Cherished Numbers and Personalised Number Plate Information

New Style Registration Numbers

The current system was introduced in Sep 2001 and each registration number comprises two letters which also identify the area of the country where the vehicle was first registered , then two numbers to give the date of registration then 3 random letters.

First Letter	Issuing office	Second Letter Possibilities
A	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	A - Y
C	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	Chester	A B C D E F G H J K
D	Shrewsbury	L M N O P R S T U V W X Y
E	Chelmsford	A - Y
F	Nottingham	A B C D E F G H J K L M N P
F	Lincoln	R S T V W X Y
G	Maidstone	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O
G	Brighton	P R S T U V W X Y
H	Bournemouth	A B C D E F G H J
	Portsmouth	K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y
		HW Reserved for the Isle of Wight
K	Luton	A B C D E F G H J K L
K	Northampton	M N O P R S T U V W X Y
L	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	A - Y
N	Newcastle	A B C D E G H J K L M N O
N	Stockton	P R S T U V W X Y
O	Oxford	A - Y
P	Preston	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T
P	Carlisle	U V W X Y
R	Reading	A - Y
S	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	Worcester	A - Y
W	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	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

Two number year identifiers :-

51 - Sep 2001
02 - Mar 2002
52 - Sep 2002
03 - Mar 2003
53 - Sep 2003
04 - Mar 2004
54 - Sep 2004
05 - Mar 2005
55 - Sep 2005
06 - Mar 2006
56 - Sep 2006
07 - Mar 2007

So now we have registrations that change twice per year in September and March which throws up anomalies such as a Feb 2006 car having a 55 registration indicating 2005 ! It's small wonder that few people understand this new system. The area identifier is also of questionable value given the way cars move around the country these days. You may note that the year identifier 00 was never used , presumably these will be offered for sale at some later date. Every new style registration has 7 digits unlike previous systems which varied from 2 digits and up over, the effect of this is that it "fills" the number plate with digits , they all look the same and it's hard to discern which is a normal issue number and which is a personalised number plate.