Search Northern Irish private plates only
Three letters carrying an I or a Z, then up to four numbers. No year code, so it fits a vehicle of any age, anywhere in the UK.
This page searches this one style only. If nothing here suits, search every style and we will show what else carries the same letters.
What a Northern Irish registration mark is made of
- Serial letter
- The first of the three. On this example, A. It moves on when a series is used up.
- Area code
- The last two letters, and one of them is an I or a Z. On this example, BZ.
- Numbers
- One to four. On this example, 1234.
- Seven characters, not six
- A Northern Irish registration can contain three letters and four digits, so ABZ 1234 is perfectly valid. Traditional mainland dateless registrations do not use this seven-character format, which is why ABZ 1234 can exist while a mainland dateless ABC 1234 cannot.
Will it fit my vehicle?
A Northern Irish registration can be assigned to a suitable vehicle of any age registered with DVLA anywhere in the UK.
Why this is a cheaper way to hide a car’s age
Some Northern Irish registration series use the letter I within their three-letter combinations. On UK number plates, the letter I is virtually indistinguishable from the number 1, as the same character is used. That means a registration such as SJI 2345 reads visually as SJ1 2345, yet can often be bought for considerably less than the mainland dateless registration it resembles. And, just like a traditional dateless registration, there’s no year identifier, so it naturally hides the age of your car.
Can they go on a vehicle outside Northern Ireland?
A Northern Irish registration mark can be assigned to a vehicle registered anywhere in the UK. Nothing about it ties the vehicle or the keeper to Northern Ireland.
Why are the low numbers the interesting ones?
The style is still being issued, so unlike every mainland dateless registration mark there are more of them coming. The short ones are the exception. Numbers 1 to 100 have been held back from ordinary issue since Nov. 1985, with 101 to 999 following in April 1989, so a one, two or three digit Northern Irish registration has not been routinely issued with a new vehicle for decades. Each series normally runs up to 9998 before moving to the next combination.
How must the characters be spaced?
Every number plate we make complies with British Standard BS AU 145e. On a standard modern car number plate, characters are 79mm tall and 50mm wide, with prescribed spacing of 11mm between characters and 33mm between the two groups. The registration must not be rearranged or deliberately respaced to make it read as something else. An illegally displayed registration can fail an MOT and lead to a fine of up to £1,000.00.
Black & silver number plates
Black number plates with white, silver or grey characters may only be displayed on qualifying historic vehicles manufactured before 1 Jan. 1980 and registered in DVLA’s historic tax class. The age of the registration mark itself does not qualify the vehicle, so an old Northern Irish registration transferred to a modern car must still be displayed on modern legal number plates.
What makes a number plate legal sets out the measurements in full, and private plate styles shows every style side by side.
Where each series came from
The last two letters identify the original issuing area. The letter in front is the serial, which simply moved on as each area worked through its stock, so AGZ and BGZ are both Belfast registrations and neither is inherently worth more because of its serial letter.
We hold 58,278 registrations across 26 series.
IG was allocated to Fermanagh in 2004 as the successor to the long-running IL series and began being issued in Dec. 2004.
VI was allocated to Derry City in 2023 as the successor to UI, with VI registrations beginning to be issued in Oct. 2023.
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