In September 2001, the first number plates appeared in this new format. This new system is planned to last until the year 2050.
The first two letters - 'AB' above - indicate the part of the country the car was registered in. AB indicates Peterborough. Here's a list of letters used and the areas they correspond to::
| 1st
letter | DVLA
office | Local
identifier (2nd letter) |
| A | Peterborough |
A - N |
| Norwich |
O - U | |
| Ipswich |
V - Y | |
| B | Birmingham |
A - Y |
| C | Cardiff |
A - O |
| Swansea |
P - V | |
| Bangor |
W - Y | |
| D | Chester |
A - K |
| Shrewsbury |
L - Y | |
| E | Chelmsford |
A - Y |
| F | Nottingham |
A - P |
| Lincoln |
R - Y | |
| G | Maidstone |
A - O |
| Brighton |
P - Y | |
| H | Bournemouth |
A - J |
| Portsmouth |
K-V &
X, Y | |
| Isle of Wight | W | |
| K | Luton |
A - L |
| Northampton |
M - Y | |
| L | Wimbledon |
A - J |
| Stanmore |
K - T | |
| Sidcup |
U - Y | |
| M | Manchester |
A - Y |
| N | Newcastle |
A - O |
| Stockton |
P - Y | |
| O | Oxford |
A - Y |
| P | Preston |
A - T |
| Carlisle |
U - Y | |
| R | Reading |
A - Y |
| S | Glasgow |
A - J |
| Edinburgh |
K - O | |
| Dundee |
P - T | |
| Aberdeen |
U, V, W | |
| Inverness |
X, Y | |
| V | Worcester |
A - Y |
| W | Exeter |
A - J |
| Truro |
K, L | |
| Bristol |
M - Y | |
| Y | Leeds |
A - K |
| Sheffield |
L - U | |
| Beverley |
V - Y |
The next two numbers - '51' above - are the new way to tell the car's age. Changing every six months in March and September, these will alternate between numbers starting with '0' and '5'. The sequence started in September 2001 with '51'. In March 2002 it changed to '02'. In September 2002, the number became '52'. In March 2003 it became '03', and so on. After 2010, the numbers will be 10 and 61 and continue in the same way for the next ten years.
Here's a list of age identification numbers used in the new number plate format and the years they correspond to:
| 51 - 2001 / 2002 02 - 2002 52 - 2002 / 2003 03 - 2003 53 - 2003 / 2004 04 - 2004 54 - 2004 / 2005 05 - 2005 55 - 2005 / 2006 06 - 2006 56 - 2006 / 2007 07 - 2007 57 - 2007 / 2008 08 - 2008 58 - 2008 / 2009 09 - 2009 59 - 2009 / 2010 10 - 2010 60 - 2010 / 2011 11 - 2011 61 - 2011 / 2012 12 - 2012 and so on... |
The final three letters - 'CDE' above - are random.
