Number Plates

Numbers Plates carry a very distinct history, they were first introduced in France in 1893, then in Germany in 1896, the UK followed suit in late 1903 with the introduction of the Motor Car Act 1903.

From 1st January 1904 all vehicles within the UK had to be registered with their local council, the registered keeper of the vehicle was then issued with an exclusive registration number free of charge relating to the local counties individual issue – the first issued registrations consisted of one letter and one number, eg the borough of London began issuing A 1, then A 2, then A 3 and so on. Such numbers would now be considered very exclusive and their value unlimited, A 1 could reach a market value of one million pounds if it’s whereabouts were known today.

When a vehicle was registered the keeper was issued with a ‘log book’ stating the registration number, make, model, chassis number, engine number, date of first registration, fuel type and of course the owner’s name and address this information is exclusive for each vehicle so no two vehicles had the same details. If an incident occurred local authorities were able to trace the owner of a vehicle by the registration number attached to the vehicle.

After 1st January 1904 every vehicle had to display the registration number issued by their local council in form of a set of number plates attached to the front and rear of the vehicle, originally the plates were metal and had silver embossed print on a black background. These metal plates can still be used today but only on vehicles registered prior to 1st January 1973, there are only a limited number of expert companies still manufacturing this style of plates.

Anyone wishing to obtain any number plates must provide the manufacturer with the V5C (vehicle registration certificate) for their vehicle showing the document reference number, this number is exclusive to their record held by DVLA. All modern issue plates must conform to the British Standard BS AU 145 D, regarding visability, strength and reflectivity.

Nowadays registrations are a status symbol not just for policing issues, people recognise your vehicle in a crowd by your distinctive plates. Many people choose to buy personalised number plates so that they are even more exclusively known by their vehicle. If you would like to buy a registration number or simply require a new set of plates you can view various combinations on www.speedyreg.co.uk or call their friendly staff on 028 6638 7124 who will be more than happy to help you.