20.08.03

PRESS RELEASE (archive material)

20 August 2003

One hundred years of registration plates ... the centenary is getting closer

An overview of the last hundred years by RNC member John Harrison.

Under the Motor Car Act 1903, vehicles used after 1 January 1904 were required to be registered so local authorities started issuing numbers in November and December 1903.

The registrations comprised the authority’s one or two-letter code and a number. Once an authority reached 9999, it was allocated a new code, but by 1932 increased vehicle ownership meant all codes had been allocated and the system had to be extended by putting a letter in front of the authority code.

The first such number was ARF 1, “RF” being the code for Staffordshire. In 1953 the format was reversed, the numbers being put before the letters, and in 1963 the year letter suffix was introduced.

In 1974 a major change to the system occurred, but this was not readily apparent on number plates – regional local vehicle licensing offices (now called local offices) linked to the DVLC computer (now DVLA) started issuing marks instead of local authorities.

In 1983 the format was again reversed, the year suffix being changed to a year prefix. In 2001 a completely new system was adopted comprising two letters indicating the issuing office and two numbers indicating when the registration was issued, followed by three letters.

	Format	Start Date
One/two letters	A 1234 or AB 1234	1903
Three letters	ABC 123	1932
Reversed	1234 A, 1234 AB or 123 ABC	1953
Year suffix	ABC 123A	1963
Year prefix	A123 ABC	1983
Current system	AB51 CDE	2001

On this form, the part of the registration underlined is the code of the local authority, local vehicle licensing office or local office that would have issued the registration. The part in blue italics, from 1963 onwards indicates when the registration was issued.

For further information please contact:-

Steve Waldenberg, RNC Office, P O Box MT 12, Leeds LS17 7UD. Tel: 0113 226 7497 Fax: 0113 226 1110 Email: organisation@registrationnumbersclub.org.uk or sec@rnc.cc

Rod Lomax, RNC Publicity Officer, 5 Bank Top, Baldingstone, Bury, Lancashire BL9 6RY. Tel: 0161 764 8180 Fax: 0161 764 3800 Email: publicity@registrationnumbersclub.org.uk or pr@rnc.cc

Note to editors: John Harrison publishes a quarterly newletter '1903 AND ALL THAT' which deals with the UK vehicle registration system as a whole. Contact him by telephone on 020 8508 8851 (evenings) or by mail at 175 Hillyfields, Loughton, Essex IG10 2PW.

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