The new style registrations follow a format that is intended to avoid the need to change the system for a number of years to come. All plates start with a two-letter prefix, are followed by two digits, which identify the year of manufacture and always end with three letters. An example is DY51 HFS. The new style registrations have been in effect since the second half of 2000, which has earned them the name ‘millennium plates’. This distinctive layout replaced the prefix registration format, which was rapidly running out of available alphanumeric combinations. It was only with the introduction of this style of registration that the letter Z was permissible on a registration mark, but only within the last three letters, not in the prefix.

The prefix letters were originally used to identify the area where the car was manufactured and registered. In the example provided earlier, the DY would denote registration in the Brighton area.

As these new style registrations have two digits, which act as an age identifier, they can only be transferred to vehicles of the same age or older. You cannot, therefore, use a transferred registration mark to make your vehicle appear to be a newer model than it actually is. With regards to the example registration, DY51 HFS, this could be transferred to any vehicle manufactured on or since 1st September 2001. This regulation applies to all previous registration formats that include a year identifier.