If you’re looking for information on UK memory tags then you’ve come to the right place.
After one of our most successful articles around what year a UK registration is – our readers started to ask questions around where a vehicle is registered.
We soon realised that this information wasn’t readily available in our resources so here it is.
Quick Links
– Local Memory Tag List
– Registration Plate Area Codes
What Is A Local Memory Tag On A License Plate?
A memory tag is a system used by the DVLA to indicate the area where a vehicle was first registered.
Just think of it as car registration area codes indicator.
The area code is where the vehicle was registered and the age identifier was the year it was registered.
Why Do We Use The Memory Tag System?
A UK license plate is a handy way for buyers to know the history of the vehicle, where it was registered and the year it was first registered.
Not only is it handy for buyers but also whenever an incident occurs where a vehicle can be tracked.
Let’s say something happens where a car has left the scene and police are appealing for witnesses.
One person remembers a red Ford with the licence plate starting with AB. That’s all the person remembers and that is completely fine.
The police can work their way through every red Ford on the database to pinpoint it down to a handful of potential vehicles that it could be.
They can then use traffic cameras to find the right vehicle they were looking for.
| Local Mnemonic | Local Area |
| A | Anglia |
| B | Birmingham |
| C | Cymru (Wales) |
| D | Deeside |
| E | Essex |
| F | Forest And Fens |
| G | Garden Of England |
| H | Hampshire And Dorset |
| K | No official mnemonic |
| L | London |
| M | Manchester and Merseyside |
| N | North |
| O | Oxford |
| P | Preston |
| R | Reading |
| S | Scotland |
| V | Severn Valley |
| W | Anglia |
| X | Personal Export |
| Y | Yorkshire |
Use this handy tool below to see the location and date a vehicle was registered.
Related Information
- Overview
- Where A Vehicle Is Registered
- When Was A Vehicle Registered
- Private Registrations
Author: Dean Michael
I have often seen vehicles with a J registration as a prefix [JA, JB etc]. I can’t find
any info as to where a J reg was registered. Is it reserved for a particular type of vehicle
W is Westcountry, not Anglia.
I have a reg plate from 1980 LRB where would this be registered?
LK to LT is Borehamwood, KA to KL is also Borehamwood?
The check vehicle dvla is very important to do before buy a used car
Want to find registration for a car I had in 09
This website cannot supply you with that information. I imagine the DVLA would be able to, as they’ll have a record of all the years you paid road tax and what vehicle that road tax is assigned to.
They could do it most likely…but that doesn’t mean that they will. They’ll view it as personal information and even though you’ve told that you previously owned the car and want to be reminded of its registration, they can’t necessarily verify that information over the phone. So to err on the side of caution, they’d most likely decline your request for them to share this specific registration number with you