What does this mean?
Every year, newly manufactured vehicles made after March and then again in September are issued new number plates. These follow a new registration format. Namely, two letters based on region or registration, two numbers based on registration period, then three random letters.
For this year, March saw the introduction of the ’26’ plates whereas September sees the introduction of the ’76’ plates. These are considered ‘age markers’ for the manufactured vehicles.
Why does this matter?
It may not in all honesty! It depends on whether you are looking to purchase or lease a new vehicle as you can consider timing your action with the change. You can plan to get a vehicle with the latest number plate registration or try get a bargain on those vehicles that are about to officially age another year.
It is also potentially relevant should you be looking to sell your car. You can time your sale a couple months before March before your vehicle ages by one year, which will help with the value you are offering and price you can ask for.
What about personalisation?
You can’t use the new registration format on an older car but you can still register a new number following a different requirement in terms of format. Follow the standard process using the DVLA guidelines to ensure you may legally use your number plates on your car. You may struggle to create your perfect plates as many classic combinations have already been taken. Consider looking to buy the registration from official sites instead. Buying a custom registration can be costly and it is up to you to decide how much you are willing to spend in order to get the plates that say what you want.
We feel you can still create plenty of personality simply by changing the style of your plates. Want to freshen up your faithful registration number? Elevate your newly minted ones? You can seek to embolden your plates by using 3D or even 4D characters. Use our plate builder and look at further options, including adding borders and badges.