Suffix Number Plates Explained
The first plates to carry a year letter. Read the suffix table, learn which letters were skipped and why, and see which vehicles can carry one today.
At a glance
- 1963Format introduced
- 21Year letters used
- AugChange month from 1967
- 1983Last suffix issued
Three letters, up to three numbers, then the year letter at the end. The last two of the three letters were the local office code; the first was the sequence letter.
History of the format
By the early 1960s several authorities had run out of dateless combinations entirely. The fix, introduced in February 1963, was to add a letter to the end of the mark to indicate the year of issue — instantly multiplying the available combinations by 21 and giving buyers a way to tell a car’s age at a glance.
The first suffix letters, A to E, roughly followed calendar years. In 1967 the change date moved to 1 August so that the annual rush of new registrations fell in the motor trade’s quieter summer — E therefore covered only January to July 1967, and F ran from August 1967 to July 1968. Every letter after that followed the August-to-July pattern until Y closed the series in July 1983.
Suffix plates were compulsory nationwide from 1965, and because the format spanned two decades of mass motoring it accounts for a huge number of classic cars still on the road.
Suffix year letters
Find the identifier on the plate and read the period straight off. Any vehicle first registered in that period or later can carry the plate. Not sure? Type the registration into the year checker.
| Letter | Issued |
|---|---|
| A | Feb 1963 – Dec 1963 |
| B | Jan 1964 – Dec 1964 |
| C | Jan 1965 – Dec 1965 |
| D | Jan 1966 – Dec 1966 |
| E | Jan 1967 – Jul 1967 |
| F | Aug 1967 – Jul 1968 |
| G | Aug 1968 – Jul 1969 |
| H | Aug 1969 – Jul 1970 |
| J | Aug 1970 – Jul 1971 |
| K | Aug 1971 – Jul 1972 |
| L | Aug 1972 – Jul 1973 |
| M | Aug 1973 – Jul 1974 |
| N | Aug 1974 – Jul 1975 |
| P | Aug 1975 – Jul 1976 |
| R | Aug 1976 – Jul 1977 |
| S | Aug 1977 – Jul 1978 |
| T | Aug 1978 – Jul 1979 |
| V | Aug 1979 – Jul 1980 |
| W | Aug 1980 – Jul 1981 |
| X | Aug 1981 – Jul 1982 |
| Y | Aug 1982 – Jul 1983 |
Letters that were never used
Five letters were never used as a suffix: I, O, Q, U and Z. I and Z remained reserved for Northern Ireland, O and U were dropped because they are too easily confused with 0 and V at a distance, and Q was set aside for vehicles whose age could not be established. A plate ending in any of those letters is therefore not a suffix plate.
Regional codes and memory tags
The final two letters of the letter group identified the issuing office, carried over from the dateless system. The first letter stepped through the alphabet as each batch of 999 numbers was used up. So on ABC 123D the office is BC, A is the sequence, 123 is the serial number and D dates it to 1966. Today the letters are simply the personal element buyers pay for.
Which vehicles can carry this format
A suffix plate can go on any vehicle first registered on or after the year the letter represents. A 1972 K-suffix plate is fine on a 1972 car or anything newer — including a brand-new one — but not on a 1969 vehicle, because that would make it appear younger than it is. Use the year checker to confirm any specific plate.
Buying tips
- Suffix plates are the natural match for 1960s and 70s classics where a period-correct letter completes the look.
- Early letters (A–E) are scarcer and priced accordingly; L to Y offer the best value.
- Look for letter groups that spell a name or initials; the year letter reads almost as punctuation.
- A suffix plate on a modern car is perfectly legal and increasingly popular as a “retro” choice.
Suffix Number Plates Explained: FAQ
How do I tell the year of a suffix plate?
Can a suffix plate go on a new car?
Why does my 1967 car have an E and my neighbour’s a F?
Are suffix plates good value?
The Other Formats Explained
Every UK registration belongs to one of five families.
Dateless Number Plates
Prefix Number Plates
Current Style Number Plates
Northern Irish Number Plates
Ready to Find a Suffix Plate?
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