September 2001 saw the most dramatic change to UK car registrations since 1963, when the alphabetical suffix was introduced to mark the age of a vehicle.

As of 1st September 2001 DLVA introduced not only a totally new format, but also new regulations in terms of print, size, layout and style of number plates.

New Style registration plate example

The new registration marks are made up of seven characters. There are three parts to the registration mark, each with a separate meaning.

In the example above “51” represents the 6 month period from September 2001 to February 2002.
In the”AB” shows that the vehicle was first registered in Anglia (A) at the Peterborough office (B).

  • The first two letters show where the vehicle was registered, the local memory tag.
  • The two numbers indicate the age of the vehicle, the age identifier.
  • The last three letters give a unique identity to a vehicle, the random letters.

Full List Of Local Memory Tags

From September 2001

Local Memory TagDVLA officeLocal Identifier
APeterboroughA B C D E F G H J K L M N
NorwichO P R S T U
IpswichV W X Y
BBirminghamA – Y
CCardiffA B C D E F G H J K L M N O
SwanseaP R S T U V
BangorW X Y
DChesterA B C D E F G H J K
ShrewsburyL M N O P R S T U V W X Y
EChelmsfordA – Y
FNottinghamA B C D E F G H J K L M N P
LincolnR S T V W X Y
GMaidstoneA B C D E F G H J K L M N O
BrightonP R S T U V W X Y
HBournemouthA B C D E F G H J
PortsmouthK L M N O P R S T U V W X Y
HW Reserved for the Isle of Wight
KLutonA B C D E F G H J K L
NorthamptonM N O P R S T U V W X Y
LWimbledonA B C D E F G H J
StanmoreK L M N O P R S T
SidcupU V W X Y
MManchesterA – Y
NNewcastleA B C D E G H J K L M N O
StocktonP R S T U V W X Y
OOxfordA – Y
PPrestonA B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T
CarlisleU V W X Y
RReadingA – Y
SGlasgowA B C D E F G H J
EdinburghK L M N O
DundeeP R S T
AberdeenU V W
InvernessX Y
VWorcesterA – Y
WExeterA B C D E F G H J
TruroK L
BristolM N O P R S T U V W X Y
YLeedsA B C D E F G H J K
SheffieldL M N O P R S T U
BeverleyV W X Y

Age Identifier

Age identifiers will continue to change twice yearly in March and September.

YearMarchSeptember
200151
20020252
20030353
20040454
20050555
2006 0656
20070757
20080858
20090959
20101060
20111161
20121262
20131363
20141464

Current Age Identifier for March 2024 is 24