How Vehicle Registration Works

The current vehicle registration plate may still be a mystery to some, so here's an explanation of how it's made up:

Local Memory Tag

This is a table of the wider geographical area indicated on the tag. The second letter defines the local area of origin.

Age Identifiers

In order to avoid any confusion, the letters I, O, Q, U and Z have never been issued as year identifiers:

I because of its similarity to the numeral 1;
O and Q because of similarity to a zero;
U because of similarity to the letter V;
Z because of similarity to the numeral 2.

Suffix letter series 1963–83

Prefix letter series 1983–2001

Pre-2001 codes

Normally the last two letters would indicate where the car was initially registered. The letters I and Z are reserved for Ireland.

If you want to look for the office code (or council code until 1974), look at the bold letters next to the examples (ABC 123D; A123 BCD)

Note that pre-2001 number plates where the last two letters indicate the original district of registration is not the same as the first two letters of the post-2001 system so, for example, pre 2001 AB is Worcester, whereas post 2001 AB is Peterborough.