What year does my UK

car registration represent?

When was my UK Car Registration

Number first issued?

When UK registration marks were first issued they were made up of one letter followed by one number. The very first being 'A1' that was issued in 1903 by London Council.

The demand for new registration numbers steadily grew and the limited supply of the 2-digit number plates soon became exhausted. Later formats comprised of two letters and four numbers, with each issuing area of the UK given its own identifying two letters. However, in some areas by the mid 1930s, this series of registration marks also became exhausted so a new three letter/three number system was introduced.

For example Hampshire Council issued 'AAA 1' in 1934. This series worked well, and in the case of Hampshire, once they had reached 'AAA 999' they then started the 'BAA' series in 1936. This continued until the mid 1950s when registrations were reversed to three numbers followed by three letters.

These highly desirable registration marks are not associated with any particular year and they are referred to as succinct number plates. They are much rarer than modern registrations due to the simple fact that they were issued many years ago and few were transferred to newer cars.

What are 'Suffix' & 'Prefix'

Registration Marks?

Suffix registrations were introduced in 1963 when number plates were made up of three letters, three numbers and a letter at the end to represent the year of issue. The registration year originally ran from January 1st (to December 31st) until it was moved to the 1st of August in 1967. In 1983 the suffix format of registration marks ended and the UK changed over to the prefix series, which meant the letter representing the year of issue appeared at the beginning of the registration number. The suffix and prefix series meant that when displayed on a vehicle, the age of that vehicle could easily be established. The letters I, O and Z were not used as a suffix or prefix as they closely resembled the numbers one, zero and two. The letter Q was introduced as a prefix in 1983 and issued to vehicles of indeterminable age.

In 1999 prefix letters changed twice a year in March and September (rather than on August 1st) in anticipation of the new series of 'seven-character' registration marks that began in September 2001. See our at-a-glance table opposite to find the year each letter represents.