Since 1 September, 2001, United Kingdom licence plates have followed the following format:
LLXX RRR
LL is a two letter local identifier
XXIs a two number age identifier
RRR are three random letters
Local Identifier
The first of the two letters in this part of the plate represent the region the vehicle was first registered in. The second part denotes a particular DVLA office. The letters 'Q', 'I' and 'Z' will not be used in this part of the plate. The registration areas are as follows:
A Anglia Peterborough AA-AN
Norwich AO-AU
Ipswich AV-AY
B Birmingham Birmingham BA-BY
C Cymru Cardiff CA-CO
Swansea CP-CV
Bangor CW-CY
D Deeside to Shrewsbury Chester DA-DK
Shrewsbury DL-DY
E Essex Chelmsford EA-EY
F Forest and Fens Nottingham FA-FP
Fens Lincoln FR-FY
G Garden of England Maidstone GA-GO
Brighton GP-GY
H Hampshire and Dorset Bournemouth HA-HJ
Portsmouth HK-HY
Isle of Wight HW
K Luton KA-KL
Northampton KM-KY
L London Wimbledon LA-LJ
Stanmore LK-LT
Sidcup LU-LY
M Manchester and Merseyside Manchester MA-MY
Isle of Man MN / MAN
N North Newcastle NA-NO
Stockton NP-NY
O Oxford Oxford OA-OY
P Preston Preston PA-PT
Carlisle PU-PY
R Reading Reading RA-RY
S Scotland Glasgow SA-SJ
Edinburgh SK-SO
Dundee SP-ST
Aberdeen SU-SW
Inverness SX, SY
V Severn Valley Worcester VA-VY
W West of England Exeter WA-WJ
Truro WK, WL
Bristol WM-WY
Y Yorkshire Leeds YA-YK
Sheffield YL-YU
Beverley YV-YY
Age Identifier
Vehicles registered between September and February are marked with the last two digits of the year; for example, a vehicle registered in December 2005 will have the age identifier '05'. If it is registered between March and September, then 50 is added to this number; a car registered in June 2006 will be marked as 56.
Random Letters
Randomly generated letters with some restrictions. The letters 'I' and 'Q' will not be used (although 'Z' will), and combinations that could cause offence (including 'SEX') are also not permitted.