Catalogue description REGISTERS OF MOTOR VEHICLES

See also CC/C-F 2/5/1-8

For road locomotive licences, 1880-1891, see Q/AA6

Registration marks for the period 1903 to 1932 were allocated in the sequence D, KT, KN, KE, KK, KL, KM, KO, KP, KR and KJ. Generally, numbers are shown consecutively within the series but, on occasion, an earlier number is repeated - probably as the result of an owner paying a fee to retain a registration mark.

Initially, motor cars and motor cycles were recorded in separate registers and a third, parallel, series was introduced in March 1905 for heavy motor cars (CC/C-F/L/1/1, CC/C-F/L/1/2 and CC/C-F/L/1/3 respectively). Numbers for all of these were issued consecutively, as required, and not in blocks for specific classifications.

A separate series was used by the Kent County Council for "trade plates" issued to motor traders (CC/C-F/L/1/4) having the letters DG preceding the numbers, unlike modern trade plates where the letters follow the figures. This may lead to some confusion as the series DG was also allocated for use in Gloucestershire in 1930.

From 1921 it appears that only one series of registers was used for all classes of motor vehicles (CC/C-F/L/1/5). It seems possible, from the sequence of numbers, that register no. 9, for heavy motor cars (CC/C-F/L/1/3/9) should, in fact, be included in this general series following CC/C-F/L/1/5/1. It has not been possible to verify this, however, and as the register is undated and gives only minimal information, it has been included in the series indicated by its title.

With the introduction of three letter registration marks in 1933, a more standardised procedure was adopted. The series of registration marks allocated to the Kent County Council Licences Department were used in the alphabetical order KE; KJ; KK; KL; KM; KN; KO; KP; KR; and KT. These pairs of letters formed the second and third letters of the three-letter series and were preceeded by the letters A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,R,S,T,U,V,W,X and Y. Thus the initial series were AKE, AKJ, AKK, AKL, AKM, AKN, AKO, AKP, AKR, AKT, BKE, BKK, etc.

The letters I, Q and Z were not used on any occasion as they had special significance. The letter O was not used when the figures preceeded the letters to avoid the risk of confusing the figure "O" with the letter "O" (258 OKP could have been read as 2580 KP) but this exclusion was not applied in some other counties' licencing offices until the inevitable confusion occurred.

When the three letters followed by figures series had been completed the order was reversed and registration numbers consisted of figures followed by letters. The mark YKT999 was followed by 1 AKE, the letter series being used as before with the exception noted above. On completion of the three letter series two letter (reversed) series were used. Only four such pairs of letters were available, the others having been used for trade plates (See below).

The introduction of registration marks incorporating suffix letters to denote years of registration was staggered throughout the country. Kent was allocated September 1964 as its commencement date but the "two letter reverse" series were all issued before this time and it was decided to use the original letter D in the reversed form to bridge the gap.

The suffix letter series commenced in 1963, Middlesex being the first county to adopt the new system. Originally the suffix letter indicated the year of registration (A = 1963, B = 1964, etc.) but in August 1967, at the request of the motor trade, the date on which the letter changes annually was altered from 1 January to 1 August. In 1967, therefore, the suffix letters E and F were both used.

The first three letters of the mark maintained the same sequence as before (AKE - AKT, BKE - BKT etc.) and the suffix letters progressed separately. When the YKE - YKT series was reached, the suffix letter in use was J; both sequences changed together and YKR/J was followed by AKE/K (YKT/J was not used). I, O and Q were excluded from the series proposed for use as suffix letters. The sequence of marks continued until the issue of new registration numbers became the responsibility of the Department of the Environment's Driving and Vehicle Licencing Centre and Local Vehicle Licencing Offices on the 1 October 1974.

The practice of transferring "cherished" registration marks resulted in the need for replacement marks on vehicles the subject of such transfers. Normally sufficient marks were reserved at the end of each suffix letter period to permit "donor" vehicles to receive marks appropriate to the date of first registration, but all vehicles first registered in or before 1964 received marks with the suffix letter 'B'. As a result insufficient marks were available and two new series (YKT/B and UKE/B) were created. It should be noted that for a short time, pre-1964 vehicles received replacement marks consisting of four figures followed by D but this was discontinued for technical reasons. The last mark so issued was 6718D [NOTE: The four volumes catalogued under the reference CC/C-F/L/1/11 do not contain details of every replacement mark. Lists of replacement marks appear in the last register for every suffix letter series and single entries can be found in many of the other registers].

The original DG trade plate series was discontinued in 1921 and new series, using the same pairs of numbers as already in use for normal registrations, were introduced. The new trade plates were coloured red and white instead of black and white, the "colours" used on ordinary number plates, and each bore a distinctive number - three figures followed by two letters. (To ensure that three figures were always used, prefix zeros were added when necessary, the first such number being 001 KE). For this reason only the letter pairs KM, KO, KP and KR were later available for use as normal reverse order registration marks.

Vehicles imported into this country on a temporary basis were permitted to use their national marks for up to twelve months from the date of importation, although the period of "free" motoring granted by the International Circulation Permit ("I. C. P.") that had to be displayed instead of a licence disc, was limited to a total of 90 days in any specified period (believed to be 12 or 18 months from the date of first importation during that period). Thus a visitor who spent sixty days in this country in Spring would receive only a 30 day permit if he returned in the Autumn. Vehicles without valid I. C. P's were licenced at the normal rate of duty and the national registration mark of the vehicle's country of origin followed by the internationally agreed identification letter was shown on the licence disc. Details of these imported vehicles were at first recorded on the last page of the register currently in use but later the details were recorded in special registers. If the vehicle had not been re-exported after twelve months, the "keeper and user" was instructed to apply for permanent British registration. When the I. C. P. system was discontinued a different method of recording imported vehicles was introduced.

Entries in registers vary in the amount of information recorded. Some contain owners names and addresses, others just names. Early registers record types of bodies and colours and omit chassis or serial numbers whereas the last registers include chassis numbers but omit all other description except the make. All registers, however, show the date of first registration which from 1921 is the date on which the first licence issued for the vehicle came into force. It must therefore be noted that a date of registration has no significance when determining the age of a vehicle; a German vehicle, for example, built in 1951 and imported in 1956 would have a date of registration in 1956 whilst even more extreme examples occurred during the 1970's when vehicles manufactured before 1910 were registered in this country for the first time and received registration marks with suffix letters. The entries in the catalogue show the years during which registration marks were being issued.

The date of registration, as already stated, is the date on which the first licence issued for the vehicle came into force. It was the usual practice of motor trades to obtain registration marks in advance, either as a block of numbers (usually in multiples of five) or singly with the name of the prospective owner and the make of the vehicle being specified. For this reason there can be wide variation between the dates of registration of vehicles with registration marks in the same series but, unlike some other Authorities, the Kent County Council Licences Department did not permit marks to remain outstanding indefinitely. It was the usual practice to remind dealers holding marks in one series when the next but one series was taken into use and unused marks would then be cancelled. Many of the deposited registers therefore show the word CANCELLED instead of vehicle details. In the event of the registration of a vehicle being cancelled after the issue of the first licence, if the vehicle had not been used on public roads under the mark, the mark was considered available for re-use and the details recorded in the register could be altered. If the mark was not re-used the word VOID may appear in the register. Registration of vehicles that had been used could not be cancelled under any circumstances.