UK number plate area codes: Explained with lists

Understanding number plate area codes in the UK

Introduced in 1903, the very first UK number plates allowed individual vehicles and motorists to be identified. However, these number plates did not contain any information about where and when vehicles were first registered.

That all changed with the introduction of ‘suffix’-format number plates in 1963. This style of number plate – and the subsequent ‘prefix’ and ‘infix’ formats contain an ‘area code’, specifying where the vehicle was first registered, in addition to an ‘age identifier’ number, indicating when the vehicle was registered.

However, the specific codes for each area and their placement within the number plate vary depending on the format. Number plate area codes comprise up to three letters and are also referred to by the DVLA as ‘memory tags’.

Number plate memory tags

Up until 2013, the area-specific memory tags found on UK number plates indicated which of the regional DVLA offices had registered the vehicle. All the regional DVLA offices in England, Wales and Scotland were subsequently closed as the system was centralised.

However, the DVLA still issues plates with the same region-specific memory tags to local car dealers to this day. For instance, if you bought a new car in Birmingham, its memory tag is very likely to start with the letter ‘B’.

A list of all car registration plate areas (for infix plates)

Want to know the region where your vehicle was originally registered? Look up the memory tag in the table below:

Do you have an older (prefix or suffix-style) reg plate? Please refer to the table in the next section.

How did older number plate area codes work?

The current infix-style number plates were only introduced in 2001. Therefore, you’ll still encounter vehicles with prefix-style number plates (1983-2001) – and occasionally, even ‘classic’ cars with suffix-style plates (1963-1983) on the roads.

Prefix number plates (e.g. ‘T789 ABC’)

The prefix number plate format comprises a single letter (indicating the registration year), followed by one to three numbers - and finally, three letters. With this format, the final two letters represent the registration region (‘BC’ indicates ‘Leicester’ for the example above).

Suffix number plates (e.g. ‘ABC 789T’)

Conversely, with suffix-style number plates, the last letter indicates the registration year – while the second and third letters represent the registration region. (‘BC’ indicates ‘Leicester’ for the example above.)

Although the placement of the area code differs depending on whether you are looking at a prefix or suffix plate, the same area codes are used for both formats.

If you have a vehicle with a prefix or suffix-style plate, you can look up the area code in the table below: