New Style Number Plates

What are New Style Number Plates? 

New-style number plates, also known as current style number plates, were first issued by the DVLA back in 2001, once the DVLA had exhausted the prefix age identifier options.

The current style uses 2 letters at the beginning, representing the area of the issuing plate. The first indicates the region and the second the DVLA office, followed by 2 numbers (either a 0 or a 5) which then indicate the year and the date of the vehicle. However, the final letters are completely random and automated, leaving room for personalisation.

How to Find New Style Number Plates

It’s easy to find the perfect new style number plate for you. All you need to do is use our super search feature to type the name or term you want to be personalised, then search. 

Our number plate search will then populate every new style number plate we have for that term, giving you thousands of options to choose from. For example, if you put in the term “Jack” you could get a combination like “JA7ICKP” and so on until you find the perfect plate for you.

Why You Should Buy Your Dateless Number Plate from Absolute Reg

Largest Stock

Including the DVLA, we have the most license plates of any dealer – 50 million in all!

Price Promise

Absolute Reg gets you the best deal on the best selection of private registration plates through our price promise.

Lifetime Customer Service

Whether it's two weeks or two years after your purchase, our friendly after-sales team is always ready to help.

Rated Highest On-Time Delivery in 2020

See why our private number plates are so popular by purchasing your private number plate online or by phone today! All our accolades are also available on reviews.co.uk.

Current/New Style Number Plates as Gifts 

New-style number plates are very popular ‘His and Her’ gifts as MR and MRS are easily assembled in the registration combination. They also offer chances to display registrations with a funny and eye-catching resemblance such as YE55, BO55, and JU57.

Due to our affiliation with the DVLA, Absolute Reg stocks over 20 million current registrations online at industry-best prices.

New Style Number Plate Finance

Have you found the perfect new style number plate, but the price is slightly out of reach? Don’t worry, we provide number plate finance options to help spread the cost of the purchase anywhere between a day and 18 months.

Alongside our finance options, we provide a price match guarantee. So if you find a new style registration plate you like elsewhere that’s cheaper, we’ll match or beat it by £5 where we can.

Other Number Plate Styles 

Dateless

Dateless number plates can be used on any vehicle, regardless of its age. A dateless registration plate usually contains 1, 2, or 3 numbers or letters, making it a prized collector's item. Examples include A1, 123 A, and 123 ABC.

Suffix Style

Added in 1963, the suffix number plate consists of three letters and three numbers. Typically, the last letter indicates the year the vehicle was registered, for example, A = August 1963.

Prefix Style

The DVLA first issued prefix registration marks in August 1983 after the suffix marks stopped being issued. Prefix registrations are the most common in the private number plate market.

Northern Irish

Over the years, Northern Ireland registration marks have remained the same, and are still used throughout the U.K. and Northern Ireland. The first registration marks of Northern Ireland will always contain an ‘I’ or ‘Z’ to represent the area of Northern Ireland.

New Style Number Plates FAQ

What do new style number plates mean?

New-style number plates are registration plates that we have used since 2001 and the end of prefix plates. New-style number plates have tighter restrictions on their combinations, but they are still easily personalised. 

Are new style number plates a good investment?

Although the current style registration marks follow strict guidelines before their release, some are very sought after and are a great investment for the future. New-style number plates are also easy to personalise despite the strict regulations.

When did new style plates start being issued?

New-style number plates were first issued in 2001 after prefix number plates stopped being issued. They are still being used today by millions of drivers and they are not expected to end until 2064. However, new restraints and regulations could come in before then.

Do you have to pay to put a new style number plate on a car?

It is free to apply to change your number plate. The only thing you need to do is fill out the application and submit it for review. 

Do not forget to apply to remove your old number plate, or it will not be deemed valid. Otherwise, you will not be able to replace it with your dateless plate.

Which number plates came before the new style?

Many number plate styles came before the new style. Dateless registration plates were the first type of plate that began in 1901 and stopped in 1963. 

After dateless plates came suffix-style plates which ran from 1963 until 1983. Then Suffix plates took over from prefix and were the number plate style that came before the new style. Prefix plates ended in 2001 to then make way for new style plates.