Number plates
What year is a 26 plate?
26 plates were issued to cars first registered in Great Britain between 1 March 2026 and 31 August 2026. Below: how old those cars are, when the first MOT falls due and the tax rules. To decode a whole plate, use the number plate age checker.
Tax rates for the year from 1 April 2026.
Which year is it?
A 26 plate covers March to August 2026. The September identifier that follows it is 76.
The plate normally shows when the car was first registered, which can be later than when it was built. A car imported new gets the identifier of its first UK registration. A used import gets an identifier that matches its age (the date it was built or first registered abroad), or a Q plate when its age cannot be proved.
MOT
A car's first MOT is due by the third anniversary of its first registration, then every year. For a 26 plate that first MOT will be due between 1 March 2029 and 31 August 2029, depending on the registration date. You can take an MOT up to a month (minus a day) before the due date and keep the same renewal date.
Vehicle tax
- The first tax payment of a new car depends on its CO2 figure, from £10 at 0 g/km up to £5,690 above 255 g/km (rates from 1 April 2026).
- After the first year, cars first registered from 1 April 2017 pay the standard rate, £200 a year (rates from 1 April 2026).
- A car with a list price over £40,000 also pays the expensive car supplement, £440 a year, from the second to the sixth year it is taxed. Electric cars have paid it since 1 April 2025, and the threshold for some newer electric cars is higher.
- Electric cars have paid vehicle tax since 1 April 2025. Their first-year rate depends on the registration date.
ULEZ and clean air zones
Transport for London's guide: petrol cars that meet the ULEZ standard (Euro 4) are generally those first registered after 2005, though some from 2001 meet it. Diesel cars that meet it (Euro 6) are generally those first registered after September 2015. The year on the plate is a starting point only: the Euro standard of the car decides.
Most tested models
Cars first used in 2026 had not reached their first MOT within the DVSA data we use (tests from 2022 to 2025), so there is no model table for this plate yet.
Questions
What year is a 26 plate?
26 plates were issued to cars first registered in Great Britain between 1 March 2026 and 31 August 2026.
When is the first MOT due on a 26 plate?
By the third anniversary of first registration: between 1 March 2029 and 31 August 2029.
Can a 26 plate be on a newer car?
Yes. A private (cherished) number can be moved to a newer car, which then looks older than it is. It can never go on a car first registered before 1 March 2026, because a plate may not make a car look newer than it is. How to transfer a private number plate.
Other plates
Decode a plate: number plate age checker
Before: 75 plates. After: 76 plates. Every age identifier · Area codes (the first two letters)
Found one you might buy? Vet the specific car.
The plate tells you roughly when a car was first registered. The VetTheCar Buying Report brings together the MOT history, mileage readings and running costs of one car before you pay.
Source
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVLA vehicle registration numbering rules (INF104); GOV.UK vehicle tax rate tables (DVLA). Tax rates for the year from 1 April 2026.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVLA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources