A brief history of number plates

The UK number plate system was introduced in late 1903 with the registration ‘A1’, debatably, being the first. Registration marks were issued in sequence and related to the geographic area they were issued. The registration system has undergone many changes since then. We have put together a brief guide to the different private numberplate styles for you below.

Dateless Style number plates (Mainland UK) (issued between 1903 and 1963)

123 ABC ABC 123

A 1 The Ultimate Registration Mark

25 JR Janet And Ronald's 25th Anniversary

999 ROB Rob The Fire-fighter

TOY 5 Ideal For Toyota or Toy Store Owners

AJL 33 April Jeanette Lee

4 CMP For Christopher Michael Parkinson

ALF 45 Alfred

XMA 55 It's Christmas!

Can be transferred to any age vehicle
Very rare due to their age
Generally the most expensive style
No I, Q or Z in the registration

I wanted a Dateless plate to cover the age of my vehicle and that would hopefully act as an investment. Plates4Less suggested BB 1967, BJB 808 and XOX 222.

Brett James Brown, DOB 1967, Accountant

Our Dateless Number Plates area is the most comprehensive in the industry, including lots of useful tools, check out these areas (these links open in new window):

Suffix Style number plates (issued between 1963 and 1983)

ABC 1A

ANG 314D Angela Davies

KEN 1X Kenneth, Number 1, Kiss

JON 3S Jones

EDW 412D Edward

GHO 5T Ideal For Rolls Royce Owners and Supernatural Believers!

RAC 3R Racer

JAC 1P Jack or Jacqueline, Number 1, Peters

CAB 846E Cabbage, For Vegetarians!

TVR 802T TVR

TVR 4X TVR

BMW 763V BMW

COS 74A Costa

JAG 805S Jag Boss

Age identifier is the last letter (suffix)
No I, Q or Z in the registration

Plates4Less offered me SAL 19Y which was a great option for us. suggested BB 1967, BJB 808 and XOX 222.

Tom, searching for a present for Sally

Here are interesting areas for you to look at (these links open in new window):

Prefix Style number plates (issued between 1983 and 2001)

A1 ABC

L4 URA LAURA

E12 ROR Computer Developers

G3 MMA Gemma

M155 GEG Miss Grace Elizabeth Gallagher

K155 AJS Kiss, Amy Jane Smith

J46 UAR Jaguar

X999 ROB Kiss, For Rob who works in emergency services

N16 GKM Nov 16th (Date of Birth), George K Moore

X40 JHD Kiss, 40th Birthday, Janet Hannah Davies

K8 KLX Katherine (Kate) Lambert, X for a kiss

Age identifier is the first letter (prefix)
No I, Q or Z in the registration

I wanted a fun plate for my new car. Plates4Less found K155ESS for me which I love!

Amy, looking for a plate for her new car

Take a look at the useful features within our Prefix Style Area

Current Style number plates (issued since 2001)

AA51 ABC

OO07 RAY For Raymond, A James Bond fan

AN63 LAJ Angela Jones

YU11 MMY Tasty Plate!

LO12 RYS Haulage Firm

AN11 MAL Sports Car Fans/ Vets

SH12 LEY Best Plate for Shirley

SA12 AHJ Sarah Jayne

BO55 RPJ Boss, Rhys Paul James

JE55 GAZ Jessica and Gary

MR52 DVS Mrs Davies

XK03 JRC XK Jaguar, John Robert Clark

JD04 CPD Mr John Dawson and Mrs Claire P Dawson

FA57 BMW Fast BMW car

BE57 JAG Best Jaguar car

Age identifier is the two digit number in the middle
No I or Q and Z only in the last three letters

I was looking for a plate that spelled my name exactly. Plates4Less suggested the ultimate 'Shirley' plate, SH12LEY.

Shirley, looking for the perfect plate for her name

Find your perfect plate by searching in our Current Style Area

Northern Irish Number plates

ABZ 1234

SHZ 40 Sharon's 40th Birthday Present

BAZ 101 Barry

BIG 8055 Big Boss

GIL 2068 Gillian

GAZ 6468 Gareth

LNZ 12 Lyndsey

OIL 999 Petrol-head

MIG 6857 Cover Plate, Ideal for hiding vehicle age!

Can be transferred to any age vehicle
Always have an I or Z in the registration
A cheaper alternative to a dateless number plate

I wanted to get my husband a unique gift. Plates4Less suggested DAZ 84 which is perfect as it's his nickname and year of birth!

Ai, searching for a gift for her husband, Darren

Find your perfect plate by searching in our Irish Style Area