 2009 | 09 | Sep 2009 - Feb 2010 | 57 |
| Mar 2010 - Aug 2010 | 10 | Sep 2010 - Feb 2011 | 58 |
| Mar 2011 - Aug 2011 | 11 | Sep 2011 - Feb 2012 | 59 |
| Mar 2012 - Aug 2012 | 12 | Sep 2012 - Feb 2013 | 60 |
| Mar 2013 - Aug 2013 | 13 | Sep 2013 - Feb 2014 | 61 |
| Mar 2014 - Aug 2014 | 14 | Sep 2014 - Feb 2015 | 62 |
| Mar 2015 - Aug 2015 | 15 | Sep 2015 - Feb 2016 | 63 |
| Mar 2016 - Aug 2016 | 16 | Sep 2016 - Feb 2017 | 64 |
| Mar 2017 - Aug 2017 | 17 | Sep 2017 - Feb 2018 | 65 |
| Mar 2018 - Aug 2018 | 18 | Sep 2018 - Feb 2019 | 66 |
| Mar 2019 - Aug 2019 | 19 | Sep 2019 - Feb 2020 | 67 |
| Mar 2020 - Aug 2020 | 20 | Sep 2020 - Feb 2021 | 68 |
| Mar 2021 - Aug 2021 | 21 | Sep 2021 - Feb 2022 | 69 |
| Mar 2022 - Aug 2022 | 22 | Sep 2022 - Feb 2023 | 70 |
| Mar 2023 - Aug 2023 | 23 | Sep 2023 - Feb 2024 | 71 |
| Mar 2024 - Aug 2024 | 24 | Sep 2024 - Feb 2025 | 72 |
| Mar 2025 - Aug 2025 | 25 | Sep 2025 - Feb 2026 | 73 |
| Mar 2026 - Aug 2026 | 26 | Sep 2026 - Feb 2027 | 74 |
| Mar 2027 - Aug 2027 | 27 | Sep 2027 - Feb 2028 | 75 |
| Mar 2028 - Aug 2028 | 28 | Sep 2028 - Feb 2029 | 76 |
| Mar 2029 - Aug 2029 | 29 | Sep 2029 - Feb 2030 | 77 |
| Mar 2030 - Aug 2030 | 30 | Sep 2030 - Feb 2031 | 78 |
| Mar 2031 - Aug 2031 | 31 | Sep 2031 - Feb 2032 | 79 |
| Mar 2032 - Aug 2032 | 32 | Sep 2032 - Feb 2033 | 80 |
| Mar 2033 - Aug 2033 | 33 | Sep 2033 - Feb 2034 | 81 |
| Mar 2034 - Aug 2034 | 34 | Sep 2034 - Feb 2035 | 82 |
| Mar 2035 - Aug 2035 | 35 | Sep 2035 - Feb 2036 | 83 |
| Mar 2036 - Aug 2036 | 36 | Sep 2036 - Feb 2037 | 84 |
| Mar 2037 - Aug 2037 | 37 | Sep 2037 - Feb 2038 | 85 |
| Mar 2038 - Aug 2038 | 38 | Sep 2038 - Feb 2039 | 86 |
| Mar 2039 - Aug 2039 | 39 | Sep 2039 - Feb 2040 | 87 |
| Mar 2040 - Aug 2040 | 40 | Sep 2040 - Feb 2041 | 88 |
| Mar 2041 - Aug 2041 | 41 | Sep 2041 - Feb 2042 | 89 |
| Mar 2042 - Aug 2042 | 42 | Sep 2042 - Feb 2043 | 90 |
| Mar 2043 - Aug 2043 | 43 | Sep 2043 - Feb 2044 | 91 |
| Mar 2044 - Aug 2044 | 44 | Sep 2044 - Feb 2045 | 92 |
| Mar 2045 - Aug 2045 | 45 | Sep 2045 - Feb 2046 | 93 |
| Mar 2046 - Aug 2046 | 46 | Sep 2046 - Feb 2047 | 94 |
| Mar 2047 - Aug 2047 | 47 | Sep 2047 - Feb 2048 | 95 |
| Mar 2048 - Aug 2048 | 48 | Sep 2048 - Feb 2049 | 96 |
| Mar 2049 - Aug 2049 | 49 | Sep 2049 - Feb 2050 | 97 |
| Mar 2050 - Aug 2050 | 50 | Sep 2050 - Feb 2051 | 98 |
Design
The vehicles manufactured after 1 January 1973 must display number plates:
- made of a reflective material
- with a white background at the front of the vehicle and a yellow background at the back of the vehicle
- with black letters and numbers
The current number plates must also follow the following design rules:
Car Number Plate
Bike Number Plate
Maria Coursey
Contributor
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