There are several different identifiers on a number plate that can reveal a lot about the vehicle, such as the year it was manufactured. With the current number plate system in the UK, the characters along the plate signify different things about the vehicle, so it is easy to track in case of an incident or theft.
Over the years there have been several changes to the number plate system to ensure that no two plates are the same. As of 1999, registration plates changed from annually to twice a year. Then from September 2001, the new number plate system was introduced in the UK that we still use today.
Current Number Plate System
The current number plate system is made up of three parts:
Area tag: The first two characters of the number plate are letters that represent the state/region that the number plate was registered in. The first letter highlights the region and the second, the DVLA local office.
Age identifier: Following the two letters are two numbers that reveal the age of the number plate (within a 6-month period). Currently, number plates are released every March and September of each year and begin with either a 1 or 6, followed by the last number of the year that the vehicle was manufactured.
Random characters: The last three characters on the number plate are random letters that allow the number plate to be completely unique.
Earlier Number Plate Systems
Previous to the current number plate style was the ‘prefix’ system which began on 1st August 1983. With this system, the first letter would indicate the year was registered, with A beginning in August 1983, and finishing with Y that ran from March 2001 – August 2001.
Before the prefix system, the suffix system ran from January 1983 through to July 1983. The format was similar to the prefix style, however, the letter that indicated the year was placed at the end of the number plate.
The History Of Number Plates
Number plates were first issued on vehicles in 1903 and this began with some letters followed by one number. This was later adapted into a three-letter/three-number plate in 1932 which is more similar to what we see today. However, this system only lasted until the 1950s when all plates had been allocated. From here, in some authorities, the marks issued were reversed so that the letters were following the numbers and there were no two plates the same.
It is from this point that we see number plate systems such as the suffix and prefix and then finally onto the system that we have today. The current system with the two number ‘age identifier’ has been running since September 2001.
Is Your Number Plate Legal?
The DVLA has a set of certain rules and regulations in regard to how a number plate should appear. Every new number plate should:
- Be typed in the mandatory ‘Charles Wright’ font
- The front plate must have a white background with black font and the rear a yellow background with black font.
- Number plates cannot be customised with italic or different fonts and there must not be anything to obstruct the plate such as bolts.
- The only symbol allowed on the vehicle is a national flag or EU symbol
- Logos and sports team badges are not allowed on the number plate
*Collaborative Post
