Registration & Number Plate Types

Dateless Registrations (1903 - January 1963)

A registration without a suffix or prefix is a dateless registration, these registrations date back as far as 1903. These combinations have a maximum of 6 digits on a registration, the can be 3 letters and up to 3 numbers, 2 letters and up to 4 numbers or even 1 letter and up to 4 numbers examples would be: 22 KW , K 7 , 55 P , 85 SAM ,  6666 MW etc. The dateless registrations can have any letters apart from, I,Q, and Z.

Suffix Registrations (February 1963 - July 1983)

These are registrations which have the year identifier at the end of the registration. These combinations always have 3 letters followed by up to 3 numbers and then the suffix/year letter some examples would be: TOM 123Y , OLL 1Y , FER 430X . The suffix can be any letter excluding I,O,Q,U and Z. Initially the suffix was changed on 1st January each year; this was changed to August of each year in 1967 due to suppliers meeting the demand of supplying vehicles.

Prefix Registrations (August 1983 - August 2001)

In 1983 the suffix plates ran out and so the system was reversed to the prefix system. Prefix registrations are combinations with the age identifier at the start of the registration some examples would be: A1 TOM , F599 FER , S4 RAH they have a year letter at the beginning (excluding I,O,Q,U and Z), followed by 1, 2, or 3 numbers and then 3 letters (excluding the letters I,O,Q,U or Z).

Not every combination of suffix or prefix registrations has been issued, so please use our advance search system on the home page to see what is available in your search criteria.  

In March 1999 the system changed yet again to twice yearly releases to prevent the rush of purchasing new vehicle once a year.

New Style Registrations (September 2001 - To Date)

The new style registration format like BO05 TED and PA55 YOU are made up of a 2 letter regional identifier (where the vehicle was registered), followed by 2 numbers (the age of the vehicle) and finally 3 random letters (excluding I and Z).

Northern Irish Registrations

Northern Irish registrations are recognized as they must contain the letters I or Z, examples would be DEZ 555 or GIL 555 , they consist of up to 3 letters and 4 numbers.

You can not transfer a registration from Southern Ireland/Eire