Every number plate area code

Anglia (A…)

AA–AN	Peterborough	AA AB AC AD AE AF AG AH AJ AK AL AM AN
AO–AU	Norwich	AO AP AR AS AT AU
AV–AY	Ipswich	AV AW AX AY

Birmingham (B…)

BA–BY

Birmingham

BA BB BC BD BE BF BG BH BJ BK BL BM BN BO BP BR BS BT BU BV BW BX BY

Cymru (Wales) (C…)

CA–CO	Cardiff	CA CB CC CD CE CF CG CH CJ CK CL CM CN CO
CP–CV	Swansea	CP CR CS CT CU CV
CW–CY	Bangor	CW CX CY

Deeside to Shrewsbury (D…)

DA–DK	Chester	DA DB DC DD DE DF DG DH DJ DK
DL–DY	Shrewsbury	DL DM DN DO DP DR DS DT DU DV DW DX DY

Essex (E…)

EA–EY

Chelmsford

EA EB EC ED EE EF EG EH EJ EK EL EM EN EO EP ER ES ET EU EV EW EX EY

Forest and Fens (F…)

FA–FN, FP	Nottingham	FA FB FC FD FE FF FG FH FJ FK FL FM FN FP
FR–FT, FV–FY	Lincoln	FR FS FT FV FW FX FY

DVLA's list leaves FO and FU out of the Nottingham and Lincoln blocks, so neither is shown here.

Garden of England (G…)

GA–GO	Maidstone	GA GB GC GD GE GF GG GH GJ GK GL GM GN GO
GP–GY	Brighton	GP GR GS GT GU GV GW GX GY

Hampshire and Dorset (H…)

HA–HJ	Bournemouth	HA HB HC HD HE HF HG HH HJ
HK–HY	Portsmouth	HK HL HM HN HO HP HR HS HT HU HV HW HX HY

DVLA's list says HW is used only for Isle of Wight residents.

Luton and Northampton (K…)

KA–KL	Borehamwood	KA KB KC KD KE KF KG KH KJ KK KL
KM–KY	Northampton	KM KN KO KP KR KS KT KU KV KW KX KY

DVLA's list gives the K codes no region name of its own: Luton and Northampton is our label. Luton's office handled KA to KL until DVLA closed it in 2008, and every edition of the list since 2014 puts them under Borehamwood, so a KA to KL plate with the 07 identifier or earlier was a Luton mark.

London (L…)

LA–LJ	Wimbledon	LA LB LC LD LE LF LG LH LJ
LK–LT	Borehamwood	LK LL LM LN LO LP LR LS LT
LU–LY	Sidcup	LU LV LW LX LY

DVLA's list puts LK to LT under Borehamwood, just outside London in Hertfordshire. Earlier versions of this page named Stanmore for those codes.

Manchester and Merseyside (M…)

MA–MM, MO–MY

Manchester

MA MB MC MD ME MF MG MH MJ MK ML MM MO MP MR MS MT MU MV MW MX MY

DVLA reserves MN for the Isle of Man, so it is not a Manchester code.

North (N…)

NA–NE, NG–NO	Newcastle	NA NB NC ND NE NG NH NJ NK NL NM NN NO
NP–NY	Stockton	NP NR NS NT NU NV NW NX NY

DVLA's list leaves NF out of the Newcastle block, so it is not shown here.

Oxford (O…)

OA–OY

Oxford

OA OB OC OD OE OF OG OH OJ OK OL OM ON OO OP OR OS OT OU OV OW OX OY

Preston (P…)

PA–PT	Preston	PA PB PC PD PE PF PG PH PJ PK PL PM PN PO PP PR PS PT
PU–PY	Carlisle	PU PV PW PX PY

Reading (R…)

RA–RY

Theale

RA RB RC RD RE RF RG RH RJ RK RL RM RN RO RP RR RS RT RU RV RW RX RY

DVLA's list names the office at Theale, just west of Reading.

Scotland (S…)

SA–SJ	Glasgow	SA SB SC SD SE SF SG SH SJ
SK–SO	Edinburgh	SK SL SM SN SO
SP–ST	Dundee	SP SR SS ST
SU–SW	Aberdeen	SU SV SW
SX–SY	Inverness	SX SY

Severn Valley (V…)

VA–VY

Worcester

VA VB VC VD VE VF VG VH VJ VK VL VM VN VO VP VR VS VT VU VV VW VX VY

West of England (W…)

WA–WJ	Exeter	WA WB WC WD WE WF WG WH WJ
WK–WL	Truro	WK WL
WM–WY	Bristol	WM WN WO WP WR WS WT WU WV WW WX WY

Truro has just two codes, WK and WL. Everything from WM to WY is Bristol's.

Yorkshire (Y…)

YA–YL	Leeds	YA YB YC YD YE YF YG YH YJ YK YL
YM–YT, YV	Sheffield	YM YN YO YP YR YS YT YV
YU, YW–YY	Beverley	YU YW YX YY

This table follows DVLA's current list: the April 2020 and later editions put YL with Leeds, YU with Beverley and YV with Sheffield. The earlier editions (September 2014 and February 2019) had the older split of YA to YK for Leeds, YL to YU for Sheffield and YV to YY for Beverley, so a YL or YU plate with the 13 identifier or earlier came from the Sheffield office, and a YV plate from the Beverley office.

Source: DVLA leaflet INF104, Vehicle registration numbers and number plates (April 2022 edition, on GOV.UK). The September 2014 and February 2019 editions, now only on the Internet Archive, agree on every code except three in Yorkshire, explained under that table.

What do the first two letters of a number plate mean?

They are the DVLA area code, also called the memory tag. The first letter names the region and the second the local office DVLA lists the code under. Those offices closed in 2013, and DVLA now describes the tag as referring to the region where a vehicle is first registered. The table on this page lists every code in DVLA's published list.

Why can't I find my two letters in the list?

The letters I, Q and Z are never used in area codes, and only 19 letters are used as the first letter. DVLA's list also leaves out FO, FU and NF, and reserves MN for the Isle of Man. If your plate doesn't match the current two-letters-two-numbers pattern, it's an older scheme: our free plate decoder reads those too.

Does the area code say where a car is from?

Only the region where its registration was first issued, and nothing since: cars move and plates get transferred. It never updates, so treat it as a birthplace, not an address.