What year is my car? UK number plate ages

Most UK number plates tell you roughly when a car was first registered. On a plate issued since September 2001 it’s the two numbers in the middle. On older cars it’s a single letter at the start or end. This guide lists every one, and you can type a registration below to read it.

How a current number plate works

Since 1 September 2001, a UK registration has three parts. Take AB21 CDE:

• AB is the memory tag. The first letter is the region where the car was first registered (A for Anglia). The second letter narrows it down to a DVLA office.
• 21 is the age identifier: when the plate was issued. 21 means March to August 2021.
• CDE are three letters chosen at random.

A new age identifier comes in twice a year. From 1 March it’s the year’s last two digits. From 1 September it’s those digits plus 50. So a 71 plate is September 2021 to February 2022.

Age identifiers since 2001

What the first two letters mean

The first letter of a current registration is the region where the car was first registered. Only the letters below are used.

Prefix plates, 1983 to 2001

Before September 2001, the year was a single letter at the start, as in L123 ABC. It changed every August until 1998, then every March and September. I, O, Q, U and Z weren’t used.

Suffix plates, 1963 to 1983

Before that, the year letter came at the end, as in ABC 123L. The same letter can mean two different decades, so check which end it’s on.

Plates that don’t show a year

Private plates. A personalised registration can be moved from car to car. DVLA doesn’t allow a registration to make a vehicle look younger than it is, so a private plate can only ever make a car look older.

Dateless plates, such as ABC 123 or 1 ABC, have no age identifier, which is why they’re popular as private plates.

Northern Ireland plates, such as ABZ 1234, don’t carry an age identifier either.

Q plates are issued when a vehicle’s age or identity can’t be established, such as some kit cars and rebuilt vehicles.

Finding a car’s exact age

The plate gives you a six-month window at best. The exact date is the date of first registration on the V5C logbook. For a car you’re looking at buying, the MOT history shows its first test, which for a car first registered in Great Britain is normally due by its third birthday. An imported car is registered when it arrives in the UK, so its plate can be years newer than the car.

Source: DVLA, vehicle registration numbers and number plates (INF104). Checked 1 October 2026.