What year is a 23 plate?
A 23 plate was issued between 1 March 2023 and 31 August 2023. That is a six-month window, not a year — UK identifiers change every March and September.
The window
| Issued from | 1 March 2023 |
|---|---|
| Issued until | 31 August 2023 |
| Half-year | The March issue |
| Came after | the 72 plate |
| Replaced by | the 73 plate |
On the plate it sits in the middle: two letters, then
23, then three more letters — AB23 CDE.
The first two letters are the
DVLA area code, which
says where the mark was issued. The last three are random and carry
nothing at all.
Why 23 and not the year itself
A March identifier is simply the last two digits of the year, so 23 ran from 1 March 2023 to 31 August 2023. The full chart has every identifier in the scheme, along with the prefix and suffix styles that came before 2001.
23 plates on the record
An age identifier is enough to search on its own — it pins two
characters of the mark, the same as typing
??23???. Every vehicle below comes from the DVSA
MOT record, with its make, model, colour, fuel and latest MOT
status.
- Every 23 plate on the record
- Black cars on a 23 plate
- Fords on a 23 plate
- The same half-year typed as a pattern
The breakdown under any of those groups the result by marque, paint or area — so which colours sold that half-year, and which marques, is a click rather than a separate search.
Common questions
What year is a 23 plate?
A 23 plate was issued between 1 March 2023 and 31 August 2023. Identifiers change twice a year, so a 23 plate names that six-month window rather than a whole year.
When did the 23 plate come out?
The 23 plate came out on 1 March 2023. UK identifiers change on 1 March and 1 September each year, and this one was issued to new vehicles until 31 August 2023. The 73 plate followed it.
Can you get a 23 plate now?
New vehicles were given the 23 identifier only while it was being issued, between 1 March 2023 and 31 August 2023. You can still buy a 23 plate on a used vehicle, and a private mark can be transferred at any time — but a mark cannot be made newer than the vehicle wearing it.
Is a 23 or a 73 plate newer?
The 73 plate is newer, by six months. A September identifier is the March one plus 50, so both belong to the same year: 23 was issued from 1 March 2023 and 73 from 1 September 2023.
What is a 23 number plate?
It is an ordinary current-style UK registration whose two middle digits are 23 — two letters, two digits, three letters, as in AB23 CDE. The first two letters are the DVLA area code and the 23 is the age identifier; the last three letters carry nothing.
How old is a 23 plate car?
It was first registered between 1 March 2023 and 31 August 2023, so count from there. The plate dates the registration rather than the build, and a car built shortly before a changeover is normally sold on the newer identifier.
Either side of it
- What year is a 72 plate? — the half-year before
- What year is a 73 plate? — the half-year after
- Every identifier, with the months it covers
- What the first two letters mean
An age identifier is enough to search on its own.