United Kingdom license plates

Format, region codes and a plate generator for United Kingdom.

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Custom text: real plates never carry this combination.

This image is not a license plate: it must not be fitted to a vehicle and does not mean the combination is available.

Plate types

How to read the plate

Region code

Letters at the start of the number.

Series and number

Letters and digits — the registration itself.

County

The first characters are the code of the county where the car is registered: The county where the car is registered is shown separately on the plate:

A current British plate looks like BD51 SMR. The first two letters are the memory tag: the first stands for a broad region (A Anglia, B Birmingham, C Cymru, i.e. Wales, … Y Yorkshire), the second for a local DVLA office. The two digits show the age: plates issued in March carry the year (26), those issued in September the year plus 50 (76); the last three letters are random. Front plates are white, rear plates yellow. Northern Ireland has its own ABC 1234 format, where the last two letters are a county or town code that always contains I or Z.

Region map

Click a region to see its codes.

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Region codes

123 regions

Region	Code
Peterborough (Anglia)	AA AB AC AD AE AF AG AJ AK AM AN
Norwich (Anglia)	AO AP AR AS AT AU
Ipswich (Anglia)	AV AW AX AY
Belfast	AZ CZ EZ FZ GZ MZ OI OZ PZ XI
Birmingham	BA BB BC BD BE BF BG BH BJ BK BL BM BN BO BP BR BS BT BU BV BW BX
County Down	BZ IJ JZ SZ
Cardiff (Wales)	CA CB CC CD CE CF CG CH CJ CK CL CM CN CO
Swansea (Wales)	CP CR CS CT CU CV
Bangor (Wales)	CW CX CY
Chester (Deeside to Shrewsbury)	DA DB DC DD DE DF DG DH DJ DK
Shrewsbury (Deeside to Shrewsbury)	DL DM DN DO DP DS DT DU DV DW DX DY
County Antrim	DZ IA KZ RZ
Chelmsford (Essex)	EA EB EC EE EF EG EJ EK EL EM EN EO EP ER ES ET EU EV EW EX EY
Nottingham (Forest and Fens)	FA FB FC FD FE FF FG FH FJ FK FL FM FN FP
Lincoln (Forest and Fens)	FR FS FT FV FW FX FY
Maidstone (Garden of England)	GA GB GC GD GE GF GG GH GJ GK GL GM GN
Brighton (Garden of England)	GP GR GS GT GU GV GW GX GY
Bournemouth (Hampshire and Dorset)	HA HB HC HD HE HF HG HH HJ
Portsmouth (Hampshire and Dorset)	HK HL HM HN HP HR HS HT HU HV HX HY
Isle of Wight (Hampshire and Dorset)	HW
County Tyrone	HZ JI VZ
County Armagh	IB LZ XZ
County Fermanagh	IG IL
County Londonderry	IW NZ YZ
Borehamwood (K)	KA KB KC KD KE KF KG KH KJ KK KL
Northampton (K)	KM KN KO KP KR KS KT KU KV KW KX KY
Wimbledon (London)	LA LB LC LD LE LF LG LH LJ
Borehamwood (London)	LK LL LM LN LO LP LR LS LT
Sidcup (London)	LU LV LW LX LY
Manchester (Manchester and Merseyside)	MA MB MC MD ME MF MG MH MJ MK ML MM MP MT MU MV MW MX
Newcastle (North)	NA NB NC ND NE NG NH NJ NK NL NM NN NO
Stockton-on-Tees (North)	NP NR NS NT NU NV NW NX NY
Oxford	OA OB OC OD OE OF OG OH OJ OL OM OO OP OT OU OV OW OX OY
Preston	PA PB PC PD PE PF PG PH PJ PK PL PM PN PO PP PR PS PT
Carlisle (Preston)	PU PV PW PX PY
Reading	RA RB RC RD RE RF RG RH RJ RK RL RM RN RO RP RR RS RT RV RW RX RY
Glasgow (Scotland)	SA SB SC SD SE SF SG SH SJ
Edinburgh (Scotland)	SK SL SM SN SO
Dundee (Scotland)	SP SR SS ST
Aberdeen (Scotland)	SV SW
Inverness (Scotland)	SX SY
Downpatrick	TZ
Derry (city)	UI VI
Ballymena	UZ
Worcester (Severn Valley)	VA VB VC VE VF VG VH VJ VK VL VM VN VO VP VR VS VT VU VV VX VY
Exeter (West of England)	WA WB WD WE WF WG WH WJ
Truro (West of England)	WK WL
Bristol (West of England)	WM WN WO WP WR WS WT WU WV WW WX WY
Armagh (city)	WZ
Leeds (Yorkshire)	YA YB YC YD YE YF YG YH YJ YK YL
Sheffield (Yorkshire)	YM YN YO YP YR YS YT YU YV
Beverley (Yorkshire)	YW YX YY
London (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	A XA XB XC XF XH XK XL XM XN XO XP XR XT XU XV XW XX XY
Bournemouth (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AA CG EL FX HO JT LJ PR RU
Worcester (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AB NP UY WP
Coventry (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AC DU HP KV RW VC WK
Gloucester (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AD CJ DD DF DG FH VJ
Bristol (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AE AM EU FB HR HT HU HW HY MR MW OU TC WS
Truro (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AF CV GL RL
Hull (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AG AT KH RH
Norwich (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AH CL EX NG PW VF VG
Middlesbrough (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AJ DC EF HN PY VN XG
Sheffield (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AK DT ET HE HL KU KW KY W WA WB WE WF WG WJ
Nottingham (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AL AU AY BC BF CH EH FA FP JF JU NN NR NU RA RB RC RE RF RR RY TO TV UT VO VT
Reading (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AN BL CF DP GM JB JH JM MO PA PB PC PD PE PF PG PH PJ PK PL PM RD RX TF
Carlisle (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AO HH RM SM SW
Brighton (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AP CD DY FG HC JK NJ PN UF WV YJ
Chelmsford (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AR EV HJ HK JN NO OO PU TW VW VX WC
Inverness (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AS BS JS SK ST
Peterborough (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AV CE EB EG ER EW FL JE VA VE
Shrewsbury (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AW NT UJ UX
Cardiff (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	AX BO DW HB KG NY TG TX UH WO
Lancashire (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	B
Manchester (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BA BN BU CB DB DK EN JA N NA NB NC ND NE NF RJ TD TE VM VR VU WH XJ
Newcastle upon Tyne (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BB BR CN CU FT GR JR NL PT RG TN TY UP VK
Northampton (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BD NH NV RP VV
Lincoln (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BE CT DO EE FE FU FW JL JV TL VL
Liverpool (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BG CM DJ ED EK EM FY HF JP K KA KB KC KD KF LV TB TJ WM
Luton (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BH BM GS KX MJ NK NM PP RO TM UR VD VS XD XE
Ipswich (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BJ DX GV PV RT
Portsmouth (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BK BP CR DL OR OT OW PO PX RV TP TR
Leeds (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BT DN NW U UA UB UG UM VY WR WT WU WW WX WY YG
Preston (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BV CK CW EC EO FR FV HG RN
Oxford (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BW FC JO UD WL
Swansea (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BX CY DE EP TH WN
London North-West (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	BY LA LB LC LD LE LF LH LK LL LM LN LO LP LR LT LU LW LX LY OY RK
Yorkshire (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	C
Chester (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	CA DM FM LG MA MB TU
Bangor (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	CC EY JC
Plymouth (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	CO DR JY TK
Huddersfield (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	CP CX HD JX VH
Glasgow (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	CS DS G GA GB GD GE GG HS NS OS SB SD SJ SU US YS
Kent (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	D
Birmingham (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	DA JW O OA OB OC OE OF OG OH OJ OK OL OM ON OP OV OX UK VP
Dudley (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	DH EA FD FK HA NX UE WD
Exeter (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	DV FJ OD TA TT UN UO YA YB YC YD
Staffordshire (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	E
Aberystwyth (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	EJ FF
Dundee (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	ES SL SN SP SR TS
Essex (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	F
Canterbury (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	FN JG JJ KT VB
Hereford (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	FO
Edinburgh (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	FS KS LS MS S SC SF SG SH SX
London South-West (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	GC GF GH GJ GK GN GO GP GT
London South-East (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	GU GW GX GY MV MX MY
Middlesex (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	H
London Central (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	HM HV HX JD UC UL UU UV UW YE YF YH YK YL YM YN YO YP YR YT YU YV YW YX YY
Durham (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	J
Maidstone (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	KE KJ KK KL KM KN KO KP KR
Glamorgan (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	L
Cheshire (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	M
London North-East (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	MC MD ME MF MG MH MK ML MM MP MT MU
Isle of Man (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	MN
Surrey (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	P
Aberdeen (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	PS RS SA SE SO SS
Derbyshire (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	R
Kinross-shire (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	SV
Midlothian (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	SY
Devon (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	T
Lanarkshire (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	V
Northumberland (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	X
Paisley (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	XS
Somerset (codes before 2001)Code of the 1903–2001 system: it stood for a county or borough council, and from 1974 for a local DVLA office. The name gives the last office; the code's full history is in the local name. It is no longer issued with this meaning.	Y

History

The current format was introduced on 1 September 2001. From 1903 plates carried a two-letter code of a county or borough council, and from 1974 of a local DVLA office; it formed the last two letters in the formats AB 1234, ABC 123, ABC 123D (1963–1983) and A123 BCD (1983–2001). Plates stay with the vehicle, so old ones are still seen. The local DVLA offices closed in 2013, but memory tags are still issued by the old allocation — usually by the dealer's location rather than the owner's.