Number Plates
The Motor Car Act of 1903 was introduced because, with increasing numbers of vehicles on British roads, measures were needed to help identify vehicles and their drivers. This is when the registration mark and the number plate was born.
The very first number plate to be issued was A1 – this was issued in London to Earl Russell who famously camped-out all night to get the first number plate of all time.
Number plates were issued in a format to distinguish their place of issue. For example, the letters KA were issued in Liverpool but a number plate with SJ would tell you that it was issued by Bute council. It was the Law that every car should display a number plate on the front and a number plate on the rear.
By 1963 it became apparent that, with the ever increasing number of vehicles on the road, the possible sequences were going to run out and so “suffix” registrations were developed (where there would be 3 letters, up to 3 numbers and then a final letter). Historically, the letter suffix ran from January 1st to December 31st until, in 1967, under pressure from the motor industry, the system changed to run annually from August 1st to July 31st and thus began the memorable rush for cars with new number plates on August 1st.
In 1973 the appearance of the number plate was changed for the first time since its inception. Any vehicle registered from January 1st 1973 was required to display reflective number plates. The front number plate was to have black letters on a white background whereas the rear number plate was to be black on yellow. At the same time, the size and shape of the letters and numbers was standardised. The purpose of the new ruling was to make number plates more visible particularly at night.
By 1983 the suffix number plates had run out and so the number plate format was reversed to have a “prefix” (where there would be a single letter, up to 3 numbers and a final 3 letters). Sixteen years later the traditional August – July number plate year was changed to twice a year (March 1st and September 1st) again at the request of the motor industry.
By 2001 the system had to change again to accommodate the end of the “prefixes”. This system was more complex – the number plate comprised 2 letters followed by 2 numbers (that revealed the year of the vehicle) and then a final 3 letters. The number plate was 1 digit longer.
The number plate system is now secure for many years because of its current format.
Other features are available on the following subjects:-
Private Number Plates, Car Number Plates, DVLA Number Plates, Bike Number Plates, Custom Number Plates, Car Registration Renewals
