The UK has had to make various changes to its system of car
registration plates over the years. This has been due to a number of considerations: first and foremost the volume of traffic and the sheer number of cars and other vehicles on British roads has grown far beyond what was ever imagined or planned for when car registration plates were first introduced. Additionally, the issuing authority has decided that various information should be displayed in the sequence of numbers and letters on the number plates our cars bear.
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Help on using our search facility
Our personal number plate search is flexible and easy to use. You may enter whatever you like and we'll try to find the registration that best matches your search criteria.
For the best results we recommend that you enter initials. Names and words also return some great choices. Other search term ideas you may like to try can include cars, jobs and hobbies.
When searching for plates with initials, don't forget to watch out for number combinations which may add significance to the initial letters: birth dates or door numbers for example.
The "Make Your Own Plate" facility on this page allows you to select specific numbers and letters from the step-by-step drop-down menus and build your own number plate. The number is previewed as you go along so you can see what it will look like. Once you've selected a combination you like, a click on the 'Search' button checks availability for you.
To explore other possibilities, why not try our other top searches. You'll find a list of them on the right hand side of our home page.
If you have any questions, or if you can't find what you're looking for, please remember that we have staff here every day, who will be happy to speak to you on 01582 967777.
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Hint: If you enter two or three letters, you will get better matches
The first generation of registration plates as used by the original system which began in the early 1900s consisted of a letter code which identified the regional authority which issued the plate and a number which identified the individual vehicle. There was no easily recognisable indicator of the date of issue or the age of the vehicle. With the two subsequent forms of mark, the year of issue was indicated by a letter at the end of the sequence (a 'suffix' registration plate) or, later, a letter at the beginning of the sequence (a 'prefix' registration plate).
Although the registration plates format changed yet again in 2001, the same basic information is there to see. There is still a letter code indication the area in which the number plate was issued, followed by a number code specifying the year of issue and finally a unique indentifier - three random letters which apply to, and identify, the individual vehicle.
Get your 2011 11 series number plates. Great names and words available for a limited period.