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Number Plate Glossary

there are 69 total glossary entries, across 21 categories


Viewing all categories
1 by 1
category : 1
Single digit, single letter, dateless plates, for instance N 1 - issued in January 1904. These registrations were issued from 1903 and are the most expensive - and desirable plates to own! Letters and numbers can be issued in reverse.

2 by 2
category : 2
Double digit, double letter, dateless plates, for instance NN 11. They can be less expensive than 1 by 1 registrations, typically issued with numbers first via the DVLA auctions NN 11 was issued in 1921 but never reversed.

2 by 3
category : 2
Dateless registrations including 2 letters and 3 digits or 2 digits and 3 letters such as NNN 11 and 111 NN. NNN 11 was issued in 1952 and reversed in 1962.

2 by 4
category : 2
Double letter, four digit dateless registrations, for example HN 1234 was issued around 1925 in Darlington.

3 by 3
category : 3
Triple digit, triple letter dateless registrations. These are the youngest of all the dateless registrations and were issued up to 1962. When they contain certain letters such as V, X or Y they are often used as "cover plates" to smarten up vehicles, effectively covering up the year letter.

Acrylic
category : A
Acrylic number plates are offered as an "extra" by National Numbers to display your registration on your vehicle. You can buy acrylic number plates at the same time as buying a registration. Alternatively for an additional set of acrylics for a registration, visit our dedicated acrylics web site.

Assign
category : A
Move a registration number from a certificate to a suitable vehicle. You can't assign a registration mark in order to make a vehicle appear newer.

Assignment Service
category : A
Assigning a registration to a vehicle can be a time-consuming process, involving making a visit to your local DVLA Vehicle Registration Office with your registration's V750 certificate - which we will send to you following purchase of your registration. For just £25.00, we can personally finish the assignment of the registration, saving you the time and effort required to do so. The service is easy to buy – just choose the option at checkout and we will include it in your order.

Auction
category : A
National Numbers attend all DVLA Auctions, where we are one of the biggest investors. We have an excellent track record at getting registrations for our clients through DVLA auctions.

Cheap
category : C
Cheap doesn't necessarily mean worse, but cheap number plates certainly carry less meaning. Still - they can effectively disguise the age of a vehicle.

Cherished
category : C
Cherished numbers are another term for dateless registrations. The name comes from the owners of dateless registrations who classed the marks as cherished and a family keepsake.

Cherished Transfer Scheme
category : C
A result of public backlash in 1977, following the DVLA's proposal to scrap transferrals of cherished registrations. The Cherished Transfer Scheme allows cherished number plates to be transferred between vehicles. Despite this flexibility, once the registration has been transferred off a vehicle, the replacement mark is non-transferrable and described as a "home-based" number. Conveniently, a registration mark can be stored on a retention certificate, renewable each year until wanted.

Current Style
category : C
Also known as Millennium and New-Style registrations. This is the system current system for number plates in the UK, issued from September 2001. The system allows for two issues per year, March being indicated by "01", "02", "03" etc while September is shown as "51", "52", etc. The two initial letters identify the year of issue while the last three letters are random. For example NV53 ZPB informs you that the vehicle in question was registered in September 2003 in the North i.e. Stockton or Newcastle.

Dateless
category : D
Dateless registrations, also known as Cherished registrations, are the oldest type of registration available. There are various formats and prices ranging from £100 to £100,000! Either way, Dateless Registrations all effectively conceal the age of the vehicle on which they ride but are chosen for all kinds of reasons.

Department of Transport (DOT) Fee
category : D
£80 fee to transfer a mark from donor to recipient vehicle. £105 to place a mark onto retention. Unfortunately, double transfer fees (£80 x 2 = £160) need to be paid to assign a mark on a DVLA V750 (entitlement certificate) to an NI registered vehicle.

Documentation (Docs)
category : D
Collective term for the documentation that's needed to complete a transfer. These typically include the vehicle's MOT certificate, tax, and V5 documentation. National Numbers require the original documentation in order to complete your transfer via the DVLA or DVLNI.

Donor
category : D
Donor is the term given in vehicle to vehicle transfers to the car donating its registration. The £80 transfer fee covers the cost of the donor being re-registered with an age related mark.

DVLA
category : D
The Government agency Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority. DVLA governs registrations of vehicles, registration marks, and drivers.

DVLC
category : D
DVLC is the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre and used to be the name of the DVLA before it became an agency and responsible for raising money for The Treasury.

DVLNI
category : D
DVLNI (Driver and Vehicle Licensing, Northern Ireland) in Coleraine is the equivalent authority to DVLA, Swansea.

Entitlement Certificate (V750 - NI)
category : E
White form can only be assigned to a vehicle registered in Northern Ireland, valid for 1 year, renewable annually for £25. Issued via auction and tender.

Entitlement Certificate (V750)
category : E
Pink form "holds" marks which have never been on a vehicle before. The certificate is valid for 1 year and can be renewed annually for £25. The mark can be assigned to a suitable vehicle registered in either the purchaser's or nominee's name.

Entitlement Period
category : E
The entitlement period is currently one year and can be extended every year with the DVLA using an Entitlement Certificate for £25.

First Registration (V55/4)
category : F
Application for a first licence for a new motor vehicle and declaration for registration - for use by individuals importing a new vehicle, kit cars.

First Registration (V55/5)
category : F
Application for a first licence for a motor vehicle and declaration for registration - for use by individuals to register used vehicles, e.g. rebuilt.

Font
category : F
There is one font (with several variations) that can be used legally on UK number plates: these are based on the Charles Wright font.

Governing Bodies
category : G
There are several governing bodies that oversee dealers engaged in the sale and transfer of registration numbers. Two of these are the Retail Motor Industry (RMI) and the Cherished Numbers Dealers Association (CNDA), both of which require members to adhere to a strict code of conduct.

Grantee
category : G
Name which appears at the top of a retention certificate and is the same as the keeper of the vehicle that the mark came off. Only the grantee is entitled to sign the certificate. At present, the DVLA will not change the grantee but will allow a change of address. New regulations are currently pending to allow more flexibility in this procedure.

Inspection
category : I
An inspection takes place when the DVLA need to validate that the donor car is using a registration legally, by comparing the car chassis number with its log book. Whilst these checks do not happen very often they will slow down the transfer process by at least a week. This is primarily done for the safety of the person buying the plates. If it turns out that the car is stolen, then the DVLA can take the registration back, even after the transfer has been completed.

Irish
category : I
Irish number plates can be a cost-effective way to disguise the age of a vehicle. It is important to state that cheap Northern Irish number plates consist of marks issued by DVLNI, such marks are transferable to GB vehicles via Coleraine and Newcastle licensing office. Marks issued in the Republic are not transferable.

Local Offices (LO's)
category : L
The DVLA has a number of local Vehicle Registration Offices. Most of these local offices have opening hours of Monday to Friday 09:00-17:00 and are generally located in major towns or cities.

Log Book (V5)
category : L
This is a vehicle logbook - the official DVLA document code for a logbook is V5/C (vehicle registration certificate).

Make Your Own Plate
category : M
National Numbers offers two ways for you to design your own registration for either prefix registrations or millennium registrations.

Millennium
category : M
Millennium registrations is another term for the current style of registration numbers used on vehicles in the UK, issued from September 2001.

MOT
category : M
Ministry Of Transport (roadworthiness certificate). The test is required by law for all vehicles over three years of age. The form is now printed on computer and can be validated online.

Motorbike
category : M
Registrations can now be transferred between cars and motorbikes. National Numbers also make acrylic number plates specifically for motorbikes. Please call us for more details.

New-Style
category : N
New-style registrations is another term for the current style of registration numbers used on vehicles in the UK.

Nominee
category : N
The grantee is able to nominate someone to receive the registration mark "stored" on a retention certificate. The mark can be assigned to a vehicle either in the name of the grantee or the nominee. The grantee is able to add or change the nominee by paying the DVLA fee of £25.

Number Plate
category : N
The term number plate is used to describe both the registration i.e. the rights to use a number, and the acrylic plates onto which the number is printed. Number plates come in many styles and formats. For a idea of what's available, see our article Number Plate Formats Explained.

Number Plate System
category : N
Dateless (1903 - 1962): The original system. Suffix (1963 - 1982): suffix series system. Prefix (1983 - 2001): prefix series system. 2001 - 2049: millennium/current/new-style series.

Personalised
category : P
All vehicles are issued with a registration mark. Some drivers prefer to personalise their vehicle by actually choosing a mark to match their initials, name, etc.

Prefix
category : P
Prefix registrations came into force in 1983. They are named prefix because a year identifying letter precedes any digits or letter sequences.

Private
category : P
Private registrations is another term for personalised registrations. Private registrations are a bit like private schools, indicating an item not just accepted from a standard range.

Purchaser
category : P
The name appearing on the top of the V750. The purchaser has the same legal rights as the "grantee" on a retention certificate.

Q Plate
category : Q
Q registrations identify a vehicle whose origin is unknown. For this reason, you can't put a cherished number onto a Q registered vehicle. Unfortunately you cannot buy Q prefix or suffix registrations.

Quote
category : Q
National Numbers offer free and instant online quotes for owners of registrations. We also offer a telephone service at a premium rate. Call 0905 757 0011. Calls cost 95p per minute and take less than a minute.

Recipient
category : R
In vehicle-to-vehicle transfers, the vehicle receiving the new registration mark is called the Recipient.

Registered Keeper
category : R
In transfers, the Registered Keeper is the person named on the V5 logbook. The registered keeper is not necessarily the same as the vehicle owner.

Registration
category : R
A term used to refer to the number used on a personalised number plate. The registration corresponds to the Vehicle Identification Number on a vehicle and is printed on the V5 logbook.

Registration Document (V5)
category : R
Some people refer to this as the logbook - the official DVLA document code for a logbook is V5/C (vehicle registration certificate).

Retain
category : R
To retain a registration means to move a registration number from a vehicle to a certificate. This allows the owner to retain the right to use the registration. For more information please see the entry for Retention Certificate (V778 or V778/1).

Retention Certificate (V778 or V778/1)
category : R
Application to place a mark on a retention certificate. The certificate allows a registration to be taken off a vehicle and stored on a certificate for later transferral or sale.

Retention Scheme
category : R
Pertains to a Retention Certificate - this is the scheme under which these certificates are issued. The scheme allows a mark to be taken off a vehicle and stored on a certificate. The same regulations apply as for vehicle to vehicle transfers.

Reverse Dateless
category : R
Reverse dateless number plates came about when councils discovered the sequence of dateless plates released would not provide a plentiful amount of registrations. The reversed sequence was issued much later than the original registrations with letters first. For example FDT + numbers was issued in 1948 and reversed in 1961.

Scrapped
category : S
A vehicle which has been scrapped must be declared as such with the DVLA. You cannot transfer a registration off a vehicle which has been scrapped.

Show Plate
category : S
Show Plates is a term given to acrylic number plates that are used for show or off-road purposes. They often include non-standard spacing, badges, and fonts. In November 2008, stricter regulations come into place making it illegal to manufacture such plates.

Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN)
category : S
SORN is an abbreviation for Statutory Off Road Notification. If you do not renew your vehicle licence (tax) then you must declare the vehicle off the road with the DVLA. This is now a legal requirement.

Stock
category : S
National Numbers owns about 1000 personalised registrations in stock. These are purchased from auctions or from members of the public. Our stock number plates are held, very conveniently, on retention or entitlement certificates in the office. This means that the transfer time is greatly reduced and the mark can be on your vehicle in two to three days.

Suffix
category : S
Suffix registrations consist of 3 letters followed by up to 3 digits, and a final letter which identifies the year the number was issued. The first suffix registration to be issued was A in 1963. An example of a suffix registration is NNN 123A.

Tax
category : T
Also known as a vehicle licence, your car must be taxed before you can transfer a registration on to it. If your vehicle is acting as a donor, then you can transfer the mark up to 12 months after the tax has expired (not refunded). Different tax bands are now introduced based on emissions, etc.

Transfer
category : T
To move a registration from one vehicle to another.

Unissued
category : U
Unissued refers to registrations that have never been issued by the DVLA or DVLNI. Sometimes these are entire ranges of plates (for instance Q plates, which are reserved for kit cars, etc) or combinations that may be deemed offensive, like BNP, ARS, etc. However, DVLA appear to becoming more and more tolerant - perhaps driven by revenue.

Valuation
category : V
National Numbers offer free and instant online valuations for owners of registrations. To use this service please visit our free instant number plate valuation page. We also offer a telephone service at a premium rate. Call 0905 757 0011. Calls cost 95p per minute and take less than a minute.

VAT
category : V
All registrations are subject to VAT. However, some transactions attract free VAT while some are subject to part VAT. This is because we sell number plates on behalf of individuals, who are not VAT registered, and companies who are VAT registered.

Vehicle Excise and Registration Act
category : V
Amendments to the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act allowed the sale of previously unallocated registrations. A new government division, Sale of Marks (SOM), was created to fulfil activities related to the sale of these marks. At this time, the DVLC (as was) became the DVLA. The revenue accrued as a result of these sales contributes directly to the Treasury.

Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
category : V
A number, often stamped on the chassis of a vehicle, which identifies it.

Vehicle Registration Office (VRO)
category : V
Now known as Local Offices (LO's).

Vehicle to Vehicle Transfer Form (V317)
category : V
This form allows a vehicle to vehicle transfer of a registration. These must be completed and signed by both keepers.

Write Off
category : W
A vehicle which has been "written-off" is no longer seen as viable in the eyes of a vehicle insurance company. You cannot transfer a registration on to a written-off vehicle, but you can transfer one off using a V317, or onto a certificate using a V778.