DVLA registrations – knowing the difference

At Speedy Reg we offer a wide range of styles of registrations ranging from dateless, suffix style, prefix style and current style. Many people don’t realise there is a difference however it is important to know the difference as many registrations are age related. DVLA number plates can give you the maximum amount of choice when you’re selecting your new license plate, however you need to be aware that they are age related and choosing the incorrect registration can mean that you will be unable to transfer it to your vehicle. Knowing the difference in prefix and current style registrations is important.

The old style DVLA number plates, known as Prefix DVLA number plates use a letter at the beginning to identify the year of issue. This was the standard type of number plate issued by the DVLA from 1983 until the system was changed in 2001 when the range of numbers available started to run out. For example A20 BAT is a 1983 registration, therefore if your vehicle was registered in 1982 you would not be able to assign this registration.

Rather interestingly, the new system was devised, not just to allow a greater range of numbers, but also for the plates to be more memorable, in the hope that witnesses to crimes and accidents would have a greater chance of remembering number plates.

The current style DVLA number plates have been around since 2001. They consist of two letters followed by two numbers that identify the year of issue. There are then three random letters at the end of the plate. You can identify the year of registration simply by looking at the numbers for example 11 would mean 2011. However, these registrations are issued twice a year and in the latter part of the year you will see either 50 something or 60 something as the number, 51 meaning from September 2001 and 61 meaning from from September 2011 and so on.

DVLA registrations give a vast amount of choice in making up something suitable to either suit your name or initials. If you use the search facility on our website, you can choose to search for plates in either of these categories, or you can search our entire database of plates.