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I know that a vehicle registration number plate carries information relating to the month and year of manufacture but is anything else 'encoded' within those number and lettering structures?
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It doesn't show when a vehicle was manufactured, just a 6 month window in which it was registered. The first two letters show where it was registered and the last 3 letters are arbitrary.
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Is that right about the first two letters?
If so, how does it actually help anyone to know that, ie where the car was registered?
Cheers.
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Is that right about the first two letters?
Yes. See, for example:
waxxtm.com/registrations.html
If so how does it actually help anyone to know that ie where the car was registered?
I'm not sure it does, it's probably not designed to help the public, maybe it's done to make administration of the system easier?
My guess is that each local DVLA office assigns in it's own range and that makes things easier for them.
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Thank you for the link Lou - found what I was looking for in 'AF = Truro'
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Is that right about the first two letters?
Yes.
www.topbuzz.co.uk/info/number_plates/number_plates...s
{EDIT Too slow. was browsing another part of the BR as well as googling the info}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 11/05/2009 at 10:48
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googling the info >>
or even better, search an excellent free FAQ list by that man in a hat: Honestjohn
www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/faq.htm?id=22
car licensing system by area
www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/faq.htm?id=40
vehicle registation Suffix and Prefix registration age identifiers.
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The official DVLA guide to 2001-onwards car registrations is here:
www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/idcplg?IdcService...b
Of course pre-2001 registrations are fish of a different kettle altogether...
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Pre 2001,it was the last two letters of the three letters in the number that defined place of first registration(SMJ would be MJ-Bedfordshire;HVX would be VX-Essex).The single letter at the beginning or end of the number would denote date of first registration.If you go way,way back,place of first registration was denoted by one or two letters.Pre 1963,there was no date code.
Edited by jc2 on 11/05/2009 at 17:27
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If AF is in front, new style, it is from East Anglia not Truro.
Many hire cars are AF, it makes me laugh when someone buys a 6 month old 12,000 mile "demonstrator" car from a firm in Derby. We are FA-FZ Forest and Fens.
The forest bit doesn't go down very well in Derby, as the song says "we hate Nottingham Forest"
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If AF is in front, new style, it is from East Anglia not Truro. >>
yes, as per HJ's FAQ [see link posted above].
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Also, the decision to adopt a six-monthly plate change back in the late 90's has led to the somewhat ludicrous numerical nomenclature:
'51' is 2nd half of 2001
'02' is 1st half of 2002
.
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'59' will be 2nd half of 2009
I can't even be bothered to find out what 1st half of 2010 will be.
Oh what sense it would have made to retain yearly changes....
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I can't even be bothered to find out what 1st half of 2010 will be.
Strangely enough it will be....'10'.
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Additionally Scotland and Wales have their own prefix codes
Sx
and
Cx
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The only thing number plates REALLY mean these days is that the registered keeper of the vehicle issued with the original registration is quite likely to get stung for all the points and fines ensuing from red light transgressions, speed cameras and faillure to pay the London Congestion Tax, regardless of the fact that he was in France on a camping holiday whilst a criminal mastermind was driving round the country with his cloned registration.
Funny old world.
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I can't even be bothered to find out what 1st half of 2010 will be.
Every ten years the first digit increases by 1.
Oh what sense it would have made to retain yearly changes....
This explains the system, and the justification for it.
www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/s...f
Edited by L'escargot on 12/05/2009 at 08:49
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So Sep 2011 to Feb 2012 will be '61'
Brilliant - simply brilliant :-(
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Cue lots of cheap tacky personalised regs in late 2019...
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Father of a friend was pulled up by North Wales Heddlu for being 'out of his area'
His car was registered in Preston.........he lived in Old Colwyn !
Ted
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Around the leeds/Bradford area number plares do not mean a lot you can put what ever you like on them nobody will bother you,road tax and insurance are also optional in many parts of this area.
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From L'Escargot's parliamentary link thingy:
"There was no further movement on this issue for a number of years, until in late 2008 Members began pushing for the legislative change necessary to permit national symbols to be displayed. In October 2008 the Minister said that that Department was looking at how to change the law to permit national symbols to be displayed ?as soon as possible?. 11 Regulations were finally laid on 1 April 2009 to come into force on 27 April 2009, St. George?s Day."
Spot the deliberate mistake. Spectacular incompetence.
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Any information on MPs' expenses regarding number plates for cars?? I'd guess at everything from a couple of pop rivets to 5 or 6 figure sums for vanity plates of questionable taste. (Likely to have been "flipped" for second and third cars just like homes!)
Local MP in my home town, to his credit, turned down an offer to buy J1MMP but I don't know if another MP called Jim took it up.
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