Welcome to Cape Plates

UK Dealers in Private Number Plates

Cape Plates have supplied thousands of motorists with their perfect registration number by providing access to the complete range of number plate formats available. You can purchase a set of acrylic number plates to complete your order which can be personalised with badges and borders to match your car. We also offer a free valuation and selling service for private number plates.

Cape Plates has one of the most comprehensive databases of personal number plates in the country. Since their introduction back in 1903 literally millions of car registrations have been issued to vehicles in the UK.

There are private number plates out there for everyone. What will yours be?

A1, arguably the most prestigious number plate ever released, was issued back in 1903 when the Motor Car Act 1903 was introduced. Earl Russell camped outside of the registration office to secure the first prestigious number plate for his own vehicle. From then on, every motor vehicle on the road had to be registered and so the number plate industry was born!

Every council was assigned with specific letter codes to issue registration plates to vehicles in their local area. Accompanied by numbers, these made unique and individual identifiers. By 1930 the system had been exhausted and a third letter was added at the front of the number plate system. Due to the size of number plates at the time, this additional letter meant that only three numbers were displayed on the number plate.

This car registration system became exhausted too as the roads became flooded with new cars. In the 1950's number plates began being issued in a reverse format, with the numbers coming before the letters. By the late 1950's and early 1960's even this registration system began to be exhausted. A temporary measure saw 4 digits and single or double letter code number plates were being issued but this would not last long.

A sustainable registration system was needed and in 1963 the first suffix reg was issued. These number plates displayed three letters followed by up to three digits and a year identifier e.g. ABC 123A. Annually the year identifier would move to the next letter in the alphabet and in 1965 when the "C" suffix number plates were released, all the councils in the UK were issuing suffix number plates. In 1983 the suffix registration system was replaced by prefix car registrations. The format reversed suffix car registrations and displayed a year identifier letter, followed by up to three numbers and then three serial letters e.g. A123 ABC.

In 2001 prefix number plates were replaced by our current style of car registrations. These display two area identifier letters of where the car was first registered, followed by two numbers and three letters to make a unique car registration (e.g. NE51 ABC). The numbers show when the vehicle was registered and change every 6 months to give a snap shot of the age of the vehicle.

The oldest number plates fetch vast amounts of money if, and when they are for sale. Many of the newer registration numbers however can be purchased for under £300. As these unique private plates are being snapped up everyday, now is the time to find your perfect personal registration...before someone else does!