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Quiz about British Vehicle Registrations

British Vehicle Registrations Trivia Quiz

Since 2001

New format vehicle registrations were introduced in Great Britain in 2001. The first two letters indicate which licensing office issued the plate, so can you match the letters to the area to which they apply?
This is a renovated/adopted version of an old quiz by author btpriest

A matching quiz by rossian. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
rossian

Time
3 mins

Type
Match Quiz

Quiz #
73,061

Updated
Oct 05 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
109

Last 3 plays: GoodVibe (4/10), FREEDOM49 (10/10), sw11 (10/10).

(a) Drag-and-drop from the right to the left, or (b) click on a right side answer box and then on a left side box to move it.

Questions		Choices
1. Cardiff		SR
2. Norwich		WS
3. Chelmsford		RH
4. Bristol		YL
5. Reading		EV
6. Chester		PV
7. Dundee		NB
8. Sheffield		CD
9. Carlisle		AR
10. Newcastle		DH

Select each answer

Most Recent Scores

Dec 15 2024 : GoodVibe: 4/10
Nov 03 2024 : FREEDOM49: 10/10
Nov 03 2024 : sw11: 10/10
Oct 28 2024 : Guest 51: 0/10

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Cardiff

Answer: CD

The first letter does have a meaning related to the area, but it isn't always obvious. In this instance, the C doesn't refer to Cardiff but to Cymru, the Welsh name for Wales. All Welsh number plates start with C, with CA to CO inclusive meaning the vehicle was registered in Cardiff. CP to CV are Swansea while CW, CX and CY are Bangor.

2. Norwich

Answer: AR

All A plates are associated with Anglia, the eastern part of England. Norwich registers cars with plates with AO to AU, AA to AN means Peterborough is the registration office while AV to AY are Ipswich. Note too that Z is not used by any area as the second letter and nor is Q.

3. Chelmsford

Answer: EV

You might have thought that E meant the east, but it actually stands for Essex. Chelmsford is the only registration centre in the area so all plates beginning with E are registered there. G plates, which I haven't used in the quiz, are from Kent as the nickname of the county is the Garden of England.

4. Bristol

Answer: WS

If the number starts with W, it means the car was registered in the west country at one of three offices located in Exeter, Truro or Bristol. Truro just has WK and WL, as it is a small city, Exeter plates range from WA to WJ while Bristol, being the largest city, issues plates from WM to WY.

5. Reading

Answer: RH

In this instance, the R really does reflect the name. Reading, in Berkshire, is the only registration office so all plates beginning with R, from RA to RY are recorded there. No starting letters include the letter I, either at the beginning or the end, to avoid confusion with the number one.

6. Chester

Answer: DH

Chester registered vehicles have number plates starting with the letter D, referring to Deeside as the River Dee runs nearby. Plates from DA to DK are registered in Chester while DL to DY means the vehicle was registered in Shrewsbury, in Shropshire - the region is described as Deeside to Shrewsbury.

7. Dundee

Answer: SR

Any vehicle with a number plate starting with S was registered in Scotland, where there are five cities with offices. Glasgow issues plates beginning SA to SJ while Edinburgh uses SK to SO. SP to ST inclusive means the vehicle was registered in Dundee, Aberdeen has SU, SV and SW while Inverness has the final two - SX and SY.

8. Sheffield

Answer: YL

Y plates come from Yorkshire, with Sheffield issuing YL to YU, Beverley YV to YY and the earlier letters come from Leeds. H plates refer, logically enough, to Hampshire and Dorset, issued from Bournemouth and Portsmouth. HW refers only to vehicles from the Isle of Wight.

9. Carlisle

Answer: PV

Numbers starting with P relate to Preston or Carlisle. Preston has the major share, issuing PA to PT inclusive with Preston using the rest, including PV. Plates starting with O come from Oxford, including, appropriately, OX, while, more obscurely, Worcester issues all plates beginning with V based on being in the Severn Valley area.

10. Newcastle

Answer: NB

N means north rather than Newcastle, although the office there does issue most of the plates, from NA to NO with the remainder relating to Stockton.

Other, more obvious, plates are B for Birmingham which issues all of them and M for Manchester, covering Manchester and Merseyside. L is London.

Source: Author rossian

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

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British Vehicle Registrations Trivia Quiz

Since 2001

New format vehicle registrations were introduced in Great Britain in 2001. The first two letters indicate which licensing office issued the plate, so can you match the letters to the area to which they apply? This is a renovated/adopted version of an old quiz by author btpriest

New format vehicle registrations were introduced in Great Britain in 2001. The first two letters indicate which licensing office issued the plate, so can you match the letters to the area to which they apply?
This is a renovated/adopted version of an old quiz by author btpriest