In September 2001, the first number plates appeared in this new format. This new system is planned to last until the year 2050. In this format, the two numbers - '51' in the example above - are the new way to tell a car's age.

Changing every six months - in March and September - these initially alternated between numbers starting with '0' and '5'. The sequence started in September 2001 with '51'. In March 2002 it changed to '02'. In September 2002, the number became '52'. In March 2003 it became '03', and so on.

So, numbers starting with '0' show a car registered between March and August in the year indicated by the following number. Those starting with '5' show a car registered between September one year and February the next.

In 2010 , the numbers became 10 (in March) and 60 (in September) and will continue in the same way as before for the next ten years. Here's a list of age identification numbers used in the new number plate format and the years they correspond to:

Additionally, the first two letters - 'AB' above - indicate the area of the country the car was first registered in. Registrations starting with AB indicate the car was registered in Peterborough. CP indicates Swansea.

In most cases you can tell the broad area of the country in which a car was first registered by just the first letter of the registration plate. For example,
'A' is for East Anglia, 'B' is Birmingham, 'C' is Wales (Cymru), 'E' is Essex,
'L' is London, 'M' is Manchester, 'O' is Oxford, 'R' is Reading, 'S' is Scotland,
'W' is the South West and 'Y' is Yorkshire.

Here's a list of letters used and the exact areas they correspond to:

The final three letters of the new format plate - 'CDE' above - are random.

number plates - symbols >>