Suffix Number Plates for Sale

Discover your perfect suffix number plate below. With hundreds of classic registrations from the 1960s to the early 1980s, you're sure to find one that stands out.

Have a specific plate in mind? Use our number plate search, type in your chosen phrase, and see our closest suffix plate matches!

Suffix Number Plate FAQs 

What are Suffix Number Plates?

A suffix number plate is a style of car registration used in the UK between 1963 and July 1983. It’s one of four number plate registration systems used in the UK. It uses a letter at the end of the plate to indicate the car’s year of registration.

Suffix registration plates look like this:

• The first three letters indicate the area where the vehicle was first registered. 
• The numbers (up to three digits) are random and help distinguish between vehicles registered in the same region.
• The final letter is the suffix and shows the year of registration. 

If you want to learn more about prefix number plates, dateless number plates, and the current new style registration system, follow the links to learn more. 

What year were suffix registrations used?

Want to know what year a suffix registration is from?

Suffix number plates were first introduced in 1963. It first used the letter A and moved through the alphabet before ending with Y in July 1983. 

You can see the full list of suffix letters and their age identifiers in the chart below.

Check out more number plate age signifiers in our car registration years chart, which you can find by following the link.

Were all the letters of the alphabet used for suffix registrations?

Not every letter was used for Suffix registrations. This was because some letters can be confused with others.
 

• The letters ‘I’ and ‘Z’ were reserved for Northern Ireland.
• The letter ‘O’ was considered too close to the number 0.
• The letter ‘U’ was considered too close to the letter V.
• The letter ‘Q’ was only used in special cases when vehicles had unknown manufacturing dates. 

When were Suffix Number Plates Used and why did they end?

Suffix registration plates were introduced in 1963 and remained in use until July 1983. Before this year, car registration plates were dateless and only featured the area in which they were registered.
 
The suffix registration system added the concept of letters to determine the year of registration of UK cars. 

This use of letters to identify age carried on even after the Suffix system ended and was adopted by the prefix registration system. The difference is that prefix plates used the letter identifier at the start of the plate.
 
New suffix number plates were added every year until 1966. After this, suffix plates were added twice a year until their end date in July 1983.

Can you use suffix number plates on any car?

You can’t add suffix number plates to any car registered before 1963. This is because it’s illegal to make a car seem newer than it is. 
 
However, you can put a suffix number plate on any car registered after July 1983. 

For cars registered between 1963 and 1983, you can only use the same or earlier letters.

How much do suffix number plates cost?

Like most number plates, prices vary depending on the rarity, letter combination, and desirability of the plate. Some can be quite affordable, while others with recognisable names or initials may be more expensive.