Number plate age checker
Type a registration number and see what it says about the bike’s age. For a current-style plate you get the six months it was issued and the region it was first registered in.
AB51 ABC
September 2001 to February 2002
This is a current-style number. The 51 is its age identifier: DVLA issued it to new vehicles between September 2001 and February 2002. The first letter, A, is the Anglia region where it was first registered.
A bike can wear a number older than itself, if the number was moved onto it, but never a newer one. DVLA says you can't use a number to make a vehicle look younger than it is.
Rules from DVLA's INF104 leaflet and DVLA Personalised Registrations help, both read on 30 October 2026. Year letters: no DVLA list found, so compiled from Wikipedia, Autobulbs Direct and Swiftreg, which agree up to 1998. From 1999 they differ on the changeover month; we follow DVLA's own timeline, which says the letter changed "every six months, in March and September". Read on 30 October 2026. Great Britain only. Nothing you type is stored.
Like the bike as much as the numbers? Turn a photo of it into art, or browse motorcycle prints in the shop.
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How to use it
Type the number as it is on the plate or the V5C log book. Spaces don't matter. The answer shows straight away, and the link in your address bar keeps it, so you can send it to a mate who is looking at the same bike.
How to read a current number
Numbers issued since 1 September 2001 have three parts, as DVLA's INF104 leaflet sets out. Take AB51 ABC:
| Part | Example | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Memory tag | AB | The region where the vehicle was first registered (A is Anglia) |
| Age identifier | 51 | The six months it was issued: here September 2001 to February 2002 |
| Random letters | ABC | Nothing about age or place |
The age identifier changes twice a year. From March it is the last two digits of the year, so 26 means March to August 2026. From September it is those digits plus 50, so 76 means September 2026 to February 2027.
Older numbers
Prefix numbers, like B123 CDE, were issued from August 1983 to August 2001, with the year letter at the front. Suffix numbers, like ABC 1A, ran from February 1963 to July 1983, with the letter at the end. DVLA's own pages give those ranges but no list of which letter means which year. So the checker takes each letter's dates from published tables that agree with each other. Where they differ, on the 1999 to 2001 letters, it follows DVLA's own word that the letter changed "every six months, in March and September". Dateless numbers, like ABC 1, carry no age at all.
Why a plate can mislead
Numbers can be moved from one vehicle to another. DVLA lets a bike wear a number older than itself, but not a newer one: you can't use a number to make a vehicle look younger than it is. So a current-style plate tells you the earliest the bike could be. The V5C log book has the date it was first registered. Buying an old bike? Our bikes turning historic page shows which build years reach the historic tax class next.
Written by Craig Fearn, Throttlefolio. Last updated .
Questions answered
How can I tell how old a motorbike is from its number plate?
On a current-style plate, the two numbers are the age identifier. 51 means September 2001 to February 2002, and 26 means March to August 2026.
Can a bike have a newer plate than its age?
No. DVLA does not let you use a number to make a vehicle look younger than it is. An older number can be moved onto it.
What year is an R reg?
An R at the front (R123 ABC) was August 1997 to July 1998. An R at the end (ABC 123R) was August 1976 to July 1977. DVLA prints no letter list, so these dates come from published tables that agree.
What does a Q plate mean?
DVLA issues Q numbers to vehicles whose age or identity is in doubt, so the number says nothing about the date.
Keep reading
- Motorcycles turning historic: the bikes built in 1986.
On 1 April 2027 motorcycles built in 1986 become old enough for the historic vehicle tax class. The DVLA had 17,205 of them on its books at the end of…