Vehicle registration plates of Northern Ireland

NI regular front (top) and rear (bottom) number plates. The national identifier on British number plates is optional. The distinguishing code for the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland is "GB"[1], and number plates including the code are valid in countries party to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic if displayed on its own or together with the Union Jack.

Vehicle registration plates in Northern Ireland use a modified version of the British national registration plate system that was initiated for the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1903. Originally, all counties in the UK were allocated two identification letters. At that time, the whole of Ireland was in the UK, and the letters I and Z were reserved for the Irish counties. The 'I' series was used first, but by the time it came to using the 'Z' series in 1926, the Irish Free State had already come into existence, and so it was agreed that the Northern Ireland would use the AZ - YZ series, while the Free State would use the ZA - ZZ series. In 1987, the Republic of Ireland broke away from the system altogether. As of 2002 there were reportedly 794,477 recorded registration plates in Northern Ireland, compared to only 50 for the island as a whole when the format was first introduced in 1903.[2]

The full list of codes used in Northern Ireland appears below.

Format
Northern Ireland plate. This particular County Down plate, which dates from the last century, uses an old-style font.

As in Great Britain, each code originally ran from 1 to 9999, and when one was completed, another was allocated. All possible codes had been allocated by 1957, following which reversed sequences were introduced, the first county to do so being Antrim in January 1958 with 1 IA. These reversed sequences were completed quickly, leading to the introduction of the current "AXX 1234" format in January 1966, where "XX" is the county code and "A" is a serial letter. This format allowed capacity to be increased. Each county adopted it once they had completed their reversed sequences, the last one to do so being County Londonderry in October 1973 with AIW 1. From November 1985, the first 100 numbers of each series were withheld for use as cherished registrations. From April 1989, the numbers 101-999 were also withheld in this way. Even multiples of 1000 and 1111 ("four-of-a-kind") are deemed cherished by the DVLA and thus withheld. Each series ends at 9998 and follows on to the next letter/number combination in the series.

European Union symbol
Examples of British style number plate GB strip

When the UK was a member state of the European Union, some UK number plates conformed to the common EU format introduced by Council Regulation (EC) No 2411/98, with black lettering on a white or yellow background and a blue strip on the left side of the plate with the European Union symbol (circle of stars) above the international vehicle registration code of the member state (GB).[3] This format can not be issued after the transition period ended.[4] The distinguishing code for the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland is "GB",[5] and number plates featuring other codes, such as "IRL" (the distinguishing code for Ireland) or "NI" are unofficial.

EU member states that require foreign vehicles to display a distinguishing sign of the country of origin are obliged by Article 3 of EU Regulation No. 2411/98 to accept this standard design as a distinguishing sign when displayed on a vehicle registered in another member state, making a separate sign unnecessary for vehicles registered in the EU.

After Brexit, other EU countries are no longer required to accept UK "Europlates", as the regulation only requires member states to accept the standard design as a distinguishing sign when displayed on a vehicle registered in another member state. After this, Euro-plates must be replaced by a number plate that features the GB sign without the EU flag in order to be valid as a national identifier.[6][7] Countries party to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic are not bound to accept the EU design after the UK withdrew from the EU, because the "Europlates" will no longer show "the emblem of the regional economic integration organisation the country belongs" as described in the Convention after this.

A Belfast plate displaying the optional EU format "GB" country code. Any other format displaying a side badge, including those bearing the codes "NI" or "IRL", are unofficial.

While motorists with vehicles registered in Great Britain are permitted by the DVLA to use number plates carrying Euro-style bands with UK national flags and country codes, officially only the European Union symbol and the "GB" country code are specified in Northern Ireland.[8][9] The Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 state that "Paragraph (4) does not apply—(...) (b)if the relevant vehicle is recorded in the part of the register relating to Northern Ireland." Paragraph four reads "Subject to paragraphs (5) to (8), there may be displayed on a plate or other device an arrangement of letters corresponding with one of the sub-paragraphs of paragraph (9) and an emblem corresponding with one of the sub-paragraphs of paragraph (10)".

With Northern Ireland no longer being a part of the EU, the plates with the EU symbol are now no longer issued.

Administration

The administrative counties of Northern Ireland were abolished by the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972, and their responsibility for issuing registrations was transferred to the NI Ministry of Home Affairs,[10] and later the Department of the Environment NI. The former vehicle section in the county town of each local authority became a "local office" of the relevant departmental agency, formerly Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland and latterly the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) in Coleraine.

From 21 July 2014, vehicle registration in Northern Ireland became the responsibility of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency DVLA in Swansea, which also administers the system used in Great Britain. The pre-1972 format of Northern Ireland registration plates continues unchanged in Northern Ireland.[11]

County codes in alphabetical order

All the codes from IA to IZ, and from AI to WI (except for those containing G, Q, S and V, plus II), were allocated throughout the island of Ireland in 1903, in alphabetical order of counties and then of county boroughs. Hence, Antrim was allocated IA and Armagh IB, while County Dublin, now in the Republic of Ireland, was allocated IK, in between IJ for Down and IL for Fermanagh. Shortly before the partition of Ireland in 1922, Belfast completed OI and was thus allocated the next available code, XI, while YI and then ZI were allocated to Dublin City. After the partition, all codes with Z as the first letter (ZA, ZB etc.) were allocated in the Republic of Ireland, while all codes with Z as the second letter (AZ, BZ etc.) were allocated in Northern Ireland with the exception of County Mayo which had originally been allocated IZ.

CodeCounty or CityCodeCounty or CityCodeCounty or City
AZBelfastILFermanaghSZDown
BZDownIWCounty LondonderryTZBelfast
CZBelfastJITyroneUICity of Londonderry
DZAntrimJZDownUZBelfast
EZBelfastKZAntrimVZTyrone
FZBelfastLZArmaghWZBelfast
GZBelfastMZBelfastXIBelfast
HZTyroneNZCounty LondonderryXZArmagh
IAAntrimOIBelfastYZCounty Londonderry
IBArmaghOZBelfastQNICars with indeterminate age, kit cars.
IGFermanaghPZBelfastLTZBuses built in Northern Ireland
for Transport for London
IJDownRZAntrim

Series per administrative county / DVA licensing local office

For each DVA licensing local office[12] (administrative county before 1974) the two-letter sequences are shown first, followed by the reversed two-letter sequences, then the three-letter sequences.

CC
code		 CC number range number CC range ACC–YCC number range number range ACC–YCC
County Antrim / Ballymena
IA 1 to 9999Dec 1903 – Mar 1932 1 to 9999Jan 1958 – Jun 1960 1 to 9998[n 1]Jan 1966 – Jul 1985 1001 to 9998Likely next
DZ 1 to 9999Mar 1932 – Jan 1947 301 to 9999Jun 1960 – Sep 1962 101 to 9998[n 2]Jul 1985 – May 1998
KZ 1 to 9999Jan 1947 – Feb 1954 1 to 9999Sep 1962 – Jun 1964 1001 to 9998May 1998 – May 2010
RZ 1 to 9999Feb 1954 – Jan 1958 501 to 9999Jun 1964 – Jan 1966 1001 to 9998[n 3]May 2010 – current[n 4]
County Armagh / Armagh
IB 1 to 9999Dec 1903 – Aug 1947[n 5] 301 to 9999Apr 1962 – Nov 1965 1 to 9998Mar 1972 – Nov 1996[n 6][n 7] 1001 to 9998Likely next
LZ 1 to 9999Jan 1947[n 5] – Nov 1957 1 to 9999Nov 1965 – Mar 1969 1001 to 9998Nov 1996 – May 2010
XZ 1 to 9999Nov 1957 – Apr 1962 1 to 9999Mar 1969 – Mar 1972 1001 to 9998May 2010 – current[n 8]
Belfast County Borough / Belfast City
OI 1 to 9999Jan 1904 – Jan 1921 1000 to 9999Jun 1958 – Jun 1959 1 to 9999[n 9][n 10]Apr 1969 – Apr 1982
XI 1 to 9999Jan 1921 – Feb 1928 1000 to 9999Jun 1959 – Apr 1960 1 to 9998Apr 1982 – Feb 1993
AZ 1 to 9999Feb 1928 – Nov 1932 1 to 9999Apr 1960 – Mar 1961 1001 to 9998[n 11]Feb 1993 – Mar 1999
CZ 1 to 9999Nov 1932 – Oct 1935 1 to 9999Mar 1961 – Apr 1962 1001 to 9998Mar 1999 – Sep 2004
EZ 1 to 9999Oct 1935 – Oct 1938 1 to 9999Apr 1962 – Apr 1963 1001 to 9998Sep 2004 – Sep 2009
FZ 1 to 9999Oct 1938 – May 1942 1 to 9999Apr 1963 – Jan 1964 1001 to 9998Sep 2009 – Nov 2015
GZ 1 to 9999May 1942 – Dec 1947 1 to 9999Jan 1964 – Sep 1964 1001 to 9998Nov 2015 – current[n 12]
MZ 1 to 9999Dec 1947 – Jun 1950 1 to 9999Sep 1964 – May 1965
OZ 1 to 9999Jun 1950 – Jan 1953 1 to 9999May 1965 – Mar 1966
PZ 1 to 9999Jan 1953 – Aug 1954 1 to 9999Mar 1966 – Jan 1967
TZ 1 to 9999Aug 1954 – Oct 1955 1 to 9999Jan 1967 – Oct 1967 [n 13]Mid-2013 – current
UZ 1 to 9999Oct 1955 – Mar 1957 1 to 9999Oct 1967[n 14] – Jun 1968
WZ 1 to 9999Mar 1957 – Jun 1958 1 to 9999Jun 1968 – Apr 1969
County Down / Downpatrick
IJ 1 to 9999[n 15]Dec 1903 – Apr 1930 101 to 9999Oct 1958 – May 1961 1 to 9998[n 16][n 17]May 1967 – May 1987 1001 to 9998Likely next
BZ 1 to 9999Apr 1930 – Oct 1946 201 to 9999May 1961 – Nov 1963 101 to 9998May 1987 – Sep 2000
JZ 1 to 9999Oct 1946 – Aug 1954 201 to 9999Nov 1963 – Jul 1965 1001 to 9998Sep 2000 – Nov 2016
SZ 1 to 9999Aug 1954 – Oct 1958 1 to 9999Jul 1965 – May 1967 1001 to 9998Nov 2016 – current[n 18]
County Fermanagh / Enniskillen
IL 1 to 9999Jan 1904 – Feb 1958 51 to 9999Feb 1958 – Aug 1966 1001 to 9998[n 19][n 20][n 21]Aug 1966 – Dec 2004 1001 to 9998Likely next
IG 1001 to 9998[n 22]Dec 2004 – current[n 23]
County Londonderry / Coleraine
IW 1 to 9999Dec 1903 – Jan 1949 100 to 9999Sep 1962 – Oct 1966 1 to 9998[n 24][n 25]Oct 1973 – Jul 2000
NZ 1 to 9999Jan 1949 – Dec 1957 1 to 9999Oct 1966 – Nov 1970 1001 to 9998Jul 2000 – Jan 2020
YZ 1 to 9999Dec 1957 – Sep 1962 1 to 9999Nov 1970 – Oct 1973 1001 to 9998Jan 2020 – current[n 26]
Londonderry County Borough / Derry City
UI 1 to 9999Jan 1904 – Aug 1963 100 to 9999Aug 1963 – Apr 1973 1 to 9998[n 27][n 28][n 29]Apr 1973 – current[n 30] 1001 to 9998Likely next
County Tyrone / Omagh
JI 1 to 9999Dec 1903 – Feb 1944 100 to 9999Apr 1961 – Oct 1964 1 to 9998[n 31][n 32]Jun 1971 – Dec 1999
HZ 1 to 9999Feb 1944 – Apr 1956 200 to 9999Oct 1964 – Mar 1968 1001 to 9998Dec 1999 – current[n 33]
VZ 1 to 9999Apr 1956 – Apr 1961 200 to 9999Mar 1968 – Jun 1971

See also

References
Footnotes
  1. Authority transferred from Antrim County Council to Ballymena LVLO/VRO from 1 January 1974; the first registration following the transfer was GIA 8977.
  2. BDZ ended at 7458 due to computerisation in October 1986, followed by CDZ 101.
  3. ARZ was deemed inappropriate and will not be issued.[13]
  4. As of December 2019 the current issue was RRZ.
  5. Although LZ commenced in January 1947, IB was not completed until August 1947.
  6. Authority transferred from Armagh County Council to Armagh LVLO/VRO from 1 January 1974; the first registration following the transfer was AIB 7786.
  7. JIB ended at 4400 due to computerisation in 1986, followed by KIB 101.
  8. As of September 2019 the current issue was OXZ.
  9. Authority transferred from Belfast City Council to Belfast LVLO/VRO from 1 January 1974; the first registration following the transfer was GOI 8301.
  10. IOI and OOI were not allocated.
  11. NAZ was deemed inappropriate and will never be issued.
  12. As of January 2021 the current issue was TGZ.
  13. Since 2013, the LTZ series has been used by Transport for London for its New Routemaster buses, which are built in Northern Ireland.
  14. A batch of reverse UZ was issued early in July 1967 for Belfast City Transport.
  15. IJ 1-100 were mixed allocations to all types of vehicles, but thereafter there was a period when motorcycles were segregated in blocks; the following were the motorcycle blocks: IJ 101-150, 201-249, 301-350, 451-500, 551-600, 651-700, 751-800, 851-950, 1001-1100, 1151-1200 and 1251 up, (no information thereafter). Other vehicles took the remaining numbers, but 1000-1050 were, in fact, duplicated.
  16. Authority transferred from Down County Council to Downpatrick LVLO/VRO from 1 January 1974; the first registration following the transfer was in the early FIJ series.
  17. XIJ ended at 3439 due to computerisation in October 1986, followed by YIJ 101.
  18. As of December 2019 the current issue was ESZ.
  19. Authority transferred from Fermanagh County Council to Enniskillen LVLO/VRO from 1 January 1974; the first registration following the transfer was in the late AIL series.
  20. EIL ended at 2423 due to computerisation in October 1986, followed by FIL 101.
  21. KIL was deemed inappropriate and will never be issued.
  22. CIG, NIG and PIG were deemed inappropriate and will never be issued.
  23. As of November 2018 the current issue was UIG.
  24. Authority transferred from Londonderry County Council to Coleraine LVLO/VRO from 1 January 1974; the first registration following the transfer was in the early AIW series.
  25. HIW incomplete due to computerisation in October 1986 (highest normal issue unknown), followed by IIW 101.
  26. As of January 2020 the current issue was AYZ.
  27. Authority transferred from Londonderry County Borough Council to Londonderry LVLO/VRO from 1 January 1974; the first registration following the transfer was AUI 1110.
  28. CUI ended at 7388 due to computerisation in October 1986, followed by DUI 101.
  29. FUI was deemed inappropriate and will never be issued.
  30. As of March 2019 the current issue was XUI.
  31. Authority transferred from Tyrone County Council to Omagh LVLO/VRO from 1 January 1974; the first registration following the transfer was BJI 800.
  32. JJI ended at 4700 due to computerisation in October 1986, followed by KJI 101.
  33. As of November 2019 the current issue was XHZ.
Sources
  1. http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/conventn/Distsigns.pdf
  2. "Northern Ireland vehicle number plates could be set for biggest makeover in 45 years". Belfasttelegraph. Belfast Telegraph. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  3. European Union (3 November 1998). "Council Regulation (EC) No 2411/98 of 3 November 1998 on the recognition in intra-Community traffic of the distinguishing sign of the Member State in which motor vehicles and their trailers are registered". Retrieved 22 October 2007.
  4. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1363/made
  5. http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/conventn/Distsigns.pdf
  6. "Driving in Europe after Brexit: how leaving the EU will affect driving licences". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  7. "Displaying number plates". GOV.UK. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  8. DVLNI (29 January 2009). "V796(NI): Display of Registration Marks for Motor Vehicles" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  9. "FactCheck: Will Northern Ireland drivers have to display GB stickers on their vehicles if driving in Ireland?". thejournal.ie. The Journal Media. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  10. "The Vehicles Excise (Transfer of Functions) (Supplementary Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 1973". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  11. "Vehicle registration from 21 July 2014". nidirect. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  12. "DVA licensing Local Offices official website". dvlni.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  13. "BRZ Number Plates have arrived". Speedy Registrations Blog. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
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