How do you tell a northern reg from a Uk reg?

Rudolph Claus

I was just wondering.

Max_Damage

Generally a Northern reg. will have the numbers and letters sepetated, ie. SXI 123

As for a UK plate, Wikipedia will tell you all: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_car_number_plates

Nuttzz

NI system 3 letters and number eg PCZ 123

UK system letters an numbers e.g. X 123 ASQ (old way) LJ04QWE (new may)

X as the year it was registered now 04 means jan 04 and 54 means may 04

murphaph

Sometimes it's easy, other times it's nearly impossible. For a start, northern plates have no year index letter like the british system. Northern Ireland uses the original 1904 motor car act system, the last remaining place doing so (we ceased in 1987). If you see a yellow plate with say, OIL 123, the I stands for Ireland. The O is a sequence (ie, just a counter and meaningless apart from that), the L stands for Fermanagh. The 32 counties (plus some ridings like Tipp) were all assigned a letter in 1904 (omitting the letters O, I and Q I think). A was Antrim, B was Armagh, C was Cavan, D was Clare etc. The 123 is just a sequencer too. The likes of Fermanagh, Tyrone, Armagh have still not run out of sequences from the 1904 system while Belfast has registrations like DAZ 123, these were issued in the 1940s in cooperaion with the south which also needed more sequences for Dublin, so you see old Dublin regs with Zs in them too. It's complicated enough. My 1982 Suzuki GSX uses the same system as a modern Fermanagh etc. vehicle would, it's reg is IIT XXX, The first I is a sequencer, the next stands for Ireland and the T stands for Leitrim.

Anan1

Don't forget also that English cars can be registered on NI private plates. Therefore, a car with a Belfast reg may actually be registered in London.

Sparky

a bit OT with regards to irish reg's but this is news to me:

from wikipedia

Currently, the Revenue Commissioners, the Irish Government agency responsible for vehicle registration, are planning to add new codes for the administrative counties currently sharing codes. These are expected to be CK (County Cork), GY (County Galway), DR (Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown), FL (Fingal), and SN (South Dublin) respectively.

PauloMN

murphaph wrote:

Sometimes it's easy, other times it's nearly impossible. For a start, northern plates have no year index letter like the british system. Northern Ireland uses the original 1904 motor car act system, the last remaining place doing so (we ceased in 1987). If you see a yellow plate with say, OIL 123, the I stands for Ireland. The O is a sequence (ie, just a counter and meaningless apart from that), the L stands for Fermanagh. The 32 counties (plus some ridings like Tipp) were all assigned a letter in 1904 (omitting the letters O, I and Q I think). A was Antrim, B was Armagh, C was Cavan, D was Clare etc. The 123 is just a sequencer too. The likes of Fermanagh, Tyrone, Armagh have still not run out of sequences from the 1904 system while Belfast has registrations like DAZ 123, these were issued in the 1940s in cooperaion with the south which also needed more sequences for Dublin, so you see old Dublin regs with Zs in them too. It's complicated enough. My 1982 Suzuki GSX uses the same system as a modern Fermanagh etc. vehicle would, it's reg is IIT XXX, The first I is a sequencer, the next stands for Ireland and the T stands for Leitrim.

I could be wrong on this, but I don't think the 'I' in a reg like OIL 123 stands for Ireland. The two last letters collectively stand for a county e.g. CBZ 1234 is a County Down reg (with the BZ being Down), MIL 1234 is a Fermanagh reg (with the IL being Fermanagh) etc..

Same with the old Republic reg numbers e.g. ZS would have been Dublin e.g. IZS 870, 494 FZL, 83 MZD. Again the last two letters signified county.

PauloMN

Anan1 wrote:

Don't forget also that English cars can be registered on NI private plates. Therefore, a car with a Belfast reg may actually be registered in London.

Yep, I remember QW on Top Gear buying a used 7 series (when it was still current model), at a give away price due to big car depreciation, and sticking on a new customised or NI reg plate so nobody could guess the age of the car - his argument being save a bloody fortune on a current model 7 series and nobody will know you really only bought a car for the same price as a new Fiesta 1.1.

Be nice to be able to do that here.

Rudolph Claus

Is paying thr Vrt on a uk registered car the same as paying it o na Northern Ireland registered car? Can you get the Irish number plate as any county you want when paying the vrt and registering the "foreign" car?

Are there any other issues to be aware of when registering a "uk/northern" car. If theres an existing MOT have you to still get ait nct`d or do you wait till the MOT is up? Thanks.

PauloMN

A NI car is a UK car, VRT is the same regardless of whether you import from NI, Scotland, England, Wales etc..

My understanding on the registration plate is that you would be issued with a registration based on the county in which you register the car. You can insure the car no probs, and drive legally on UK plates for the amount of time allowed to register.

Again, check all the above, it's midnight and I tend to talk crap when I'm tired....

Actually this will help:
http://www.revenue.ie/services/bus_cust5.htm

What are you looking to buy?

Rudolph Claus

I already bought it, tis a civic coupe. Its on uk plates. Has uk spec, air con and a sunroof, elec win mirrors and has an armrest.
Thanks for the replies lads.

Are you sure i can insure it on a uk plate till i pay the vrt. How long do i get to pay that "robbery". Theres an mot til Nov/06 so i shouldnt have to nct it? Not that the nct is a problem, im sure it`ll pass no bother but its just more scammed money as far as im concerned. So the minute i pay the Vrt i then have to pay road tax. :rolleyes: The motorists are running this country. Ha, ha, just re-reading my post, sorry it turned into a rant.

murphaph

PauloMN wrote:

I could be wrong on this, but I don't think the 'I' in a reg like OIL 123 stands for Ireland. The two last letters collectively stand for a county e.g. CBZ 1234 is a County Down reg (with the BZ being Down), MIL 1234 is a Fermanagh reg (with the IL being Fermanagh) etc..

Same with the old Republic reg numbers e.g. ZS would have been Dublin e.g. IZS 870, 494 FZL, 83 MZD. Again the last two letters signified county.

Sorry, you are indeed wrong PauloMN. The examples you gave of Down and Dublin came about in the 1940s or thereabouts when the Z's were released into the system. From here;

The letter 'I' was assigned to Ireland and the 32 counties were then given 33 (because Tipperary is divided into the North & South Ridings) combinations using the letter 'I' in alphabetical order (excluding those with G,I,Q,S & V) thus:

IA = Antrim,
IB = Armagh......
IZ = Mayo,
then
AI = Meath......
NI = Wicklow
and then
OI - WI
were allocated alphabetically to the six major cities.

It would appear that the remaining letters and the 'Z's were divided at a later date between the Irish Free State/ Republic of Ireland (Z - ZZ) and Northern Ireland (AZ - YZ).

A three figure (or four in NI) number was then added to make the 'number plate' and if the number series ran out then a letter was prefixed to the 2 letter code.

Occasionally the sequence was reversed ie
123 ABC.

PauloMN

Nuttzy wrote:

Are you sure i can insure it on a uk plate till i pay the vrt.

Ermm... yeah, but you only have a short time to register it. Did you not insure it as soon as you bought it?

Seth Brundle

Nuttzy wrote:

Are you sure i can insure it on a uk plate till i pay the vrt. How long do i get to pay that "robbery". Theres an mot til Nov/06 so i shouldnt have to nct it? Not that the nct is a problem, im sure it`ll pass no bother but its just more scammed money as far as im concerned. So the minute i pay the Vrt i then have to pay road tax. :rolleyes:

It can be insured on a UK plate but would be easier to Insure it on an irish plate.
Anyhow WRT VRT, you must pay the tax by the end of the next working day after you bring the car in. Apparently random checkpoints are springing up and confiscating unregistered cars so be warned.
As for NCT and MoT - if your car is over 4 years old then an NCT will be rquired, irrespective of whether or not it has an MoT.

MercMad

................the County is which you register the imported car, or any car being registered for the first time in Ireland, has no bearing on the designation you get !

This is solely determined by YOUR address. If you live in Dublin you cannot ask for or recieve anything but a "D" reg currently !

This new system the RC are considering wont happen. there si too much resistance !

magpie

"South Dublin" Reges Brilliant. Do you think they could bring out postcode ones too? I'd love to see all the tossers arguing their case to get a "D4" Reg.

Rudolph Claus

I didnt insure it yet cause my sis is moving into her new house and my current yoke is handier for bringing boxes or such like. I wont be insuring the civic for another month.

Also, i didnt import it, i bought it off a lad privately whos based in the south and has been driving it around on uk plates for the last year.(He lives near the border). THe lad i bought it off never put the car in his name, is this going to complicate things when i go to register it. It has a full Service history and all the paperwork but its in the owners name before the lad i bought it off.

Hmmmm....

PauloMN

Nuttzy wrote:

I didnt insure it yet cause my sis is moving into her new house and my current yoke is handier for bringing boxes or such like. I wont be insuring the civic for another month.

Also, i didnt import it, i bought it off a lad privately whos based in the south and has been driving it around on uk plates for the last year.(He lives near the border). THe lad i bought it off never put the car in his name, is this going to complicate things when i go to register it. It has a full Service history and all the paperwork but its in the owners name before the lad i bought it off.

Hmmmm....

So the guy you bought it off is not the person listed on the V5? Have you got the V5?

This all sounds very very dodgy. Personally I'd have walked away as soon as I got wind of someone in the Republic, who has been driving around for a year on UK plates, selling you a car that technically isn't his to sell.

I won't even ask how you got the car home without insurance.

I hope this all works out for you - I've no idea what's going to be involved now.

Rudolph Claus

I have the V5 but its in the original owners name. The lad i bought it off didnt put it in his name as to avoid paying Vrt. I checked the car out at his house and he drove it up to my house (a half hr away) the next evening as i wouldnt have being insured.

ninty9er

Sparky-s wrote:

a bit OT with regards to irish reg's but this is news to me:

from wikipedia

I wuouldn't worry about it. Wikepedia is a notoriously untrustworthy source, they have incorrect dates for the terms of particular irish governments one of our lectureres told us. She then went on to say that any projects citing wikepedia would be marked down for doing so.

jimmycrackcorm

magpie wrote:

"South Dublin" Reges Brilliant. Do you think they could bring out postcode ones too? I'd love to see all the tossers arguing their case to get a "D4" Reg.

They should insist that all D4 vehicles be registered D24.

Pity that we changed from sharing one thing with our northern neighbours - all Ireland registrations used to be I or Z based prior to 87.

Rudolph Claus

Right folks, i finally got this car taxed, and will have the log book soon. They wouldnt give me the log book until i paid the road tax. Its in the post.
How do i go about Nctìng this car now, will they contact me based on the date of the vrt i paid or do i have to contact the nct. Will the nct`d be backdated or what date will it commence from.
I want to get it nct`d before i stick a new exhaust on her.

comanche

PauloMN wrote:

Yep, I remember QW on Top Gear buying a used 7 series (when it was still current model), at a give away price due to big car depreciation, and sticking on a new customised or NI reg plate so nobody could guess the age of the car - his argument being save a bloody fortune on a current model 7 series and nobody will know you really only bought a car for the same price as a new Fiesta 1.1.

Be nice to be able to do that here.

Not quiet true - you can tell when the car was registered in NI from the first letter - its changes every 6 months.

Fermanagh was IL so this whet from [A-Z]IL. Since it has now gone full circle is has now started as AIG