Car Registrations

The Current Car Registration System

In Great Britain the current car registrations system was introduced in 2001. There is another scheme for Northern Ireland. Each registration consists of seven characters. From left to right the characters consist of:

• An area code (the local memory tag) consisting of two letters, the first relating to the region, the second the local registration office. See British car registration plate identifiers;

• 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 (e.g. "05" for 2005) or else has 50 added if it was issued in from September to February of the following year;

• An arbitrary three-letter sequence with no specific meaning beyond that of uniquely distinguishing 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 (including those in foreign languages).

With this new car registrations scheme, a buyer can tell the year of a car without having to look it up, and the preceding area code letters are usually what is remembered by witnesses — 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. This scheme should have sufficient numbers to run until 2050.

Car Registrations having a combination of characters that are particularly appealing (resembling a name, for example) are auctioned each year.

Vehicles registered under previous numbering systems continue to retain their original car registration plates. Subject to certain conditions, registration plates can be transferred between vehicles by the vehicle owner; some of these transfers involve tens of thousands of pounds changing hands, due to the desirability of a specific number.