Number plates

Suffix plates: year letters 1963 to 1983

On a suffix plate (ABC 123D) the last letter shows when the car was first registered. Suffix letters ran from A in 1963 to Y, which ended on 31 July 1983. The prefix format followed on 1 August 1983.

Suffix year letters and their registration windows. I, O, Q, U and Z were not used.
Letter	From	Until	Age today	Prefix letter
A	1963 (varied by area)	31 December 1963	62 to 63 years	A prefix
B	1 January 1964	31 December 1964	61 to 62 years	B prefix
C	1 January 1965	31 December 1965	60 to 61 years	C prefix
D	1 January 1966	31 December 1966	59 to 60 years	D prefix
E	1 January 1967	31 July 1967	59 years	E prefix
F	1 August 1967	31 July 1968	58 to 59 years	F prefix
G	1 August 1968	31 July 1969	57 to 58 years	G prefix
H	1 August 1969	31 July 1970	56 to 57 years	H prefix
J	1 August 1970	31 July 1971	55 to 56 years	J prefix
K	1 August 1971	31 July 1972	54 to 55 years	K prefix
L	1 August 1972	31 July 1973	53 to 54 years	L prefix
M	1 August 1973	31 July 1974	52 to 53 years	M prefix
N	1 August 1974	31 July 1975	51 to 52 years	N prefix
P	1 August 1975	31 July 1976	50 to 51 years	P prefix
R	1 August 1976	31 July 1977	49 to 50 years	R prefix
S	1 August 1977	31 July 1978	48 to 49 years	S prefix
T	1 August 1978	31 July 1979	47 to 48 years	T prefix
V	1 August 1979	31 July 1980	46 to 47 years	V prefix
W	1 August 1980	31 July 1981	45 to 46 years	W prefix
X	1 August 1981	31 July 1982	44 to 45 years	X prefix
Y	1 August 1982	31 July 1983	43 to 44 years	Y prefix

Tax and MOT for cars this old

Cars built before 1 January 1986 can be taxed in the historic vehicle class, which costs nothing. Vehicles built or first registered more than 40 years ago do not need an MOT unless they have been substantially changed. Both are declared to DVLA by the keeper, and a car that has been substantially changed does not qualify.

Check the tax rules for one car · Historic vehicle tax · The 40-year MOT exemption

Other formats

The current format (since September 2001) · Prefix plates from A (1983) · Area codes

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVLA vehicle registration numbering rules (INF104); GOV.UK guidance on historic vehicles.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVLA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources