Vehicle registration plates of the United Kingdom

Vehicle registration plates are the mandatory alphanumeric plates used to display the registration mark of a vehicle, and have existed in the United Kingdom since 1904. It is compulsory for motor vehicles used on public roads to display vehicle registration plates, with the exception of vehicles of the reigning monarch used on official business.
The Motor Car Act 1903, which came into force on 1 January 1904, required all motor vehicles to be entered on an official vehicle register, and to carry alphanumeric plates. The Act was passed in order that vehicles could be easily traced in the event of an accident, contravention of the law or any other incident. Vehicle registration alphanumeric plates in the UK are rectangular or square in shape, with the exact permitted dimensions of the plate and its lettering set down in law. Front plates are white, whereas rear plates are yellow.
Within the UK itself, there are two systems: one for Great Britain, which dates from 2001, and another for Northern Ireland, which is similar to the original 1904 system. Both systems are administered by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea. Until July 2014, Northern Ireland's system was administered by the Driver and Vehicle Agency in Coleraine, which had the same status as the DVLA. Other schemes relating to the UK are also listed below. The international vehicle registration code for the United Kingdom is GB.

Standard requirements

Number plates must be displayed in accordance with the Road Vehicles Regulations 2001.
Number plates must be made of reflex-reflecting material, white at the front and yellow at the rear, with black characters. This was first required on all vehicles manufactured after 1 January 1973, having been optional before then. Subsequently, the requirement was modified by the Finance Act 2014, to allow any vehicles registered within the ‘historic vehicles’ tax class to use the older style pre-1973 black number plates. This rule applies on a 40-year exemption basis, and rolls forward automatically each year on 1 April to include vehicles manufactured before 1 January 40 years ago. This type of reflecting plate was permitted as an option from 1968: many vehicles first registered before 1973 may therefore carry the white/yellow reflective plates and, where they were first registered during or after 1968, they may have carried such plates since new. Many buses delivered to London Transport between 1973 and the mid-1980s continued to bear white-on-black plates.
In addition, characters on number plates purchased from 1 September 2001 must use a mandatory typeface and conform to set specifications as to width, height, stroke, spacing and margins. The physical characteristics of the number plates are set out in British Standard BS AU 145d, which specifies visibility, strength, and reflectivity.
Number plates with smaller characters meeting standards for motorcycles are only permitted on imported vehicles, and then only if they do not have European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval and their construction/design cannot accommodate standard size number plates, for example vehicles made for the US or Japanese market may only have a 305mm x 152mm area to affix a number plate in which a standard one line plate is too long to fit whilst a two line plates is too tall.
The industry standard size front number plate is 520 mm × 111 mm. Rear plates are either the same size, or 285 mm × 203 mm or 533 mm × 152 mm. There is no specified legal size other than an absolute minimum margin of 11mm producing a minimum height of 101mm and 199mm on cars, and 86mm for one line import vehicles and 164mm for a two line motorcycle or import vehicles, with the overall length being based on the registration number itself, with the smallest number plate possible being 1 having a minimum size of 36mm × 101mm on a car, or 32mm × 86mm on a motorcycle or import vehicle; whereas a 7 character registration number without a 1 or I having a minimum size of 460mm × 101mm, or 255mm × 199mm on a car, or 231mm × 164mm on an import or motorbike.
The material of UK number plates must either comply with British Standard BS AU 145d, which states BSI number plates must be marked on the plate with the BSI logo and the name and postcode of the manufacturer and the supplier of the plates or
" any other relevant standard or specification recognised for use in an EEA State and which, when in use, offers a performance equivalent to that offered by a plate complying with the British Standard specification, and which, in either case, is marked with the number of that standard or specification."
Older British plates had white, grey or silver characters on a black background. This style of plate was phased out in 1972 and, until 2012, legal to be carried only on vehicles first registered before 1 January 1973. A vehicle which was first registered on or after 1 January 1973 shall be treated as if it was first registered before that date if it was constructed before 1 January 1973. However, the Finance Bill 2014 and subsequent Finance Acts extended the Historic Vehicle class cut-off year from 1973 to 1974 and subsequently, a rolling forty years. This had the effect of linking eligibility to display old-style plates with 'Tax Exempt' vehicle status. It follows that the older style plates are now available for any vehicle constructed 40 or more years ago, provided that an application has been made to the DVLA to have the vehicle included in the historic vehicle class; it is so registered and is nil-rated for Vehicle Excise Duty.

Motorcycles

Until 1975, motorcycles had to display a front plate, colloquially known as the "pedestrian slicer"., which was usually but not always a double-sided plate on top of the front mudguard, curved to follow the contour of the wheel and visible from the sides. Motorcycles registered after 1 September 2001 may only display a rear number plate, while motorcycles registered before that date can display a number plate at the front if desired.
The standard size for a motorcycle number in the UK is 9" x 7", though this size can be changed as long as the characters that are displayed on the number plates are not altered. A full registration that means a custom shaped plate over the minimum legal size of 9" x 7 may be possible.

Great Britain

Current system

Characters

The current system for Great Britain was introduced on 1 September 2001. Each registration index consists of seven characters with a defined format.
From left to right, the characters consist of:

A local memory tag, or area code, consisting of up to two letters which together indicate the local registration office. By December 2013, all local offices had been closed, but the letters still represent a region. The letters I, Q and Z are not used as local office identifiers, though O is still needed for Oxford; Z can be used only as a random letter.
* The first of these two letters is a mnemonic standing for the name of the broad area where the registration office is located. This is intended to make the registration more memorable than an arbitrary code. For example, A is used as the first character in all registrations issued by the three offices located in the vicinity of East Anglia;
A two-digit age identifier, which changes twice a year, in March and September. The code is either the last two digits of the year itself if issued between March and August, or else has 50 added to that value if issued between September and February the following year ;
A three-letter sequence which uniquely distinguishes each of the vehicles displaying the same initial four-character area and age sequence. The letters I and Q are excluded from the three-letter sequence, as are combinations that may appear offensive. Due to batch allocation of new registration marks to dealers, it is common for cars with "neighbouring" letter sequences to be of the same manufacturer.

This scheme has three particular advantages:

A buyer of a second-hand vehicle can in theory determine the year of first registration of the vehicle without having to look it up. However, a vehicle is permitted to display a number plate where the age identifier is older than the vehicle. The wide awareness of how the "age identifier" works has led to it being used in advertising by used-car showrooms instead of simply stating a year.
In the case of a police investigation of an accident or vehicle-related crime, witnesses usually remember the initial area code letters – it is then quite simple to narrow down suspect vehicles to a much smaller number by checking the authority's database without having to know the full number.
The scheme should have sufficient numbers to run until 31 August 2050, assuming there are enough 3 letter random sequences for every combination of area code and age identifier.
Local memory tags

First letter	Official local mnemonic	DVLA Office	Second letter
A	Anglia	Peterborough	A B C D E F G J K M N
A	Anglia	reserved for select issue	H L
A	Anglia	Norwich	O P R S T U
A	Anglia	Ipswich	V W X Y
B	Birmingham	Birmingham	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T U V W X
B	Birmingham	reserved for select issue	Y
C	:cy:Cymru\|Cymru	Cardiff	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O
C	:cy:Cymru\|Cymru	Swansea	P R S T U V
C	:cy:Cymru\|Cymru	Bangor	W X Y
C	:cy:Cymru\|Cymru
D	Deeside	Chester	A B C D E F G H J K
D	Deeside	Shrewsbury	L M N O P S T U V W X Y
D	Deeside	reserved for select issue	R
E	Essex	Chelmsford	A B C E F G J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y
E	Essex	reserved for select issue	D H
F	Forest and Fens	Nottingham	A B C D E F G H J K L M N P
F	Forest and Fens	banned and not issued	O U
F	Forest and Fens	Lincoln	R S T V W X Y
G	Garden of England	Maidstone	A B C D E F G H J K L M N
G	Garden of England	reserved for select issue	O
G	Garden of England	Brighton	P R S T U V W X Y
H	Hampshire and Dorset	Bournemouth	A B C D E F G H J
H	Hampshire and Dorset	Portsmouth	K L M N P R S T U V X Y
H	Hampshire and Dorset	reserved for select issue	O
H	Hampshire and Dorset	reserved for the Isle of Wight	W
K	No official mnemonic	Borehamwood	A B C D E F G H J K L
K	No official mnemonic	Northampton	M N O P R S T U V W X Y
L	London	Wimbledon	A B C D E F G H J
L	London	Borehamwood	K L M N O P R S T
L	London	Sidcup	U V W X Y
M	Manchester and Merseyside	Manchester	A B C D E F G H J K L M P T U V W X
M	Manchester and Merseyside	reserved for the Isle of Man	N
M	Manchester and Merseyside	reserved for select issue	O R S Y
N	North	Newcastle	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O
N	North	Stockton	P R S T U V W X Y
O	Oxford	Oxford	A B C D E F G H J L M O P T U V W X Y
O	Oxford	reserved for select issue	K N R S
P	Preston	Preston	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T
P	Preston	Carlisle	U V W X Y
R	Reading	Reading	A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T V W X Y
R	Reading	reserved for select issue	U
S	Scotland	Glasgow	A B C D E F G H J
S	Scotland	Edinburgh	K L M N O
S	Scotland	Dundee	P R S T
S	Scotland	reserved for select issue	U
S	Scotland	Aberdeen	V W
S	Scotland	Inverness	X Y
V	Severn Valley	Worcester	A B C E F G H J K L M N O P R S T U V X Y
V	Severn Valley	reserved for select issue	D W
W	West of England	Exeter	A B D E F G H J
W	West of England	reserved for select issue	C
W	West of England	Truro	K L
W	West of England	Bristol	M N O P R S T U V W X Y
X	Personal export		A ' B ' C ' D ' E ' F '
X	Personal export	reserved for select issue	G H J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y
Y	Yorkshire	Leeds	A B C D E F G H J K L
Y	Yorkshire	Sheffield	M N O P R S T U V
Y	Yorkshire	Beverley	W X Y

Age identifiers

International vehicle registration code on the number plates

European Union symbol

Some UK number plates have conformed to the 1998 European standard design, with black lettering on a white or yellow background. The standard design have also incorporated a blue strip on the left side of the plate with the European Union symbol and the international vehicle registration code of the member state, although this aspect of the design is not compulsory. EU member states that require foreign vehicles to display a distinguishing sign of the country of origin are obliged by Article 3 of EU Regulation No. 2411/98 to accept this standard design as a distinguishing sign when displayed on a vehicle registered in another member state, making a separate sign unnecessary for vehicles registered in the EU. After the UK ratified the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic in 2018, "Europlates" should also be valid in other countries party to that convention.
After Brexit, and the UK is no longer a member state of the European Union, other EU countries are no longer required to accept UK "Europlates", as the regulation only requires member states to accept the standard design as a distinguishing sign when displayed on a vehicle registered in another member state. However, the UK is currently in a so-called transition period until at least 31 December 2020 during which it is treated as an EU country. After this, Euro-plates must be replaced by a number plate that features the GB sign without the EU flag in order to be valid as a national identifier.
Countries party to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic are not bound to accept the EU design after the UK withdrew from the EU, because the "Europlates" will no longer show "the emblem of the regional economic integration organisation the country belongs" as described in the Convention after this.


The British version of the EU standard number plate; this European plate is optional for UK vehicles.	This format is used for motorcycles and other vehicles where a narrower plate is required.	A British, Leeds–registered number plate without the EU symbol; UK vehicles must display a separate GB sticker if used outside the UK with plates without the EU symbol.

National emblems

Owners of vehicles registered in Great Britain which are not already displaying the EU format "GB" plate may choose to display plates with one of the national emblems below plus lettering. Either the full wording or the abbreviation is used.


GB – GREAT BRITAIN Great Britain UK – UNITED KINGDOM United Kingdom	ENG – Eng – ENGLAND – England	SCO – Sco – SCOTLAND – Scotland	CYM – Cym – CYMRU – Cymru WALES – Wales

Currently no other flags are allowed to be displayed on the plate. These regulations do not extend to Northern Ireland as there is no consensus on a national symbol.
Although these plates are permitted throughout the entire UK, the UK government state that they are not recognised in other countries, and therefore a motorist who drives a vehicle abroad displaying these plates must also affix a "GB" sticker. However, after the UK ratified the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic in 2018, number plates with the distinguishing code "GB" featuring the Union Jack should be valid in other countries party to named convention, as such number plate displays a distinguishing code for the country of registration incorporated into the vehicle registration plate, and is supplemented with a flag or emblem of the national state, and hence satisfies the requirements set out in the convention.
The European Commission has confirmed that after Brexit, British cars with number plates with the distinguishing sign incorporated do not need a separate sign when driving in EU countries party to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. If the number plate does not include the distinguishing sign, or if the vehicle is driven in an EU country not party to the Vienna Convention, a separate sign has to be displayed at the rear of the vehicle. All EU countries except Ireland, Cyprus, Malta and Spain are party to the convention.
Examples of British registration plates with national emblems displayed on an optional blue nationality stripe,.


CYM – Example of official Welsh "CYM" version	Cymru – Example of official Welsh "Cymru" version	Wales – Example of official Welsh "Wales" version	ENG – Example of official English "ENG" version

England – Example of official English "England" version	GB – Example of official British "GB" version	Great Britain – Example of official British "Great Britain" version	UK – Example of official British "UK" version

United Kingdom – Example of official British "United Kingdom" version	SCO – Example of official Scottish "SCO" version	Scotland – Example of official Scottish "Scotland" version	No identifier or EU symbol – the EU symbol is not compulsory

Typography

The standard typeface is set out in the Road Vehicles Regulations 2001. An alternative font is provided for motorcycles.
The standard font, unofficially known as Charles Wright 2001, is a subtly redrawn version of Charles Wright's original 1935 font. The width of the previous font was condensed from 57 mm to 50 mm to allow space for the extra letter and the optional blue EU strip. The letter O and the digit 0 are intentionally identical, as are the letter I and digit 1. But the typeface accentuates the differences between characters such as 8 and B, or D and 0, with slab serifs to improve the legibility of a plate from a distance. This is especially useful for the automatic number plate recognition software of speed cameras and CCTV. This accentuation also discourages the tampering that is sometimes practised with the use of black insulating tape or paint to change letter forms, or with the inclusion of carefully positioned black "fixing screw" dots that alter the appearance of letters on some vanity plates.
The design has similarities with the FE-Schrift number-plate font which was introduced in Germany in 1994 and which has been mandatory there since 2000. However, the UK design remains more conventional in its character shapes.

Special plates

Registrations having a combination of characters that are particularly appealing are auctioned each year. The first of these auctions was in 1989.
For the 07 registration period a higher than usual number of Scottish 07 codes were retained as Select registrations for sale and an additional allocation of Tx letter pairs were released for use by the local offices in Scotland with the same allocation as the Sx letter pairs.

Older plates

Vehicles registered under previous numbering systems continue to retain their original number plates but the area identifier in the previous number system is not the same area as the post 2001 area identifier, e.g. AA pre 2001 is Bournemouth whereas AA post 2001 is Peterborough. Subject to certain conditions, number plates can be transferred between vehicles by the vehicle owner; some of these transfers involve tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds changing hands, because of the desirability of a specific letter/number combination.

History

Before 1932

The first series of number plates was issued in 1903 and ran until 1932, consisting of a one- or two-letter code followed by a sequence number from 1 to 9999. The code indicated the local authority in whose area the vehicle was registered. In England and Wales, these were initially allocated in order of population size – thus A indicated London, B indicated Lancashire, C indicated the West Riding of Yorkshire and so on to Y indicating Somerset, then AA indicated Hampshire, AB indicated Worcestershire and so on to FP indicating Rutland.
The letters G, S and V were initially restricted to Scotland, and the letters I and Z to the whole of Ireland. In both cases, allocations of codes were made in alphabetical order of counties, followed by county boroughs – thus in Scotland, Aberdeenshire was allocated SA, Argyll received SB and so on, while in Ireland Antrim was allocated IA, Armagh received IB, and so on.
When a licensing authority reached 9999, it was allocated another two-letter code, but there was no pattern to these subsequent allocations as they were allocated on a first come first served basis. London and Middlesex quickly took most codes with L and M as the first letter respectively, while Surrey, initially allocated P, took many codes beginning with that letter.
The first mark to be issued in London was the simple, bold, A 1 and this was registered to Earl Russell. He wanted the mark so badly he camped out all night to secure it, making him not only the first registrant but also the inventor of the idea of having a distinctive, personalised or cherished plate on a vehicle.
A zero has been issued by several issuing authorities for the official car of the council head, in cases where plate number "1" had already been issued by the time the councils decided to give priority to its first citizen. Example include the Lord Mayor of London and the Lord Provosts of Edinburgh, of Glasgow and of Aberdeen.

1932 to 1963

By 1932, the available codes were running out, and an extended scheme was introduced. This scheme placed a serial letter before the code, and had the sequence number run only to 999, thus restricting the number of characters in a registration to six. The first area to issue such marks was Staffordshire in July 1932 with ARF 1 etc., and all other areas in England and Wales, plus most areas in Scotland, followed suit once they had issued all their two-letter registrations.
I, Q, and Z were not used as serial letters, as the use of I and Z continued to be restricted to Ireland and Q was reserved for temporary imports, while the single-letter codes were left out of this scheme as a serial letter would have created a duplicate of an existing two-letter code.
In some areas, the available marks within this scheme started to run out in the 1950s, and in those areas, what became known as "reversed" registrations – the letters coming after the numbers – were introduced. Staffordshire was again the first area to issue such registrations, starting with 1000 E in 1953. In most cases, the three-letter combinations would be issued first, while in later years some areas started with the one- and two-letter combinations and others issued all three at the same time. The ever-increasing popularity of the car meant that by the beginning of the 1960s, these registrations were also running out.
Some three-letter combinations were not authorised for licensing use as they were deemed offensive. These included ARS, BUM, GOD, JEW, SEX, and SOD. DUW was issued in London for several months in 1934 before it was realised it was the Welsh for God, and withdrawn.
Even then, there were some registrations which would now be called cherished plates. One was RAD10 and another was IND1A.

1963 to 1982

In August 1962, an attempt was made to create a national scheme to alleviate the problem of registrations running out. This used the scheme introduced in 1932, of a three-letter combination followed by a sequence number from 1 to 999, but also added a letter suffix, which initially changed on 1 January each year. An "A" suffix was thus used for 1963, "B" for 1964, etc. Middlesex was the first authority to adopt this scheme when it issued AHX 1A in February 1963. Most other areas followed suit during 1964, but some chose to stick to their own schemes up until 1 January 1965, when the letter suffix was made compulsory.
As well as yielding many more available numbers, it was a handy way for vehicle buyers to know the age of the vehicle immediately. However, the year letter changing on 1 January each year meant that car retailers soon started to notice that buyers would tend to wait until the New Year for the new letter to be issued, so that they could get a "newer" car. This led to major peaks and troughs in sales over the year, and to help flatten this out somewhat the industry lobbied to get the scheme changed, so that the change of year letter occurred on 1 August rather than 1 January. This was done in 1967, when "E" suffixes ran only from 1 January to 31 July, before "F" suffixes commenced on 1 August.
At the beginning, plates were black with white or silver characters. Reflective plates were introduced in 1969 and were white on the front and yellow on the rear with black characters.
In October 1974, responsibility for issuing registrations was transferred from local and regional authorities to specialist Local Vehicle Licensing Offices or Vehicle Registration Offices run by the DVLA. Most of the two-letter area codes allocated during the first scheme continued in their respective areas, albeit now indicating the nearest LVLO/VRO rather than the local or regional authority. However, the decision to streamline the allocations of these codes meant that some were transferred to new areas. For instance, the former Suffolk code CF was transferred to Reading, while the former Edinburgh code WS was re-allocated to Bristol.

1983 to 2001

By 1982, the year suffixes had reached Y and so from 1983 onwards the sequence was reversed again, so that the year letter – starting again at "A" — preceded the numbers then the letters of the registration. The available range was then A21 AAA to Y999 YYY, the numbers 1–20 being held back for the government's proposed, and later implemented, DVLA select registration sales scheme.
Towards the mid-1990s there was some discussion about introducing a unified scheme for Europe, which would also incorporate the country code of origin of the vehicle, but after much debate such a scheme was not adopted because of lack of countries willing to participate.
The changes in 1983 also brought the letter Q into use – although on a very small and limited scale. It was used on vehicles of indeterminate age, such as those assembled from kits, substantial rebuilds, or imported vehicles where the documentation is insufficient to determine the age. There was a marked increase in the use of Q registrations in the late 1980s and early 1990s, fuelled by car crime. Many stolen vehicles had false identities given to them, and when this was discovered and the original identity could not be determined, a Q registration would be issued to such vehicle. It was seen as an aid to consumer protection. Due to indeterminate age, origin and specification of Q registration vehicles, most motor insurers are reluctant to offer cover for these 'Q-plate' vehicles.
By the late 1990s, the range of available numbers was once again starting to run out, exacerbated by a move to biannual changes in registration letters in 1999 to smooth out the bulge in registrations every August, so a new scheme needed to be adopted. It was decided to research a system that would be easier for crash or vehicle related crime witnesses to remember and clearer to read, yet still fit within a normal standard plate size.

Year identifiers

In order to avoid any confusion, the letters I, O, Q, U and Z have never been issued as year identifiers: I because of its similarity to the numeral 1; O and Q because of similarity to a zero; U because of similarity to the letter V; and Z because of similarity to the numeral 2.

Pre-2001 codes

Normally the last two letters would indicate where the car was initially registered. The letters I and Z are reserved for Ireland. If you want to look for the office code easier, look at the bold letters next to the examples. Note that pre-2001 number plates where the last two letters indicate the original district of registration is not the same as the first two letters of the post-2001 system so, for example, pre 2001 AB is Worcester, whereas post 2001 AB is Peterborough.
For the list of Northern Ireland codes, see the Northern Ireland section of this article. For a full list of Irish codes, see Vehicle registration plates of the Republic of Ireland.

First letter	Code	County or city	Code	County or city	Code	County or city
A	A	London	AA	Hampshire Salisbury Bournemouth	AB	Worcestershire Worcester
A	AC	Warwickshire Coventry	AD	Gloucestershire Gloucester	AE	Bristol
A	AF	Cornwall Truro	AG	Ayrshire Hull	AH	Norfolk Norwich
A	AJ	Yorkshire Middlesbrough	AK	Bradford Sheffield	AL	Nottinghamshire Nottingham
A	AM	Wiltshire Swindon Bristol	AN	West Ham London Reading	AO	Cumberland Carlisle
A	AP	East Sussex Brighton	AR	Hertfordshire Chelmsford	AS	Nairnshire Inverness
A	AT	Hull	AU	Nottingham	AV	Aberdeenshire Peterborough
A	AW	Shropshire Shrewsbury	AX	Monmouthshire Cardiff	AY	Leicestershire Leicester Nottingham
B	B	Lancashire	BA	Salford Manchester	BB	Newcastle upon Tyne
B	BC	Leicester Nottingham	BD	Northamptonshire Northampton	BE	Lincolnshire Grimsby Lincoln
B	BF	Dorset Staffordshire Stoke-on-Trent Nottingham	BG	Birkenhead Liverpool	BH	Buckinghamshire Luton
B	BJ	East Suffolk Ipswich	BK	Portsmouth	BL	Berkshire Reading
B	BM	Bedfordshire Luton	BN	Bolton Manchester	BO	Cardiff
B	BP	West Sussex Portsmouth	BR	Sunderland Durham Newcastle upon Tyne	BS	Orkney Kirkwall Inverness
B	BT	Yorkshire York Leeds	BU	Oldham Manchester	BV	Blackburn Preston
B	BW	Oxfordshire Oxford	BX	Carmarthenshire Haverfordwest Swansea	BY	Croydon London London North-West
C	C	Yorkshire	CA	Denbighshire Chester	CB	Blackburn Bolton Manchester
C	CC	Caernarfonshire Bangor	CD	Brighton	CE	Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Cambridge Peterborough
C	CF	West Suffolk Reading	CG	Hampshire Salisbury Bournemouth	CH	Derby Nottingham
C	CJ	Herefordshire Hereford Gloucester	CK	Preston	CL	Norwich
C	CM	Birkenhead Liverpool	CN	Gateshead Newcastle upon Tyne	CO	Plymouth unused after 1980
C	CP	Halifax Huddersfield	CR	Southampton Portsmouth	CS	Ayrshire Ayr Glasgow
C	CT	Lincolnshire Boston Lincoln	CU	South Shields Newcastle upon Tyne	CV	Cornwall Truro
C	CW	Burnley Preston	CX	Huddersfield	CY	Swansea
D	D	Kent	DA	Wolverhampton Birmingham	DB	Stockport Manchester
D	DC	Middlesbrough	DD	Gloucestershire Gloucester	DE	Pembrokeshire Haverfordwest Swansea
D	DF	Northampton Gloucestershire Gloucester	DG	Gloucestershire Gloucester	DH	Walsall Dudley
D	DJ	St Helens Warrington Liverpool	DK	Rochdale Bolton Manchester	DL	Isle of Wight Newport Portsmouth
D	DM	Flintshire Chester	DN	York Leeds	DO	Lincolnshire Boston Lincoln
D	DP	Reading	DR	Devonport Plymouth unused after 1980	DS	Peeblesshire Glasgow
D	DT	Doncaster Sheffield	DU	Coventry	DV	Devon Exeter
D	DW	Newport Cardiff	DX	Ipswich	DY	Hastings Brighton
E	E	Staffordshire	EA	West Bromwich Dudley	EB	Isle of Ely Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Cambridge Peterborough
E	EC	Westmorland Kendal Preston	ED	Liverpool	EE	Grimsby Lincoln
E	EF	West Hartlepool Middlesbrough	EG	Soke of Peterborough Huntingdon and Peterborough Peterborough	EH	Stoke-on-Trent Nottingham
E	EJ	Haverfordwest	EK	Wigan Warrington Liverpool	EL	Bournemouth
E	EM	Bootle Liverpool	EN	Bury Bolton Manchester	EO	Barrow-in-Furness Preston
E	EP	Montgomeryshire Swansea	ER	Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Cambridge Peterborough	ES	Perthshire Dundee
E	ET	Rotherham Sheffield	EU	Breconshire Bristol	EV	Essex Chelmsford
E	EW	Huntingdonshire Huntingdon and Peterborough Peterborough	EX	Great Yarmouth Norwich	EY	Anglesey Bangor
F	F	Essex	FA	Burton upon Trent Stoke-on-Trent Nottingham	FB	Bath Bristol
F	FC	Oxford	FD	Dudley	FE	Lincoln
F	FF	Bangor	FG	Fife Brighton	FH	Gloucester
F	FJ	Exeter	FK	Worcester Dudley	FL	Soke of Peterborough Huntingdon and Peterborough Peterborough
F	FM	Chester	FN	Canterbury unused after 1981	FO	Gloucester
F	FP	Rutland Leicester Nottingham	FR	Blackpool Preston	FS	Edinburgh
F	FT	Tynemouth Newcastle upon Tyne	FU	Lincolnshire Grimsby Lincoln	FV	Blackpool Preston
F	FW	Lincolnshire Lincoln	FX	Dorset Bournemouth	FY	Southport Liverpool
G	G	Glasgow	GA	Glasgow	GB	Glasgow
G	GC	London London South-West	GD	Glasgow	GE	Glasgow
G	GF	London London South-West	GG	Glasgow	GH	London London South-West
G	GJ	London London South-West	GK	London London South-West	GL	Bath Truro
G	GM	Motherwell and Wishaw Reading	GN	London London South-West	GO	London London South-West
G	GP	London London South-West	GR	Sunderland Durham Newcastle upon Tyne	GS	Perthshire Luton
G	GT	London London South-West	GU	London London South-East	GV	West Suffolk Ipswich
G	GW	London London South-East	GX	London London South-East	GY	London London South-East
H	H	Middlesex	HA	Smethwick Dudley	HB	Merthyr Tydfil Cardiff
H	HC	Eastbourne Hastings Brighton	HD	Dewsbury Huddersfield	HE	Barnsley Sheffield
H	HF	Wallasey Liverpool	HG	Burnley Preston	HH	Carlisle
H	HJ	Southend-on-Sea Chelmsford	HK	Essex Chelmsford	HL	Wakefield Sheffield
H	HM	East Ham London London Central	HN	Darlington Middlesbrough	HO	Hampshire Salisbury Bournemouth
H	HP	Coventry	HR	Wiltshire Swindon Bristol	HS	Renfrewshire Glasgow
H	HT	Bristol	HU	Bristol	HV	East Ham London London Central
H	HW	Bristol	HX	Middlesex London London Central	HY	Bristol
J	J	Durham	JA	Stockport Manchester	JB	Berkshire Reading
J	JC	Caernarfonshire Bangor	JD	West Ham London London Central	JE	Isle of Ely Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Cambridge Peterborough
J	JF	Leicester Nottingham	JG	Canterbury unused after 1981	JH	Hertfordshire Reading
J	JJ	London Canterbury unused after 1981	JK	Eastbourne Hastings Brighton	JL	Lincolnshire Boston Lincoln
J	JM	Westmorland Reading	JN	Southend-on-Sea Chelmsford	JO	Oxford
J	JP	Wigan Warrington Liverpool	JR	Northumberland Newcastle upon Tyne	JS	Ross and Cromarty Stornoway Inverness
J	JT	Dorset Bournemouth	JU	Leicestershire Leicester Nottingham	JV	Grimsby Lincoln
J	JW	Wolverhampton Birmingham	JX	Halifax Huddersfield	JY	Plymouth unused after 1980
K	K	Liverpool	KA	Liverpool	KB	Liverpool
K	KC	Liverpool	KD	Liverpool	KE	Kent Maidstone
K	KF	Liverpool	KG	Cardiff	KH	Hull
K	KJ	Kent Maidstone	KK	Kent Maidstone	KL	Kent Maidstone
K	KM	Kent Maidstone	KN	Kent Maidstone	KO	Kent Maidstone
K	KP	Kent Maidstone	KR	Kent Maidstone	KS	Roxburghshire Selkirk Edinburgh
K	KT	Kent Canterbury unused after 1981	KU	Bradford Sheffield	KV	Coventry
K	KW	Bradford Sheffield	KX	Buckinghamshire Luton	KY	Bradford Sheffield
L	L	Glamorgan	LA	London London North-West	LB	London London North-West
L	LC	London London North-West	LD	London London North-West	LE	London London North-West
L	LF	London London North-West	LG	Cheshire Chester	LH	London London North-West
L	LJ	Bournemouth	LK	London London North-West	LL	London London North-West
L	LM	London London North-West	LN	London London North-West	LO	London London North-West
L	LP	London London North-West	LR	London London North-West	LS	Selkirkshire Stirling Edinburgh
L	LT	London London North-West	LU	London London North-West	LV	Liverpool
L	LW	London London North-West	LX	London London North-West	LY	London London North-West
M	M	Cheshire	MA	Cheshire Chester	MB	Cheshire Chester
M	MC	Middlesex London London North-East	MD	Middlesex London London North-East	ME	Middlesex London London North-East
M	MF	Middlesex London London North-East	MG	Middlesex London London North-East	MH	Middlesex London London North-East
M	MJ	Bedfordshire Luton	MK	Middlesex London London North-East	ML	Middlesex London London North-East
M	MM	Middlesex London London North-East	MN	Isle of Man	MO	Berkshire Reading
M	MP	Middlesex London London North-East	MR	Wiltshire Swindon Bristol	MS	Stirlingshire Stirling Edinburgh
M	MT	Middlesex London London North-East	MU	Middlesex London London North-East	MV	Middlesex London London South-East
M	MW	Wiltshire Swindon Bristol	MX	Middlesex London London South-East	MY	Middlesex London London South-East
N	N	Manchester	NA	Manchester	NB	Manchester
N	NC	Manchester	ND	Manchester	NE	Manchester
N	NF	Manchester	NG	Norfolk Norwich	NH	Northampton
N	NJ	East Sussex Brighton	NK	Hertfordshire Luton	NL	Northumberland Newcastle upon Tyne
N	NM	Bedfordshire Luton	NN	Nottinghamshire Nottingham	NO	Essex Chelmsford
N	NP	Worcestershire Worcester	NR	Leicestershire Leicester Nottingham	NS	Sutherland Glasgow
N	NT	Shropshire Shrewsbury	NU	Derbyshire Nottingham	NV	Northamptonshire Northampton
N	NW	Leeds	NX	Warwickshire Dudley	NY	Glamorgan Cardiff
O	O	Birmingham	OA	Birmingham	OB	Birmingham
O	OC	Birmingham	OD	Devon Exeter	OE	Birmingham
O	OF	Birmingham	OG	Birmingham	OH	Birmingham
O	OJ	Birmingham	OK	Birmingham	OL	Birmingham
O	OM	Birmingham	ON	Birmingham	OO	Essex Chelmsford
O	OP	Birmingham	OR	Hampshire Portsmouth	OS	Wigtownshire Stranraer Glasgow
O	OT	Hampshire Portsmouth	OU	Hampshire Bristol	OV	Birmingham
O	OW	Southampton Portsmouth	OX	Birmingham	OY	Croydon London London North-West
P	P	Surrey	PA	Surrey Guildford Reading	PB	Surrey Guildford Reading
P	PC	Surrey Guildford Reading	PD	Surrey Guildford Reading	PE	Surrey Guildford Reading
P	PF	Surrey Guildford Reading	PG	Surrey Guildford Reading	PH	Surrey Guildford Reading
P	PJ	Surrey Guildford Reading	PK	Surrey Guildford Reading	PL	Surrey Guildford Reading
P	PM	East Sussex Guildford Reading	PN	East Sussex Brighton	PO	West Sussex Portsmouth
P	PP	Buckinghamshire Luton	PR	Dorset Bournemouth	PS	Shetland Lerwick Aberdeen
P	PT	Durham Newcastle upon Tyne	PU	Essex Chelmsford	PV	Ipswich
P	PW	Norfolk Norwich	PX	West Sussex Portsmouth	PY	Yorkshire Middlesbrough
R	R	Derbyshire	RA	Derbyshire Nottingham	RB	Derbyshire Nottingham
R	RC	Derby Nottingham	RD	Reading	RE	Staffordshire Stoke-on-Trent Nottingham
R	RF	Staffordshire Stoke-on-Trent Nottingham	RG	Aberdeen Newcastle upon Tyne	RH	Hull
R	RJ	Salford Manchester	RK	Croydon London London North-West	RL	Cornwall Truro
R	RM	Cumberland Carlisle	RN	Preston	RO	Hertfordshire Luton
R	RP	Northamptonshire Northampton	RR	Nottinghamshire Nottingham	RS	Aberdeen
R	RT	East Suffolk Ipswich	RU	Bournemouth	RV	Portsmouth
R	RW	Coventry	RX	Berkshire Reading	RY	Leicester Nottingham
S	S	Edinburgh	SA	Aberdeenshire Aberdeen	SB	Argyll Oban Glasgow
S	SC	Edinburgh	SD	Ayrshire Ayr Glasgow	SE	Banffshire Keith Aberdeen
S	SF	Edinburgh	SG	Edinburgh	SH	Berwickshire Selkirk Edinburgh
S	SJ	Bute Ayr Glasgow	SK	Caithness Wick Inverness	SL	Clackmannanshire Dundee
S	SM	Dumfriesshire Dumfries Carlisle	SN	Dunbartonshire Dundee	SO	Moray Aberdeen
S	SP	Fife Dundee	SR	Angus Dundee	SS	East Lothian Aberdeen
S	ST	Inverness-shire Inverness	SU	Kincardineshire Glasgow	SV	Kinross-shire unused after 1974
S	SW	Kirkcudbrightshire Dumfries Carlisle	SX	West Lothian Edinburgh	SY	Midlothian unused after 1974
T	T	Devon	TA	Devon Exeter	TB	Lancashire Warrington Liverpool
T	TC	Lancashire Bristol	TD	Lancashire Bolton Manchester	TE	Lancashire Bolton Manchester
T	TF	Lancashire Reading	TG	Glamorgan Cardiff	TH	Carmarthenshire Swansea
T	TJ	Lancashire Liverpool	TK	Dorset Plymouth unused after 1980	TL	Lincolnshire Lincoln
T	TM	Bedfordshire Luton	TN	Newcastle upon Tyne	TO	Nottingham
T	TP	Portsmouth	TR	Southampton Portsmouth	TS	Dundee
T	TT	Devon Exeter	TU	Cheshire Chester	TV	Nottingham
T	TW	Essex Chelmsford	TX	Glamorgan Cardiff	TY	Northumberland Newcastle upon Tyne
U	U	Leeds	UA	Leeds	UB	Leeds
U	UC	London London Central	UD	Oxfordshire Oxford	UE	Warwickshire Dudley
U	UF	Brighton	UG	Leeds	UH	Cardiff
U	UJ	Shropshire Shrewsbury	UK	Wolverhampton Birmingham	UL	London London Central
U	UM	Leeds	UN	Denbighshire Barnstaple Exeter	UO	Devon Barnstaple Exeter
U	UP	Durham Newcastle upon Tyne	UR	Hertfordshire Luton	US	Govan Glasgow
U	UT	Leicestershire Leicester Nottingham	UU	London London Central	UV	London London Central
U	UW	London London Central	UX	Shropshire Shrewsbury	UY	Worcestershire Worcester
V	V	Lanarkshire	VA	Lanarkshire Cambridge Peterborough	VB	Croydon London Canterbury unused after 1981
V	VC	Coventry	VD	Lanarkshire Luton unused after 1977	VE	Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Cambridge Peterborough
V	VF	Norfolk Norwich	VG	Norwich	VH	Huddersfield
V	VJ	Herefordshire Hereford Gloucester	VK	Newcastle upon Tyne	VL	Lincoln
V	VM	Manchester	VN	Yorkshire Middlesbrough	VO	Nottinghamshire Nottingham
V	VP	Birmingham	VR	Manchester	VS	Greenock Luton
V	VT	Stoke-on-Trent Nottingham	VU	Manchester	VV	Northampton
V	VW	Essex Chelmsford	VX	Essex Chelmsford	VY	York Leeds
W	W	Sheffield	WA	Sheffield	WB	Sheffield
W	WC	Essex Chelmsford	WD	Warwickshire Dudley	WE	Sheffield
W	WF	Yorkshire Sheffield	WG	Stirlingshire Sheffield	WH	Bolton Manchester
W	WJ	Sheffield	WK	Coventry	WL	Oxford
W	WM	Southport Liverpool	WN	Swansea	WO	Monmouthshire Cardiff
W	WP	Worcestershire Worcester	WR	Yorkshire Leeds	WS	Leith Edinburgh Bristol
W	WT	Yorkshire Leeds	WU	Yorkshire Leeds	WV	Wiltshire Brighton
W	WW	Yorkshire Leeds	WX	Yorkshire Leeds	WY	Yorkshire Leeds
X	X	Northumberland	XA	London Kirkcaldy unused after 1974	XB	London Coatbridge unused after 1974
X	XC	London Solihull unused after 1974	XD	London Luton unused after 1974	XE	London Luton unused after 1974
X	XF	London Torbay unused after 1974	XG	Middlesbrough unused after 1974	XH	London unused after 1964
X	XJ	Manchester unused after 1974	XK	London unused after 1964	XL	London unused after 1964
X	XM	London unused after 1964	XN	London unused after 1964	XO	London unused after 1964
X	XP	London later temporary plates for vehicles being exported to Europe	XR	London unused after 1964	XS	Paisley unused after 1974
X	XT	London unused after 1964	XU	London unused after 1964	XV	London unused after 1964
X	XW	London unused after 1964	XX	London unused after 1964	XY	London unused after 1964
Y	Y	Somerset	YA	Somerset Taunton Exeter	YB	Somerset Taunton Exeter
Y	YC	Somerset Taunton Exeter	YD	Somerset Taunton Exeter	YE	London London Central
Y	YF	London London Central	YG	Yorkshire Leeds	YH	London London Central
Y	YJ	Dundee Brighton	YK	London London Central	YL	London London Central
Y	YM	London London Central	YN	London London Central	YO	London London Central
Y	YP	London London Central	YR	London London Central	YS	Partick Glasgow
Y	YT	London London Central	YU	London London Central	YV	London London Central
Y	YW	London London Central	YX	London London Central	YY	London London Central

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland uses a modified version of the national system initiated for the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1903, with two-letter county and city codes featuring the letters I or Z representing Ireland.
As in Great Britain, each code originally ran from 1 to 9999, and when one was completed, another was allocated. All possible codes had been allocated by 1957, following which reversed sequences were introduced, the first county to do so being Antrim in January 1958 with 1 IA. These reversed sequences were completed quickly, leading to the introduction of the current "AXX 1234" format in January 1966, where "XX" is the county code and "A" is a serial letter. This format allowed capacity to be increased. Each county adopted it once they had completed their reversed sequences, the last one to do so being County Londonderry in October 1973 with AIW 1. From November 1985, the first 100 numbers of each series were withheld for use as cherished registrations. From April 1989, the numbers 101-999 were also withheld in this way. Even multiples of 1000 and 1111 are deemed cherished by the DVLA and thus withheld. Each series ends at 9998 and follows on to the next letter/number combination in the series.
When the administrative counties of Northern Ireland were dissolved in 1972, the responsibility for issuing registrations was transferred to the NI Ministry of Home Affairs, and later the Department of the Environment NI. From 21 July 2014, vehicle registration in Northern Ireland became the responsibility of the DVLA in Swansea. The pre-1972 format of Northern Ireland registration plates continues unchanged.

Most expensive plates

As popularity grows, the prices reached for the most expensive plates have increased with many motorists attracted by the investment potential as well as vanity. In the UK, sales of private plates via the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency exceeded £100 million per annum for the first time in 2016. Since 1989 the DVLA has made a total of £2 billion from selling private plates. While the wealthy may spend more on a private plate than on their personal vehicle, not all car owners are attracted to private plates. This has not affected number plates from appreciating thousands in value each year.
Registration 1 sold for £7.25 million and is the highest price paid for a plate – in the United Arab Emirates. It was purchased by Abu Dhabi businessman Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri in 2008. In 2014, the registration 25 O broke a new record when it was purchased for £518,000 by Ferrari dealer John Collins; the plate now sits on a Ferrari 250 SWB once owned by rock star Eric Clapton. Registration F1 and RAC3R have been considered as the most desirable plates amongst supercar and Formula One fans. The registration RAC3R is a suffix style plate that was issued in 1976, the same year British racing driver James Hunt won the Formula One World Championship. The plate covers all the different forms of racing, making it extremely desirable. Other popular plates include BO55 EGO. It has previously gone on auction in 2016 where the owner rejected the highest asking of £127,000.
The popularity of race-related plates led the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency to make a motor racing game to mark the profits it has made from the sales of private plates. The celebration took place at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2010. On 25 January 2008 the registration F1 sold for £440,000 to Bradford Car design entrepreneur Afzal Kahn. The plate was previously owned and sold by Essex County Council and was sold to raise money for training young drivers. Today the F1 plate has a valuation less than the winning bid with the price tag stagnating on that particular plate. Originally the plate was affixed in 1904 to the Panhard et Levassor of the then County Surveyor. A few months before the F1 plate was purchased, the S1 plate sold for £397,500 at an auction in September 2007 to an anonymous buyer, making it the second most expensive number plate to be sold in the UK. The S1 plate was originally owned by Sir John MacDonald, the Lord Kingsburgh and was Edinburgh's first ever number plate. Within the space of two years the S1 plate sold for £65,500 more than the M1 plate that sold at auction in Goodwood on 7 July 2006. Registrations 1D, VIP 1 51 NGH, K1 NGS and 1O are also marked as considerably expensive plates that have sold publicly in excess of six figures.

Other formats

Armed forces vehicles

In the Second World War, vehicles of the British Army had number plates such as A12104 and those of the Royal Air Force RAF 208343. Since 1949, British military vehicle registration numbers are mostly either in the form of two digits, two letters, two digits, or from 1995 onwards, two letters, two digits, two letters. Until the mid-1980s, the central two letters signified the armed service, or the branch or category of vehicle. For example, Chief of Fleet Support's staff car in 1983–85 was 00 RN 04, and First Sea Lord's car 00 RN 01 and Second Sea Lord's 00 RN 02, normal civilian plates replacing them when security required; and, in 1970, one of 's Land Rovers was 25 RN 97 and 's ship's minibus was 04 RN 84. Royal Air Force vehicles had numbers such as 55 AA 89, typically the first of the two letters being A, and the new-style RAF plates, such as RZ 00 AA and RU 86 AA on fire engines.
Military number plates are still often in the silver/white on black scheme used for civilian plates before 1973, and can be presented in one, two or three rows of characters.
From 1963 until around 1990, in West Germany, private vehicles owned by members of British Forces Germany and their families were issued registration numbers in a unique format. This was discontinued for security reasons, as it made them vulnerable to Provisional IRA attacks. Private vehicles driven by British military personnel are now issued with either standard UK number plates or German ones, although the vehicle is not actually registered with the DVLA.

Trade plates

Trade licences are issued to motor dealers and vehicle testers, and permit the use of untaxed vehicles on the public highway with certain restrictions. Associated with trade licences are "trade plates" which identify the holder of the trade licence rather than the vehicle they are displayed on, and can be attached temporarily to vehicles in their possession.
Until 1970, two types of trade plate were used. General trade plates had white letters and numbers on a red background and could be used for all purposes, while limited trade plates used red numbers and letters on a white background and were restricted in their use. Since 1970, all trade plates have used the red-on-white format. According to the traders, the police followed a little rhyme about trade plates:
The format of trade plate numbers comprises three digits followed by one, two or three letters denoting the location of issue, using pre-2001 format codes.

In 2015, a new system was introduced with a number-only format. This is a five-digit number in red on white, with a DVLA authentication at the right. This is centrally issued, and there is no regional indicator.

Diplomatic vehicle registration plates

Since 1979 cars operated by foreign embassies, high commissions, consulates and international organisations are issued unique vehicle registration marks. Eligible officials are required to be accredited by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office who liaise with Specialist Registrations at the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency for issuance. Guidance document: INF267 has been produced by the DVLA for accredited officials.
The distinguishing format is three numbers, space, letter D or X, space and three numbers. The letter D is predominately used for vehicles operated in or around the capital of London with the letter X allocated to vehicles outside London and for international organisations, unless otherwise stated by bilateral treaty or arrangement. The first group of three numbers identifies the country or international organisation. The second group of three numbers is a serial number sequence starting at 101 for diplomats, 400 for non-diplomatic staff of international organisations, and 700 upwards for consular or other non-diplomatic staff. For example: 101 D 101 identifies the first registration allocated to the Afghanistan embassy and 900 X 400 is a registration allocated to the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Honorary consuls are not entitled under UK law to diplomatic vehicle registrations and/or diplomatic driving permits.
A limited number of "flag" registrations, bearing a similar format to earlier civilian registrations, have been issued to embassies and high commissions for use instead of a "D" or "X" registration on its vehicles. For example: United States' embassy is allowed to use the registration USA 1; Zimbabwe's embassy ZIM 1; Jamaica's high commission JAM 1 and South Korea's embassy ROK 1 – 'Republic of Korea'. The North Korean embassy, however, had to buy a vanity plate: PRK 1D.
Diplomats are exempt from payment of vehicle tax.

Cherished marks (personal, vanity or private number plates)

By default, a UK registration plate will accompany a vehicle throughout the vehicle's lifetime. There is no requirement to re-register a vehicle when moving to a new part of the country and no requirement that the number be changed when ownership of the vehicle changes. It is, however, possible for another registration number to be transferred, replacing the one originally issued, where owners wish to have a "vanity plate" displaying, for instance, their initials. Registration numbers may also be replaced simply to disguise the actual age of the vehicle.
According to information on the government DVLA website:
"Just remember you can make your vehicle look as old as you wish but you can not make it look newer than it is. For example you cannot put a Y registration number on a T registered vehicle but you could choose any prefix range from an A to a T. Each registration has an issue date which is what you must check to ensure you don't make your vehicle appear newer than it is." However, you are able to put 1955 registered private number plates on a 1949 registered vehicle as there is no year indicator to determine the age of release.
As many vehicles registered before 1963 have been scrapped, some of their "dateless" pre-1963 registration numbers have been transferred to other vehicles as personal plates. They can be valuable, and can also be used to conceal the age of an older vehicle. Many vintage and classic cars no longer bear their original index marks due to the owners being offered high premiums for the desirable registrations. In addition Northern Irish registrations are also regarded as "dateless" and are often transferred to vehicles outside Northern Ireland. Touring coaches often operate in other parts of the UK with registration numbers originally issued in Northern Ireland.
The DVLA's Personalised Registrations service also allows the purchase and transfer of registration numbers directly from the DVLA. Many private dealers act as agents for DVLA issues, and also hold their own private stock of dateless registrations and other cherished marks. The DVLA however can only offer for sale registrations that have never previously been issued and thus have a limited offering and limited scope.

State vehicles used by the reigning monarch

Motor cars used by the reigning monarch on official business, which are all Rolls-Royces or Bentleys built to special specifications, do not carry number plates. The monarch's private vehicles carry number plates.

Other registration plates

Tax free export in 1970s had red borders around the plate.
United Kingdom American Exchange plates had the prefix "UKAX".
Some Republic of Ireland number plates have been registered in various motor tax offices in the UK. These plates dated from 1903-1986 and For example, VIP 1 was originally registered to a Jaguar in Co. Kilkenny Ireland in 1971 but is now registered on a Rolls Royce Corniche owned by Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich. Some UK embassy vehicles have I or Z in their number plates e.g. CZE 1, PHI 1, which have originated in the Irish system. Vehicles registered in Ireland under the new system and which are exported to the UK must de-register their new Irish county with the DVLA who will issue them with a new UK number.
Fraudulent use

Criminals sometimes use copies of number plates legitimately used on a vehicle of identical type and colour to the one used, known as "cloning", to avoid being identified. A routine police computer check shows the plate matching the type of vehicle and does not appear suspicious.
The UK Government introduced on 1 August 2008 regulations requiring the production of personal identification and vehicle registration documents when having number plates made by a retailer. The organisation that makes the plate is required to display their name and postcode, usually in small print at bottom centre, to aid in tracing false plates and their purchaser. This requirement was introduced in 2001 when the new character style and two-digit year identifier came into force, and applies to all registration plates made after that date regardless of the year of the vehicle.

Registration plate suppliers

Number plates were initially made by the motor vehicle's original supplier, and replacement plates meeting standards could be made by anybody. Some people had street address numbers made up to motor-vehicle standards for their houses. From 2001 plates sold in England and Wales had to be provided by a supplier on the DVLA's Register of Number Plate Suppliers as specified in British Standard BSAU145d. The supplier needs to confirm that the customer is the registered keeper or other authorised person and verify their identity. The name and postcode of the supplier must be shown at the bottom of the plate. Number plates in the UK are usually flat and made of plastic; embossed aluminium plates are available from some suppliers. These rules are generally described as onerous, particularly to company car drivers who do not hold any of the required paperwork themselves.
Registered number plate suppliers must keep records including the documents produced by their customers; they can be required to be shown to the police, although in reality this has seldom happened. The Department for Transport holds a full list of suppliers.
Some companies, particularly those based online, sell number plates described as "show plates" or "not for road use", which may not satisfy the requirements of BSAU145d. However, if so specified, these products can be identical to number plates sold by approved RNPS registered supplier. Many of these companies do not ask customers to prove ownership of the registration they are purchasing, and try to circumvent the law by placing disclaimers on their websites. Despite these disclaimers, it is still not legal to produce any registration plates without seeing proof of identity of the purchaser, and proof of their connection to the registration.

Popular movies

The Hunger Games (film) - 2012 American dystopian action thriller science fiction-adventure film directed by Gary Ross and based on Suzanne Collins’s 2008 novel of the same name. It is the first insta...
untitled Captain Marvel sequel - part of Marvel Cinematic Universe....
Killers of the Flower Moon (film project) - Killers of the Flower Moon - film project in United States of America. It was presented as drama, detective fiction, thriller. The film project starred Leonardo Dicaprio, Robert De Niro. Director of...
Five Nights at Freddy's (film) - Five Nights at Freddy's - film published in 2017 in United States of America. Scenarist of the film - Scott Cawthon....

Popular books

Book of Revelation - The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament, and consequently is also the final book of the Christian Bible. Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: apok...
Book of Genesis - account of the creation of the world, the early history of humanity, Israel's ancestors and the origins...
Gospel of Matthew - The Gospel According to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament and one of the three synoptic gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, rejected and executed in Israel, pronounces judgement on ...
Michelin Guide - Michelin Guides are a series of guide books published by the French tyre company Michelin for more than a century. The term normally refers to the annually published Michelin Red Guide , the oldest...
Psalms - The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms , the Psalter or "the Psalms", is the first book of the Ketuvim , the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and thus a book of th...
Ecclesiastes - Ecclesiastes is one of 24 books of the Tanakh , where it is classified as one of the Ketuvim . Originally written c. 450–200 BCE, it is also among the canonical Wisdom literature of the Old Tes...
The 48 Laws of Power - non-fiction book by American author Robert Greene. The book...

Popular television series

The Crown (TV series) - historical drama web television series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, created and principally written by Peter Morgan, and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Tel...
Friends - American sitcom television series, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast sta...
Young Sheldon - spin-off prequel to The Big Bang Theory and begins with the character Sheldon...
Modern Family - American television mockumentary family sitcom created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for eleven seasons, from September 23...
Loki (TV series) - upcoming American web television miniseries created for Disney+ by Michael Waldron, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shar...
Game of Thrones - American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It...
Shameless (American TV series) - American comedy-drama television series developed by John Wells which debuted on Showtime on January 9, 2011. It...