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.
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 Tag | DVLA office | Local Identifier |
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 |
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 |
Lincoln | R S T V W X Y | |
G | 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 | 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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Age Identifier
Age identifiers will continue to change twice yearly in March and September.
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 |