Registration Plates

The first question asked when buying a used vehicle is usually - 'What reg is it?' The year of registration, which may not be the year of manufacture, is certainly one of the most important items when looking at a vehicle.

The system of registration changed in September 2001, the new format is not just different in format, but also the type face is new and smaller.

ST 52 AVM is an example.

The first 2 letters - ST - are the 'local memory tag', and show where the vehicle was registered. You can visit the DVLA at www.dvla.gov.uk , this gives you a list from which you can identify the location.

The next two numbers are the 'age identifier'. This changes every 6 months. 0 shows the vehicle was registered during March to August, and 5 between September and February. The next number indicates the year when the registration period began. 1 shows 2001, 2002 etc.

The final three letters are allocated at random.

This means that ST 52 AVM was registered in Dundee, during the September 2002 to February 2003 period.

There are many vehicles on our roads, and there will be for some time, that were registered under the system prior to September 2001. This is much simpler, the first letter indicated the age of the vehicle and the numbers and letters that followed were random.

The age letters, which usually changed annually, were:

You may occasionally, particularly with classic cars, come across a vehicle with the age letter at the end of the registration, or even no age letter at all. This indicates that the vehicle was registered prior to 1983. The registration document will show the actual year.

If you are looking to purchase a personalised number plate visit Number Plates