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 1The Ultimate Registration Mark

25 JRJanet And Ronald's 25th Anniversary

999 ROBRob The Fire-fighter

TOY 5Ideal For Toyota or Toy Store Owners

AJL 33April Jeanette Lee

4 CMPFor Christopher Michael Parkinson

ALF 45Alfred

XMA 55It'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 314DAngela Davies

KEN 1XKenneth, Number 1, Kiss

JON 3SJones

EDW 412DEdward

GHO 5TIdeal For Rolls Royce Owners and Supernatural Believers!

RAC 3RRacer

JAC 1PJack or Jacqueline, Number 1, Peters

CAB 846ECabbage, For Vegetarians!

TVR 802TTVR

TVR 4XTVR

BMW 763VBMW

COS 74ACosta

JAG 805SJag 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 URALAURA

E12 RORComputer Developers

G3 MMAGemma

M155 GEGMiss Grace Elizabeth Gallagher

K155 AJSKiss, Amy Jane Smith

J46 UARJaguar

X999 ROBKiss, For Rob who works in emergency services

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

X40 JHDKiss, 40th Birthday, Janet Hannah Davies

K8 KLXKatherine (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 RAYFor Raymond, A James Bond fan

AN63 LAJAngela Jones

YU11 MMYTasty Plate!

LO12 RYSHaulage Firm

AN11 MALSports Car Fans/ Vets

SH12 LEYBest Plate for Shirley

SA12 AHJSarah Jayne

BO55 RPJBoss, Rhys Paul James

JE55 GAZJessica and Gary

MR52 DVSMrs Davies

XK03 JRCXK Jaguar, John Robert Clark

JD04 CPDMr John Dawson and Mrs Claire P Dawson

FA57 BMWFast BMW car

BE57 JAGBest 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 40Sharon's 40th Birthday Present

BAZ 101Barry

BIG 8055Big Boss

GIL 2068Gillian

GAZ 6468Gareth

LNZ 12Lyndsey

OIL 999Petrol-head

MIG 6857Cover 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