Vehicle registration plates of the United Kingdom, Crown dependencies and overseas territories

Main article: Vehicle registration plate

British number plates (1983 – 2001 numbering system), as observed in 2004

Vehicle registration plates of the United Kingdom are the mandatory number plates used to display the registration mark of a vehicle in the United Kingdom, and have existed since 1904. Most motor vehicles which are used on public roads are required by law to display them. One of the exceptions are official cars of the reigning monarch.

The Motor Car Act 1903, which came into force on 1 January 1904, required all motor vehicles to be entered on to the Government's vehicle register, and to carry number plates. The Act was passed in order that vehicles could be easily traced in the event of an accident or contravention of the law. Vehicle registration number plates in the UK are rectangular or square in shape, with the exact permitted dimensions of the plate and its lettering set down in law.

Within the UK itself there are currently two numbering and registration systems: one for Great Britain, which is administered by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), and one for Northern Ireland, administered by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA), however both have equal status. Other schemes relating to the UK are also listed below.

Colour and dimensions

Black number plates with white or silver characters are permitted on vehicles manufactured before 1973.

Current plates have black characters on white reflective material (for the front plate) or on yellow reflective material (for the rear plate).

Older British plates had white, grey or silver characters on a black background. This style of plate was phased out in 1972, and is now legal to be carried only on vehicles built prior to 1 January 1973.

Front number plates are 520 mm x 111 mm (20.5" x 4⅜") in size. Rear plates may be 520 mm x 111 mm (standard), 285 mm x 203 mm (square) or 533 mm x 152 mm (large).

Motorcycles formerly had a double-sided number plate on top of the front mudguard, curved to follow the contour of the wheel and visible from the sides. The requirement for the front number plate was dropped in 1975 because of the severe danger these presented to pedestrians in the event of a collision.

Specialist HM Forces vehicles use black plates with white lettering.

Great Britain

Great Britain map

Current system

Characters

The current system for Great Britain was introduced in 2001. Each registration index consists of seven characters.

From left to right the characters consist of:

diagram of UK number plate, descriptions below.

• An area code (the local memory tag) consisting of two letters, the first relating to the region, the second the local registration office. Note that the letters I, Q and Z are not used in this code;
• A two-digit age identifier, which changes twice a year, in March and September. The code is either the last two digits of the year itself (e.g. "05" for 2005) if issued between March and August, or else has 50 added (e.g. 55 for September 2005) if issued between September and February the following year;
• An arbitrary three-letter sequence with no specific meaning beyond that of uniquely distinguishing each of the vehicles displaying the same initial four-character area and age sequence. The letters I and Q are excluded from the three-letter sequence, as are combinations that may appear offensive (including those in foreign languages).

This scheme has three particular advantages:

• A buyer of a second-hand vehicle can in theory determine the year of first registration of the vehicle without having to look it up,
• In the case of a police investigation of an accident or vehicle-related crime, witnesses usually remember the initial area code letters — it is then quite simple to narrow down suspect vehicles to a much smaller number by checking the authority's database without having to know the full number.
• The scheme should have sufficient numbers to run until 2050.

Local memory tags

First letter	Region	DVLA Office	Office Identifier (second letter)
A	(East) Anglia	Peterborough	A B C D E F G H J K L M N
		Norwich	O P R S T U
		Ipswich	V W X Y
B	Birmingham	Birmingham	A - Y
C	Cymru (Wales)	Cardiff	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O
		Swansea	P R S T U V
		Bangor	W X Y
D	Deeside to Shrewsbury	Chester	A B C D E F G H J K
		Shrewsbury	L M N O P R S T U V W X Y
E	Essex	Chelmsford	A - Y
F	Forest & Fens (East Midlands)	Nottingham	A B C D E F G H J K L M N P
		Lincoln	R S T V W X Y
G	Garden of England (Kent & Sussex)	Maidstone	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O
		Brighton	P R S T U V W X Y
H	Hampshire & Dorset	Bournemouth	A B C D E F G H J
		Portsmouth	K L M N O P R S T U V X Y
			W (for Isle of Wight residents only)
K	Milton Keynes	Luton	A B C D E F G H J K L
		Northampton	M N O P R S T U V W X Y
L	London	Wimbledon	A B C D E F G H J
		Stanmore	K L M N O P R S T
		Sidcup	U V W X Y
M	Manchester & Merseyside	Manchester	A B C D E F G H J K L M O P R S T U V W X Y
		Isle of Man	N (reserved for future use)
N	North (of England)	Newcastle	A B C D E G H J K L M N O
		Stockton	P R S T U V W X Y
O	Oxford	Oxford	A - Y
P	Preston	Preston	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T
		Carlisle	U V W X Y
R	Reading	Reading	A - Y
S	Scotland	Glasgow	A B C D E F G H J
		Edinburgh	K L M N O
		Dundee	P R S T
		Aberdeen	U V W
		Inverness	X Y
T	Scotland (additional allocation)	Glasgow	A B C D E F G H J
		Edinburgh	K L M N O
		Dundee	P R S T
		Aberdeen	U V W
		Inverness	X Y
V	Severn Valley	Worcester	A - Y
W	West of England	Exeter	A B C D E F G H J
		Truro	K L
		Bristol	M N O P R S T U V W X Y
Y	Yorkshire	Leeds	A B C D E F G H J K
		Sheffield	L M N O P R S T U
		Beverley	V W X Y

Age identifiers

Year March September 2001 — 51 2002 02 52 2003 03 53 2004 04 54 2005 05 55 2006 06 56 2007 07 57 2008 08 58 2009 09 59 2010 10 60 2011 11 61 2012 12 62 2013 13 63 2014 14 64 2015 15 65 2016 16 66 2017 17 67 2018 18 68 2019 19 69 2020 20 70 2021 21 71 2022 22 72 2023 23 73 2024 24 74 2025 25 75

Year March September 2026 26 76 2027 27 77 2028 28 78 2029 29 79 2030 30 80 2031 31 81 2032 32 82 2033 33 83 2034 34 84 2035 35 85 2036 36 86 2037 37 87 2038 38 88 2039 39 89 2040 40 90 2041 41 91 2042 42 92 2043 43 93 2044 44 94 2045 45 95 2046 46 96 2047 47 97 2048 48 98 2049 49 99 2050 50 —

European Union symbol

British number plates conform for the most part to the 1998 European standard design, with black lettering on a white or yellow background. The standard design also incorporates a blue strip on the left side of the plate with the European Union symbol and the country identification code of the member state – this aspect of the design is not compulsory in the UK, and many drivers choose not to pay extra to display the European Union symbol.

The British version of the EU standard number plate; this European plate is optional for UK drivers.	A British, Leeds-registered number plate without the EU symbol; UK drivers must display a separate GB sticker if driving abroad with these plates.

The option of the EU stars and the country identifier letters ‘GB’ is claimed to be a registered design - number 2053070 - registered at the UK Patent Office in 1995 by David and Nansi Mottram. However, the blue strip with European Union emblem and country identifier was introduced by Ireland in 1991, before the Mottrams registered their version.

Some motorists choose to display EU-style plates with their national emblem (sometimes in addition to, or in place of the EU stars) and unofficial codes SCO (Scotland), CYM (Cymru - Wales) or ENG (England). Although technically prohibited, they are permitted by the UK government as an expression of national pride. As these emblems are not officially recognised, UK motorists who drive their vehicle abroad displaying these plates must also affix a "GB" country identifier to their vehicle.

CYM - Example of Unofficial Welsh version	ENG - Example of Unofficial English version	SCO - Example of Unofficial Scottish version	No identifier or EU symbol - the EU symbol is not compulsory

Typography

When introduced, the new number plate format specified a subtly re-drawn version of Charles Wright's original 1935 font, known as "Charles Wright 2001". This has been narrowed (condensed) from 57 mm to 50 mm to allow space for the extra letter and the optional blue 'GB' Euro surround. The typeface is similar in many ways to, but perhaps less drastic than Germany's FE-Schrift number-plate font (introduced as an optional typeface in Germany in 1994, which then became mandatory in 2000). It accentuates the differences in the form of similar characters like '8' and 'B' or 'D' and '0' with block serifs to improve the legibility of a plate from a distance. [The letter 'O' and the number '0' however are identical.] This is especially useful for the Automatic Number Plate Recognition software of speed cameras and CCTV. This accentuation also discourages the tampering that is sometimes practised with the use of black insulating tape or paint to change letterforms (P to R, 9 to 8 for example), or with the inclusion of carefully positioned black 'fixing screw' dots that alter the appearance of letters on some vanity plates.

Special plates

Registrations having a combination of characters that are particularly appealing (resembling a name, for example) are auctioned each year.

For the 07 registration period a higher than usual number of Scottish 07 codes were retained as Select registrations for sale and an additional allocation of Tx letter pairs were released for use by the local offices in Scotland with the same allocation as the Sx letter pairs (for example Edinburgh with SK to SN allocated had TK to TN added).

In 2007 the Edinburgh DVLA office exceptionally issued TN07 prefixed registrations for some vehicles, instead of the expected 'SN07'. This was stated to be because of potential offence caused by interpreting SN07 as SNOT. This is the first known use of the 'T' code as the first letter, as it was not allocated to a region in the 2001 system. Also, TF07 and TJ07 registrations have been issued in Glasgow, most probably because the SA07-SJ07 allocations were exhausted. Similarly, along with TN07, TK07 has also been issued by Edinburgh, probably for the same oversubscription reason as in Glasgow. It has also been observed that the TP07 mark has also been issued.

Older plates

Vehicles registered under previous numbering systems continue to retain their original number plates. Subject to certain conditions, number plates can be transferred between vehicles by the vehicle owner; some of these transfers involve tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds changing hands, due to the desirability of a specific letter/number combination.

History

Before 1932

The first series of number plates were issued in 1903 and ran until 1932, using the series A 1 to YY 9999. The letter or pair of letters indicated the local authority in whose area the vehicle was registered, for example A – London, B – Lancashire, C – West Riding of Yorkshire, etc. In England and Wales the letter codes were initially allocated in order of population size (by the 1901 census), whilst Scotland and Ireland had special sequences incorporating the letters "S" and "I" respectively, which were allocated alphabetically: IA = Antrim, IB = Armagh, etc. When a licensing authority reached 9999, it was allocated another two letter mark, but there was no pattern to these subsequent allocations as they were allocated on a first come first served basis. There are two interesting anomalies where a zero has been issued - The Lord Provost of Edinburgh has S 0 and his Glasgow counterpart has G 0.

1932 to 1963

By 1932, the available numbers within this scheme were running out, and an extended scheme was introduced. This scheme consisted of three letters and three numbers, taken from the series AAA 1 to YYY 999. Note that certain letters – I, Q and Z – were never used, as they were considered too easy to mistake for other letters or numbers, or were reserved for special use, such as the use of I and Z for Irish registrations and Q for temporary imports. (After independence, the Irish Republic continued to use this scheme until 1986, and Northern Ireland still uses it.)

The three-letter scheme preserved the area letter codes as the second pair of letters in the set of three, and the single letter area codes were deleted (since prefixing a single letter code would create a duplicate of a two-letter code). In some areas, the available numbers with this scheme started to run out in the 1950s, and in those areas, a reversed sequence was introduced, i.e. 1 AAA to 999 YYY. The ever-increasing popularity of the car can be gauged by noting that these sequences ran out within ten years, and by the beginning of the 1960s, a further change was made in very popular areas, introducing 4-number sequences with the one and two letter area codes, but in the reverse direction to the early scheme (i.e. 1 A to 9999 YY). Often in the past, number plates were on hinges, rather than screwed securely on, as cars were more commonly driven with boots open. This meant that they hung down and were still visible.

1960s to 1982

In 1963, numbers were running out once again, and an attempt was made to create a national scheme to alleviate the problem. The three letter, up to three number system was kept, but a letter suffix was added, which changed every year. In this scheme, numbers were drawn from the range AAA 1A to YYY 999A for the first year, then AAA 1B to YYY 999B for the second year, and so on. Some areas did not adopt the year letter for the first two years, sticking to their own schemes, but in 1965 adding the year letter was made compulsory.

As well as yielding many more available numbers, it was a handy way for vehicle buyers to know the age of the vehicle immediately. At first the year letter changed on 1 January every year, but car retailers started to notice that buyers would tend to wait towards the end of the year for the new letter to be issued, so that they could get a "newer" car. This led to major peaks and troughs in sales over the year, and to help flatten this out somewhat the industry lobbied to get the month of registration changed from January to August. This was done in 1967, a year that had two letter changes: "E" came in January, and "F" came in August.

1983 to 2001

By 1982, the year suffixes had reached Y and so from 1983 onwards the sequence was reversed again, so that the year letter — starting again at "A" — preceded the numbers then the letters of the registration. The available range was then A20 AAA to Y999 YYY, the numbers 1-19 being held back for the government's proposed, and later implemented, DVLA select registration sales scheme. Towards the mid-1990s there was some discussion about introducing a unified scheme for Europe, which would also incorporate the country code of origin of the vehicle, but after much debate such a scheme was not adopted due to lack of countries willing to participate. The changes in 1983 also brought the letter Q into use - although on a very small and limited scale. It was used on vehicles of indeterminate age, such as those assembled from kits, substantial rebuilds, or imported vehicles where the documentation is insufficient to determine the age. There was a marked increase in the use of Q registrations in the late 1980s and early 1990s, fuelled by car crime. Many stolen vehicles had false identities given to them, and when this was discovered and the original identity could not be determined, a Q registration would be issued to that vehicle. It was seen as an aid to consumer protection.

It should be noted that the age denoted by a registration plate is the date a vehicle was first imported into the United Kingdom and registered with that registration system. For instance a vehicle manufactured in say 1991 and registered in Northern Ireland may be given a 1993 registration letter when it is registered on the Swansea system. This also applies to vehicles imported from other countries. This is apparent by examining the registration document where it will show a different date of manufacture to the date of first registration. The date of manufacture is notional though as vehicles may be manufactured and stored unused, for many years in some cases, and then registered as new when first registered into the system. This allows manufacturers to sell cars as new allowing for shipping, storing at dockyards etc.

In 1989 a lot of these stored old models were registered in advance of legislation that required all new vehicles registered on or after 1 January 1990 to have catalytic converters fitted. This included vehicles held in storage and out of production for several years, in some cases five years or more.

By the late 1990s, the range of available numbers was once again starting to run out, exacerbated by a move to biannual changes in registration letters (March and September) in 1999 to smooth out the bulge in registrations every August, so a new scheme needed to be adopted. Rather than stick with a variation of the ad-hoc numbering that had existed for nearly a century, it was decided to research a system that would be easier for crash or vehicle related crime witnesses to remember and clearer to read, yet still fit within a normal standard plate size.

Year identifiers

Suffix series 1963-82 (letters)

Prefix series 1983-2001 (letters)

Letter Dates of issue A January 1963 – December 1963 B January 1964 – December 1964 C January 1965 – December 1965 D January 1966 – December 1966 E January 1967 – July 1967 F August 1967 – July 1968 G August 1968 – July 1969 H August 1969 – July 1970 J August 1970 – July 1971 K August 1971 – July 1972 L August 1972 – July 1973 M August 1973 – July 1974 N August 1974 – July 1975 P August 1975 – July 1976 R August 1976 – July 1977 S August 1977 – July 1978 T August 1978 – July 1979 V August 1979 – July 1980 W August 1980 – July 1981 X August 1981 – July 1982 Y August 1982 – July 1983

Letter Dates of issue A August 1983 – July 1984 B August 1984 – July 1985 C August 1985 – July 1986 D August 1986 – July 1987 E August 1987 – July 1988 F August 1988 – July 1989 G August 1989 – July 1990 H August 1990 – July 1991 J August 1991 – July 1992 K August 1992 – July 1993 L August 1993 – July 1994 M August 1994 – July 1995 N August 1995 – July 1996 P August 1996 – July 1997 R August 1997 – July 1998 S August 1998 – February 1999 T March 1999 – August 1999 V September 1999 – February 2000 W March 2000 – August 2000 X September 2000 – February 2001 Y March 2001 – August 2001

Northern Ireland

Great Britain map

Characters

Further information: Vehicle registration plates of the Republic of Ireland

In Northern Ireland current number plates take the form "ABC 1000", where "BC" represents the county or city and "A" denotes the position in the series. The numbering begins at 1000 and ends at 9999. After 9999, the next letter in alphabetical order is used at position "A" and the numbering series begins with 1000 once again. For example, in 2005 County Antrim is using the series "KZ", having already completed "IA" and "DZ". After "KZ" is exhausted, it will use "RZ". The full list of county codes appears below.

The county letters without the series position identifier were used previously on their own, in the same order that they are now being used. After all these registrations had been issued, the extra letter was added to increase capacity. Numbers below 1000 are now not issued to the public in the normal way but instead held back by DVA and supplied at a premium as vanity plates.

This system was also used in the Republic of Ireland until 1987 as part of an original British all-Ireland system. It was similar to an older system used in Great Britain, but the use of the letters I and Z is unique to Ireland. In this system, two-letter county codes existed for all counties or administrative areas in Ireland, but are now used only in Northern Ireland.

The DVA in Northern Ireland are considering adopting the system used in the rest of the UK, using I as the first letter (no confusion could be made with 1 as it would be followed by another letter).

Special plates

Northern Ireland number plates are used often in Great Britain as vanity plates to cheaply hide the age of an older vehicle.

The County Fermanagh registrations KIL, CIG, NIG and PIG were deemed inappropriate and will never be issued.

European plates and the GB controversy

A Northern Irish plate (County Armagh) bearing the unofficial "NI" country code

Two Northern Irish cars with Fermanagh and Antrim number plate bearing the unofficial "IRL" country code

The European Union standard for number plates causes some degree of resentment in Northern Ireland as the internationally recognised number-plate code for all of the United Kingdom is "GB" for Great Britain. As Northern Ireland is not part of Great Britain, "GB" can appear to exclude Northern Ireland.

The vast majority of Northern Irish number plates lack the EU-style blue strip. However, those that do display the blue strip often bear the unofficial country codes "NI", "NIrl", or "IRL" ("IRL" is however the only official plate here being the international code for the Republic of Ireland) and under the good friday agreement nationalists in the occupied 6 counties have every right to display this symbol.

Proposals were made to change the "GB" code to "UK", but this came to nothing. The United Kingdom driving licence, common to both Great Britain and Northern Ireland, features the country identifier "UK" inside the European stars, not "GB".

County codes in alphabetical order

AZ — Belfast BZ — Down CZ — Belfast DZ — Antrim EZ — Belfast FZ — Belfast GZ — Belfast HZ — Tyrone IA — Antrim IB — Armagh IG — Fermanagh IJ — Down

IL — Fermanagh IW — Londonderry JI — Tyrone JZ — Down KZ — Antrim LZ — Armagh MZ — Belfast NZ — Londonderry OI — Belfast OZ — Belfast PZ — Belfast RZ — Antrim

SZ — Down TZ — Belfast UI — Derry City UZ — Belfast VZ — Tyrone WZ — Belfast XI — Belfast XZ — Armagh YZ — Londonderry QNI — Re-registration within Northern Ireland

Series per county

The present series is highlighted in bold, those already used are in italics.

Antrim CC: (in original issuing sequence) IA DZ KZ RZ

IA 1 was first issued in 1903, the series running to IA 9999; followed by DZ 1 to DZ 9999 (1932-1947); KZ 1 to KZ 9999 (1947-1954); RZ 1 to RZ 9999 (1954-19??).

The sequence was then reversed, viz: 1 IA to 9999 IA; 1 DZ to 9999 DZ; 1 KZ to 9999 KZ; 1 RZ to 9999 RZ – this sequence ending in January 1966.

A suffix letter was then added, and the sequence ran AIA 1 to YIA 9999 (January 1966 to May 1985), then ADZ 1 to YDZ 9999 (1985-1998), the current series AKZ 1001 to YKZ 9999 beginning in 1998.

The sequence will continue with ARZ 1001 to YRZ 9999.

When this is exhausted the series will reverse, i.e. 1001 AIA to 9999 YIA.

Armagh CC: (in original issuing sequence) IB LZ XZ

IB 1 was first issued in 1903, the series running to IB 9999; followed by LZ 1 to LZ 9999 (1947-1957); XZ 1 to XZ 9999 (1947-19??).

The sequence was then reversed, viz: 1 IB to 9999 IB; 1 LZ to 9999 LZ; 1 XZ to 9999 XZ – this sequence ending in March 1972.

A suffix letter was then added, and the sequence ran AIB 1 to YIB 9999 (March 1972 to 1996), the current series ALZ 1001 to YLZ 9999 beginning in 1996 (up to WLZ as of winter 2008).

The sequence will continue with AXZ1001 to YXZ9999; when this is exhausted the series will reverse, i.e. 1001AIB to 9999YIB, 1001ALZ to 9999YLZ, and finally 1001AXZ to 9999YXZ.

Belfast CBC: (in original issuing sequence) OI XI AZ CZ EZ FZ GZ MZ OZ PZ TZ UZ WZ

OI 1 to OI 9999 (1903-1922); XI 1 to XI 9999 (1922-1928); AZ1 to AZ 9999 (1928-1932); CZ 1 to CZ 9999 (1932-1935); EZ 1 to EZ 9999 (1935-1938); FZ 1 to FZ 9999 (1938-1942); GZ 1 to GZ 9999 (1942-1947); MZ 1 to MZ 9999 (1947-1950); OZ1 to OZ 9999 (1950-1953); PZ 1 to PZ 9999 (1953-1954); TZ 1 to TZ 9999 (1954-1955); UZ 1 to UZ 9999 (1955-1957); WZ 1 to WZ 9999 (1957-1959).

In 1959 the sequence was reversed: 1 OI to 9999 OI (1958/59); 1 XI to 9999 XI (1959/60); 1 AZ to 9999 AZ (1960/61); 1 CZ to 9999 CZ (1961/62); 1 EZ to 9999 EZ (1962/63); 1 FZ to 9999 FZ (1963/64); 1 GZ to 9999 GZ (1964/65); 1 MZ to 9999 MZ (1965/66); 1 OZ to 9999 OZ (1966); 1 PZ to 9999 PZ (1967); 1 TZ to 9999 TZ (1967/68); 1 UZ to 9999 UZ (1968); 1 WZ to 9999 WZ (1968-April 1969).

In April 1969 a three-letter sequence began with AOI 1 and ran through to YOI 9999. The sequence continued in May 1982 with AXI 1 and ran to YXI 9999 (1993), then AAZ 1001 through YAZ 9999 (1993-1999), ACZ 1001 to YCZ 9999 (1999-2004), with the current sequence being AEZ 1001 to YEZ 9999 (commencing in mid-2004). The current issue (as of winter 2008) is VEZ.

Derry City: UI

UI 1 was first issued in 1904 and the sequence ran to UI 9999. In the 1960s the sequence was reversed, running 1 UI to 9999 UI. This was followed in April 1973 by AUI 1 and the sequence will run AUI 1 to YUI 9999, whereupon it will be reversed, 1001 AUI to 9999 YUI.

Down CC: (in original issuing sequence) IJ BZ JZ SZ

Fermanagh CC: (in original issuing sequence) IL IG

Londonderry CC: (in original issuing sequence) IW NZ YZ

Tyrone CC: (in original issuing sequence) JI HZ VZ

Crown Dependencies

The Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are outside the United Kingdom and European Union, and have registration marks that differ from those used in the UK.

Jersey

Map showing the Channel Islands

A Jersey registration plate bearing the GBJ identifier

A tractor in Jersey carrying its J-plate

Standard plates

Jersey registration plates consist of the letter 'J' followed by one to six digits; plates may now incorporate the coat of arms of Jersey in a white strip on the left, along with the country identifier 'GBJ' (Great Britain - Jersey). This design is similar to the EU standard plate, but does not incorporate the European flag, as Jersey is outside the European Union.

Special plates

Hire cars registered on Jersey shall display a silver letter 'H' on a red background on the left of the registration plate.

The prefix 'E' is used to designate temporary imports.

Where a vehicle is brought temporarily into Jersey … from a country in which the vehicle is not under the law of that country required to be registered, the Inspector may, … assign to it an identification mark which shall be displayed on the vehicle as provided in that paragraph. The Mark shall consist of the letter 'E' followed by a number.

— Jersey Legal Information

Cherished plates, having the format 'JSY' followed by one to three digits, are officially auctioned. Such is the desirability of low digit registration marks that these are often included in the auctions. (The new registered keeper purchases the right to display the registration mark rather than outright ownership of it).

A Jersey "trader" plate has white letters on a red background and is made of a flexible magnetic material. These plates are for use by a bona-fide motor trader on any unregistered vehicle being used in connection with the business of that motor trader.

Guernsey

Map showing the Channel Islands

A Guernsey plate displaying the GBG country code

Standard plates

Guernsey plates consist of up to six digits. Plates may be either silver on a black background, or black on the white/yellow backgrounds as in the UK. An oval containing the letters 'GBG', the island's international vehicle registration, is sometimes included. Plates with lower numbers are of a higher value. Vehicles used by the Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service do not carry number plates.

Special plates

Guernsey hire cars sport a black 'H' on a yellow background on a separate plate, much like the 'L plate' required by learners. Foreign drivers often lack understanding of road features such as 'filter in turn' sections common to Guernsey roads.

Alderney

In Alderney, a dependency of Guernsey, separate registrations are issued always with the prefix 'AY' followed by a space and then digits.

An Alderney plate has white text on a black background.

Sark

Sark bans motor vehicles other than tractors from its roads. No number plates exist.

Isle of Man

Map showing the Isle of Man

A Manx number plate displaying the GBM country code

Manx (not part of the UK) car number plate

Vehicle registration began in the Isle of Man on 1 January 1906, following the introduction of the Highways Act Amendment Act 1905. Initially, number plates started with the letters 'MN' followed by up to four digits. In 1935, the prefix 'MAN' came into use, followed by up to three digits, and the following year a further scheme was introduced allowing three letters to be used in addition to up to three digits (BMN-1 through YMN-999).

In 1959, the scheme changed to allow the digits to precede the letters, starting with 1-MN, and after 1964, starting with 1-MAN, and from 1965 until 1971 1-BMN through 999-YMN were issued.

In 1971, unissued numbers from the original MN-1 to MN-9999 range were issued. When this ran out in 1974, a trailing letter was added, giving MAN-1-A through to MAN-999-Y. In 1979 this was swapped to be a prefix (A-1-MAN up to Y-999-MAN), and in 1983 the range MAN-1000 to MAN-9999 was introduced.

This was reversed in 1985, giving 1000-MAN to 9999-MAN, which lasted until 1987. At that point, the current system was introduced, which has an initial letter, followed by MN, up to three numerals, and a trailing single letter. The initial plate in this system was therefore AMN-1-A, with the registration BMN-1-A being issued following AMN-999-Y. This therefore means that the trailing letter does not indicate the vehicle age, unlike the similar format British plates, and many different suffix letters are issued each year.

The letters I, Q, S and Z are not used on Manx number plates.

The Isle of Man uses retro-reflective number plates with black letters; on a white background on the front of the vehicle, and on yellow on the rear. Vehicles manufactured prior to 1 February 1990 can display white-on-black plates as an alternative.

Since 23 April 2004 may now incorporate the Manx flag, bearing the triskelion symbol surrounded by a circle of six stars, and the country identification code GBM (Great Britain-Mann). These Manx number plates are similar in appearance to number plates of vehicles registered in the Republic of Ireland. This is because the typeface used on Manx number plates is the same as that used on Irish vehicle registration plates, and similarly transitions between numerals and letters are marked by hyphens. The Celtic font 'Isle of Man' (alternatively 'Ellan Vannin') identifier above the registration number is the same position as the Irish language county identifier displayed on Irish number plates.

The region code 'MN' was reserved for the Isle of Man in the original Great Britain 1903 numbering scheme, and the code 'MAN' in the 1932 GB scheme. This means that no Isle of Man registration is duplicated by a GB registration. When the current 2001 scheme was adopted in Great Britain, the region code 'MN' (within the 'M' range for Manchester) was reserved for eventual use by the Isle of Man.

There are around 45,000 registered vehicles in the Isle of Man. Number plates are produced and supplied privately, they are not produced by the government. The name of the supplying car dealer is often displayed along the bottom of the plate. Registrations can be transferred from vehicle to vehicle.

The official car of the Lieutenant Governor carries the registration number MAN-1. Registrations including the numbers 999 or 112 (for example, AMN-999-A) are used for emergency vehicles.

Trade plates have red letters on a white background, and display a number prefixed by MNA.

Other formats

Overseas territories

A Gibraltar number plate, featuring the GBZ country identifier.

Some of the British overseas territories, including Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, use similar number plates to the UK, with the same colours and typeface.

Gibraltar

Main article: Vehicle registration plates of Gibraltar

Until 2002 Gibraltar's number plates consisted of the letter 'G' and five digits, but this changed to 'G' followed by four digits and a letter. The European flag is also now featured, along with the international vehicle registration GBZ. Military vehicles have the letters 'RN'.

Falklands

In the Falkland Islands, the format is 'F' followed by four digits and a letter. Plates are black-on-yellow for both the front and rear of the vehicle.

Bermuda

Bermuda number plates issued to general passenger vehicles are five black digits on a plain white background, similarly-sized to UK plates. Vanity plates, however, have recently become available that allow motorists to choose any seven-letter phrase, overlaid on a map of the island with "Bermuda" printed across the top, on a plate of identical dimensions to plates from the United States.

Anguilla

Anguilla has an 'A' followed by four digits, with a 'G' on the end for a government vehicle, a 'H' for a hire vehicle/taxi and an 'R' for a rental vehicle.

A 1234

British Virgin Islands

In the British Virgin Islands private vehicles have 'PV' followed by four digits. Commercial vehicles have 'CM' followed by four digits. Rental vehicles have RT followed by four digits. Taxis have TX followed by four digits. Government vehicles have GV followed by four digits.

PV 1234

Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands number plates simply have six numbers on them, separated into groups of three.

123 456

Saint Helena

Saint Helena number plates just have three digits on them, with government vehicles having a prefix of 'SHG'. Plates are black-on-white for the front of the vehicle, and black-on-yellow for the rear.

123

Turks and Caicos Islands

Turks and Caicos Islands plates have five digits on them, with the text "Beautiful by Nature" and "Turks and Caicos Islands".

Different colours are used for private (red), commercial (green), government (black) and hire (yellow) cars. The Governor's cars do not display a number plate, simply a plate with a crown.

Armed Forces vehicles

Since 1949, British military vehicle registration numbers are either in the form of two digits, two letters, two digits (ie. 12 AB 34), or from 1995 onwards, two letters, two digits, two letters (ie. AB 12 CD). Before 1982, the central two letters signified the branch of the armed forces or category of vehicle. Military number plates are still often in the silver/white on black scheme used for civilian plates before 1973, and can be presented in one, two or three rows of characters.

From 1963 until around 1990, in West Germany, private vehicles owned by members of British Forces Germany and their families were issued registration numbers in a unique format (two or three letters followed by two or three digits plus a "B" suffix, eg. AQQ 89 B). This was discontinued for security reasons, as it made them vulnerable to Provisional IRA attacks. Private vehicles driven by British military personnel are now issued with either standard UK number plates (if right hand drive) or German ones (if left hand drive).

Trade plates

Trade plates are used by the motor trade to move untaxed vehicles on the public highway. Until 1970 two types of trade plate were used. General trade plates had white letters and numbers on a red background and could be used for all such purposes. Limited trade plates used red numbers and letters on a white background and were restricted in their use (e.g. a vehicle being driven under limited trade plates was not allowed to carry passengers). From 1970 onwards only one type of trade plate was used, which perpetuated the red on white format.

Diplomatic plates

British diplomatic car plate for Libya.

See also: List of country codes on British diplomatic vehicle registration plates

Since 1979 cars operated by foreign embassies, consular staff, and various international organisations have been given plates with a distinguishing format of three numbers, one letter, three numbers. The letter is D for diplomats or X for accredited non-diplomatic staff. The first group of three numbers identifies the country or organisation to whom the plate has been issued, the second group of three numbers is a serial number, starting at 101 for diplomats (although some embassies were erroneously issued 100), 400 for non-diplomatic staff of international organisations, and 700 for consular staff. Thus, for example, 101 D 101 identifies the first plate allocated to the Afghanistan embassy, 900 X 400 is the first plate allocated to the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Personal number plates (Cherished Marks)

It is still legal to use any of the above schemes for so-called vanity plates. Any registration with two to three consecutive valid letters and a number 1-999 (and possibly another letter) is allowed. As many vehicles registered before 1963 have been destroyed, these "dateless" pre 1963 "personal" or "private" plates are usually highly sought-after and valuable, since they can be used to hide the age of an older vehicle. However, some consider it a great pity that many classic cars now lose their original plates due to the owners cashing in on the high premiums paid for highly desirable personalised registrations. The Government's Cherished Mark Transfer scheme allows owners to display a registration index more appropriate to a speciality or collector vehicle and there is also a large number of private dealers who not only act as agents for DVLA issues, but hold their own private stock of dateless registrations and other cherished marks. The DVLA however can only offer for sale registrations that have never previously been issued and thus have a limited offering and limited scope. One may not use a registration index to make a vehicle appear newer than it actually is.

As popularity grows, the prices reached for the most expensive plates are always increasing. As of 2008, the record price for a number plate is £397,500 paid at auction in September by an anonymous buyer for the plate S 1. S 1 was originally owned by Sir John H A MacDonald, the Lord Kingsburgh and was Edinburgh's first ever number plate. Car design entrepreneur Afzal Kahn paid £375,000 on 25 January 2008 for F 1 previously owned and sold by Essex County Council and affixed originally in 1904 to the Panhard et Levassor of the then County Surveyor. £330,000 was spent on M 1, sold at auction in Goodwood on 7 June 2006; Roman Abramovich is also rumoured to have paid £285,000 for VIP 1; this was originally an Irish number, formerly on a car once used by Pope John Paul II when visiting Dublin. Similarly, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton paid ₤200,000 for LEW 1S, more than the price of the Mercedes-Benz G55 that he put it on.

It should be noted that there are no restrictions on using a vanity or cherished registration on a car that is newer than the original date of the registration plate but it is prohibited to transfer a registration that is newer than the vehicle it is used on. This is to prevent the transfer of newer registrations to older vehicles as a measure to protect consumers.

State vehicles used by the reigning monarch

Uniquely, the Rolls-Royce, Bentley and other motor cars used by the reigning monarch on official business do not carry number plates. The official car of the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland also does not carry plates (but only for the duration of the week-long General Assembly). The monarch's private vehicles, and cars driven by other members of the royal family, all carry number plates.

Theft of number plates

To combat "cloning", where criminals have number plates made up for a vehicle of identical type and colour and use them on their own vehicle to commit crime without being traceable (yet appearing legitimate to a cursory police computer check), the UK Government recently introduced laws requiring the production of personal identification and vehicle registration documents when buying replacement plates from a retailer.

It is also a requirement that the organisation who made up the plate show their name and post code on the plate to aid tracing of the production of false plates and tracing of the individual who purchased the plate. This is normally shown in the centre at the bottom of the plate. This came in in 2001 when the new character style and two digit year identifier came into force but applies to all registration plates made up after that date regardless of the year of vehicle they are intended for. As such any car bearing registration plates that are new looking in appearance but lacking details of whom made them should be treated with some caution.

Although "show plates" are widely available on mail-order with no such checks (making the law wholly ineffective), number plate theft has become a new activity for criminals, who presumably wish to leave no record of their having purchased "show plates". This is a grey area of the law as there are no rules covering the production of signs etc. and effectively these "show" plates are not registration plates as they do not conform to the legal requirements required of registration plates and are therefore not covered by the laws relating to registration plates. The use of such "show" plates on a vehicle in place of a registration plate is an offence though.

Following the introduction of the above legislation, the theft of registration plates has become more common as it is harder to obtain a registration plate. Tamper-resistant plates, which cannot be removed from a vehicle without destroying them, have been demonstrated in a bid to beat the problem. Ironically the DVLA effectively banned the formerly legal adhesive plates (popular for some sports cars such as the Mazda MX-5 and Alfa Romeo Spider) in 2001, which are tamper-proof by design.

Cloned and stolen registration plates are frequently used to avoid speeding, parking and congestion charging fines, and for the theft of petrol.

See also

• Mass surveillance
• Vehicle Excise Duty
• Vehicle registration plate

References

• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. "Registration Marks - Current System, English Version". Archived from the original on 2005-03-19. Retrieved 2006-08-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |* [http://www.jerseylaw.je/Law/display.aspx?url= ignored (help)

Notes

Bibliography

• Newall, L.H. (2008). A History of Motor Vehicle Registration in the United Kingdom (3rd edition). Scarborough: Newby Books. ISBN 978-1-872686-32-5. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Printable PDFs of DVLA number plate specifications
• Vehicle Registration in the Isle of Man
• Further information on British registration numbers including pre-2001 area issuing codes
• Jersey Driver and Vehicle Standards