Private plate jargon, explained

Every term you will meet while ordering a private plate, in plain English.

The five styles

Dateless. No year code at all, so it fits any age of vehicle. Either letters then numbers (ABC 1) or numbers then letters (1 ABC). The oldest style and usually the dearest.

Suffix. Three letters, up to three numbers, then a year letter at the end (ABC 123A). Issued from 1963 to 1983. The last letter fixes the oldest vehicle it can go on.

Prefix. A year letter first, then up to three numbers and three letters (A123 ABC). Issued from 1983 to 2001. The first letter fixes the age.

Current style. Two area letters, a two digit age identifier, then three letters (AB12 CDE). Issued since 2001. The middle two digits fix the age.

Northern Irish. Three letters including an I or a Z, then up to four numbers (SJI 1234). No year code, so it fits any age of vehicle anywhere in the UK. The I is often read as a 1 on the road, which is why SJI 1234 can look like SJ 1 1234.

Styles of registration mark shows each one on a real number plate.

Reading a registration mark

Platespeak. The trade word for reading numbers as letters. 1 for I or L, 3 for E, 4 for A, 5 for S, 7 for T, 8 for B, 0 for O. So PO73 ERS reads as POTTERS and TEN 510N reads as TENSION.

A genuine run. The part of a registration mark that reads correctly without any substitution. The longer the genuine run, the better the registration mark reads.

Paperwork

V750 DVLA Certificate of Entitlement. It proves a private plate that has never been assigned to a vehicle is held for you, and lets you assign it to a vehicle whenever you like. Every private plate we supply comes on one.

V5C. Your vehicle log book. A new one arrives after a transfer, showing the new registration mark.

Assignment. Assigning a private plate to a vehicle. The DVLA charges a fee of £80.00 for this, which is already inside the price of every private plate we sell; we show it so you can see what it is, not as an addition. Our optional assignment service, £20.00 per registration mark, is where our trained staff do the assigning for you.

Retention. Taking a private plate off a vehicle and holding it on a certificate instead, so you keep it when the car goes.

Transfer. Moving a private plate from one vehicle to another. Transfers and retentionexplains how both work.

Words you will see on other sites

Cherished registration. Just another name for a private plate. It carries no special legal meaning.

Reserved. Held for you. Nothing is reserved until you have paid, wherever you order.

Q registration. A mark given to a vehicle whose age or identity cannot be established. A Q vehicle cannot take a private plate.

SORN. A Statutory Off Road Notification, telling the DVLA a vehicle is off the road. A vehicle on SORN can still take a transfer.

Still stuck on a word?

Email us or open live chat, 8:30am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 8:30am to 1pm Saturday. There is no such thing as a daft question here.

Pricing shows the assignment fee in practice, age restrictions explains the year letters, transfers and retention covers the certificate, and styles of registration mark shows each format on a real number plate.