Quick guide to New Car Registrations

Confused about car registrations? Let us explain...

Car registrations for new vehicles change twice a year, every 6 months. This happens first in March, and then again 6 months later in September. The table below shows when the new 20-plate registration is released and so on.

• Understanding the number-plate layout

  Registration plates issued in March will always take the last 2 digits of the year we are in (so we’re in the year 2020, therefore the digits used will be 20). This is known as an Age Identifier registration prefix - it helps you to determine the age of a car by letting you know when it was registered so you can easily calculate its age.

  In front of the Age Identifier is the Local Memory Tag registration prefix. This tells you where the car was registered. The last 3 letters that appear after the Age Identifier are generated randomly and have no intended meaning. Altogether it creates a unique 7-digit registration number.

   

  So what happens in September?  

  Things can get a little confusing when the new registration is released in September as although we're still in 2020, the Age Identifier will read 70 instead of 20. This is because of the +50 rule which means any vehicle registered between 1st September – 28th February will take the last two digits of the year + 50.

  So a vehicle registered between the second wave of reg plates in 2020 would have an Age Identifier of 70 (20 + 50). 

• Order and reserve your new Ford today with a 2020 reg plate at your local Group 1 dealership. Let us help you find your perfect car... so why not browse our latest offers to start with. 

  We look forward to helping you!