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Number Plate Year Checker

Type any UK registration and find out exactly when it was issued. Current, prefix, suffix and dateless formats are all decoded instantly, with the full year tables below.

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Every UK Format

Current, prefix, suffix, dateless & NI

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Full Year Tables

1963 to today, all identifiers

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Enter any UK plate, for example AB17 CDE, P111 JOB, ABC 123D or 1 AB.

How UK Number Plates Encode Their Age

Almost every registration issued in Great Britain since 1963 carries a built-in date stamp. Where it sits, and what it looks like, depends on the format.

Current style (2001 onwards, like AB17 CDE) uses the two middle digits as an age identifier. Plates issued March to August show the year itself (17 = 2017); plates issued September to February show the year plus fifty (67 = September 2017 to February 2018). Two new identifiers are released every year, on 1 March and 1 September.

Prefix style (1983–2001, like P111 JOB) puts a year letter first. A launched in August 1983 and the series ran to Y in 2001, changing to twice-yearly releases in 1999.

Suffix style (1963–1982, like ABC 123D) puts the year letter last, starting with A in February 1963.

Dateless registrations (pre-1963, like 1 AB) and most Northern Ireland plates carry no age identifier at all, which is exactly why they command a premium: they can be assigned to any vehicle without ever dating it.

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Current Style Year Table (2001 – present)

Two identifiers per year: the March release shows the year, the September release shows the year plus 50.

Year	March – August	September – February
2001	Not issued	51
2002	02	52
2003	03	53
2004	04	54
2005	05	55
2006	06	56
2007	07	57
2008	08	58
2009	09	59
2010	10	60
2011	11	61
2012	12	62
2013	13	63
2014	14	64
2015	15	65
2016	16	66
2017	17	67
2018	18	68
2019	19	69
2020	20	70
2021	21	71
2022	22	72
2023	23	73
2024	24	74
2025	25	75
2026	26	76

Prefix Year Letters (1983 – 2001)

Letter	Issued from
A	August 1983
B	August 1984
C	August 1985
D	August 1986
E	August 1987
F	August 1988
G	August 1989
H	August 1990
J	August 1991
K	August 1992
L	August 1993
M	August 1994
N	August 1995
P	August 1996
R	August 1997
S	August 1998
T	March 1999
V	September 1999
W	March 2000
X	September 2000
Y	March 2001

Suffix Year Letters (1963 – 1982)

Letter	Issued from
A	February 1963
B	January 1964
C	January 1965
D	January 1966
E	January 1967
F	August 1967
G	August 1968
H	August 1969
J	August 1970
K	August 1971
L	August 1972
M	August 1973
N	August 1974
P	August 1975
R	August 1976
S	August 1977
T	August 1978
V	August 1979
W	August 1980
X	August 1981
Y	August 1982

The letters I, O, Q, U and Z were never used as year identifiers, to avoid confusion with numbers and each other.

Why the Year on a Plate Matters

Three situations where knowing the identifier pays off.

Buying a used car

The plate should match the V5C. An age identifier newer than the logbook year is impossible under DVLA rules. A mismatch the other way usually just means a private plate, but it is always worth checking what is underneath.

Choosing a private plate

A registration can never make a vehicle look newer than it is: the DVLA blocks assigning an identifier newer than the vehicle. Dateless and older-format plates avoid the problem entirely, which is one reason they hold value.

Valuing a registration

Age drives price. Suffix and prefix plates from scarce years, and anything dateless, sit at the top of the market. Once you know the year, check what the plate is actually worth.

Number Plate Year FAQs

What year is a 17 plate?

A 17 identifier means the registration was issued between 1 March and 31 August 2017. The matching September release for the same year is 67, covering 1 September 2017 to 28 February 2018.

What year is a P reg?

P is a prefix year letter covering registrations issued from August 1996 to July 1997. Prefix letters ran from A (August 1983) to Y (March 2001).

Can I put a newer plate on an older car?

No. The DVLA will not allow a registration whose age identifier is newer than the vehicle. You can always go older, or sidestep the rule completely with a dateless registration, which carries no identifier at all.

Why does my plate have no year identifier?

Registrations issued before 1963, and most Northern Ireland formats, are dateless, meaning they carry no age information. That anonymity is a feature, not a gap, and it is why dateless plates are the most collectable format.

What do the other letters on a current-style plate mean?

The first two letters are the DVLA memory tag showing where the plate was first registered, and the final three letters are random, and that is where the personal meaning in a private plate usually lives.

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