How to find the year and location from a pre-87 car?

Unless the ZV had a prefix letter, it's a used import.

*ZK was in Cork anyway. Before that ZT, two letters on their own plus number 1950s.

Deleted User wrote: »

Why is ZV obviously a UK car? In 1986 somebody I know bought a new car and it was an AI registration, registered in Meath. All Irish car registrations before 1987 had letters as part of their reg. Is there a year and geographical guide online to pre-1987 Irish car registrations?

Because ZV wasn't ever used for new cars and so was only issued for imports.

jca wrote: »

....Only the letters I and Z were used for Ireland.

It was more that no mainland UK plates contained I or Z to differentiate them from Ireland.

Charles Babbage wrote: »

Because ZV wasn't ever used for new cars and so was only issued for imports.

ZV was used in Dublin with a prefix letter. AZV 1 was issued in March 1985 and the series continued until YZV 999 in Jan 1986.

(There used to be a Hino tipper truck around my area still earning its keep up until a few years ago with a HZV plate).

Carlow CC: IC

IC 1 to IC 99991 (Dec 1903 – Apr 1964).
AIC 1 to YIC 994 (Apr 1964 – Dec 1986).
1 A duplicate series of IC for cars and motorcycles existed prior to 1921.

Cavan CC: ID

ID 1 to ID 9999 (Jan 1904 – Jul 1958).
AID 1 to ZID 999 (Jul 1958 – Dec 1976).
1 ID to 9999 ID (Dec 1976 – Feb 1981).
1 AID to 906 IID (Feb 1981 – Dec 1986).

Clare CC: IE

IE 1 to IE 99992 (Jan 1904 – Mar 1959).
AIE 1 to ZIE 999 (Mar 1959 – Nov 1974).
1 IE to 9999 IE (Nov 1974 – Sep 1978).
1 AIE to 107 XIE (Sep 1978 – Dec 1986).
2 A duplicate series of IE for cars and motorcycles existed prior to 1921.

Cork CC: (in original issuing sequence) IF ZB ZK ZT

IF 1 to IF 9999 (Dec 1903 – Apr 1935);
ZB 1 to ZB 9999 (Apr 1935 – Apr 1949);
ZK 1 to ZK 9999 (Apr 1949 – May 1953);
ZT 1 to ZT 9999 (May 1953 – Dec 1955).
AIF 1 to ZIF 999 (Dec 1955 – Apr 1962);
AZB 1 to YZB 999 (Apr 1962 – Aug 1966);
AZK 1 to YZK 999 (Aug 1966 – Aug 1970);
AZT 1 to YZT 999 (Aug 1970 – Nov 1973).
1 IF to 9999 IF (Nov 1973 – May 1975);
1 ZB to 9999 ZB (May 1975 – Jul 1976);
1 ZK to 9999 ZK (Jul 1976 – Aug 1977);
1 ZT to 9999 ZT (Aug 1977 – Jun 1978).
1 AIF to 999 ZIF (Jun 1978 – Sep 1980);
1 AZB to 999 YZB (Sep 1980 – Jun 1983);
1 AZK to 999 PZK (Jun 1983 – Aug 1985);
1 RZK to 999 YZK (Aug 1985 – May 1986).
In June 1974 Cork County Council and Cork County Borough Council set up a joint motor taxation authority, administered by the County Council. However, separate registers continued in use for the County and the County Borough until the expiry of reverse ZPI in August 1985. See below for the sequences issued covering both areas. Marks in italics are after the merger.

Cork City: (in original issuing sequence) PI ZF

PI 1 to PI 9999 (Dec 1903 – Aug 1946);
ZF 1 to ZF 9999 (Aug 1946 – Dec 1958).
API 1 to ZPI 999 (Dec 1958 – Feb 1970);
AZF 1 to YZF 999 (Feb 1970 – Mar 1976).
1 PI to 9999 PI (Mar 1976 – Jun 1978);
1 ZF to 9999 ZF (Jun 1978 – Feb 1980).
1 API to 999 ZPI (Feb 1980 – Aug 1985).
In June 1974 Cork County Council and Cork County Borough Council set up a joint motor taxation authority, administered by the County Council. However, separate registers continued in use for the County and the County Borough until the expiry of reverse ZPI in August 1985. See below for the sequences issued covering both areas.
Cork County and County Borough Joint Office: (in issuing sequence) reverse 3-letter sequences of (R)ZK ZF

1 RZK to 999 YZK (Aug 1985 – May 1986);
1 AZF to 542 FZF (May 1986 – Dec 1986).

Donegal CC: (in original issuing sequence) IH ZP

IH 1 to IH 99993 (Dec 1903 – Jan 1952);
ZP 1 to ZP 9999 (Jan 1952 – Nov 1961).
AIH 1 to ZIH 999 (Nov 1961 – Apr 1976);
AZP 1 to ZZP 4074 (Apr 1976 – Feb 1982).
408 IH to 9999 IH (Feb 1982 – Apr 1985);
1 ZP to 4853 ZP (Apr 1985 – Dec 1986).
3 A duplicate series of IH for cars and motorcycles existed prior to 1921.
4 ZZP was not authorised by SR&O (Statutory Rules & Orders) and was issued in error – no retrospective SR&O was issued to legitimise its issue. When the error was discovered ZZP was terminated at 407; in consequence the next series (reverse IH) commenced at 408.

Dublin CC (until 1952): (in original issuing sequence) IK Z ZE

IK 1 to IK 99995 (Dec 1903 – Mar 1927);
Z 1 to Z 9999 (Mar 1927 – Sep 1938);
ZE 1 to ZE 9999 (Sep 1938 – Feb 1952).
5 A duplicate series of IK for cars and motorcycles existed prior to 1921.
In February 1952 Dublin County Council and Dublin County Borough Council set up a joint motor taxation authority. The joint office was administered by Dublin County Borough Council. See below for subsequent issues.

Dublin City (until 1952): (in original issuing sequence) RI YI ZI ZA ZC ZD ZH ZJ ZL

RI 1 to RI 99996 (Dec 1903 – Apr 1921);
YI 1 to YI 9999 (Apr 1921 – Mar 1927);
ZI 1 to ZI 9999 (Mar 1927 – May 1933);
ZA 1 to ZA 9999 (May 1933 – Mar 1937);
ZC 1 to ZC 9999 (Mar 1937 – Jan 1940);
ZD 1 to ZD 9999 (Jan 1940 – Jan 1947);
ZH 1 to ZH 9999 (Jan 1947 – Jan 1949);
ZJ 1 to ZJ 9999 (Jan 1949 – Jul 1950);
ZL 1 to ZL 9999 (Jul 1950 – Feb 1952).
6 A duplicate series up to RI 3000 for cars and motorcycles existed prior to 1921.
In February 1952 Dublin County Council and Dublin County Borough Council set up a joint motor taxation authority. The joint office was administered by Dublin County Borough Council. See below for subsequent issues.

Dublin County and County Borough Joint Office (from February 1952): (in original issuing sequence) forward 2-letter sequences of ZO ZU; then forward 3-letter combinations of RI IK YI ZA ZC ZD ZE ZH ZI ZJ ZL ZO ZU; then reverse 2-letter sequences of RI IK YI Z ZA ZC ZD ZE ZH ZI ZJ ZL ZO ZU; then reverse 3-letter combinations of RI IK YI ZA ZC ZD ZE ZH ZI ZJ ZL ZO ZU; then forward 3-letter combinations of SI ZG ZS ZV; then forward 2-letter sequences of SI ZG ZS ZV.

ZO 1 to ZO 9999 (Feb 1952 – May 1953);
ZU 1 to ZU 9999 (May 1953 – May 1954).
ARI 1 to YRI 9997 (May 1954 – Sep 1955);
AIK 1 to ZIK 9998 (Sep 1955 – Nov 1957);
AYI 1 to YYI 9999 (Nov 1957 – Oct 1959);
AZA 1 to YZA 999 (Oct 1959 – Jan 1961);
AZC 1 to YZC 999 (Jan 1961 – Apr 1962);
AZD 1 to YZD 999 (Apr 1962 – May 1963);
AZE 1 to YZE 999 (May 1963 – Jun 1964);
AZH 1 to YZH 999 (Jun 1964 – May 1965);
AZI 1 to YZI 999 (May 1965 – Jun 1966);
AZJ 1 to YZJ 999 (Jun 1966 – Jun 1967);
AZL 1 to YZL 999 (Jun 1967 – May 1968);
AZO 1 to YZO 999 (May 1968 – Mar 1969);
AZU 1 to YZU 999 (Mar 1969 – Feb 1970).
1 RI to 9999 RI (Feb – May 1970);
1 IK to 9999 IK (May – Sep 1970);
1 YI to 9999 YI (Sep 1970 – Feb 1971);
1 Z to 9999 Z (Feb – Jun 1971);
1 ZA to 9999 ZA (Jun – Oct 1971);
1 ZC to 9999 ZC (Oct 1971 – Mar 1972);
1 ZD to 9999 ZD (Mar – Jun 1972);
1 ZE to 9999 ZE (Jun – Oct 1972);
1 ZH to 9999 ZH (Oct 1972 – Feb 1973);
1 ZI to 9999 ZI (Feb – May 1973);
1 ZJ to 9999 ZJ (May – Aug 1973);
1 ZL to 9999 ZL (Aug – Dec 1973);
1 ZO to 9999 ZO (Dec 1973 – Apr 1974);
1 ZU to 9999 ZU (Apr – Jul 1974).
1 ARI to 999 YRI7 (Jul 1974 – May 1975);
1 AIK to 999 ZIK8 (May 1975 – Mar 1976);
1 AYI to 999 YYI9 (Mar 1976 – Jan 1977);
1 AZA to 999 YZA (Jan – Aug 1977);
1 AZC to 999 YZC (Aug 1977 – Mar 1978);
1 AZD to 999 YZD (Mar – Sep 1978);
1 AZE to 999 YZE (Sep 1978 – Apr 1979);
1 AZH to 999 YZH (Apr – Oct 1979);
1 AZI to 999 YZI (Oct 1979 – Apr 1980);
1 AZJ to 999 YZJ (Apr 1980 – Jan 1981);
1 AZL to 999 YZL (Jan – May 1981);
1 AZO to 999 YZO (May 1981 – Jan 1982);
1 AZU to 999 YZU (Jan – Aug 1982).
ASI 1 to ZSI 999 (Aug 1982 – Jun 1983);
AZG 1 to YZG 999 (Jun 1983 – May 1984);
AZS 1 to YZS 999 (May 1984 – Mar 1985);
AZV 1 to YZV 999 (Mar 1985 – Jan 1986).
SI 1 to SI 9999 (Jan – Apr 1986);
ZG 1 to ZG 9999 (Apr – Jul 1986);
ZS 1 to ZS 8709 (Jul – Dec 1986);
ZV 110 and up (1989? - present).
7 GRI, IRI, SRI, VRI and ZRI (both original and reverse format) were not issued.
8 GIK, SIK and VIK (both original and reverse format) were not issued.
9 ZIK (both original and reverse format) were not issued.
10 Forward 2-letter sequences of ZV were issued as an alternative to the current scheme for vehicles older than 30-years for the first time in Ireland, and also issued countrywide.
International circulations (from April 1925): ZZ

ZZ 1 to ZZ 9999 (Apr 1925 – Mar 1983);
1 ZZ to 9999 ZZ (Mar 1983 – Mar 1989);
ZZ 1000011 and up (circa Mar 1989 - present).
11 Some reserved number blocks issued out of sequence within main block.

Galway CC: (in original issuing sequence) IM ZM

IM 1 to IM 9999 (Jan 1904 – Oct 1950);
ZM 1 to ZM 9999 (Oct 1950 – Nov 1959).
AIM 1 to ZIM 999 (Nov 1959 – May 1970);
AZM 1 to YZM 999 (May 1970 – Aug 1976).
1 IM to 9999 IM (Aug 1976 – Apr 1978);
1 ZM to 9999 ZM (Apr 1978 – Oct 1979).
1 AIM to 999 ZIM (Oct 1979 – Feb 1985);
1 AZM to 797 GZM (Feb 1985 – Dec 1986).
Kerry CC: (in original issuing sequence) IN ZX

IN 1 to IN 9999 (Dec 1903 – Jan 1954);
ZX 1 to ZX 9999 (Jan 1954 – Jan 1962).
AIN 1 to ZIN 999 (Jan 1962 – Jan 1973);
AZX 1 to YZX 999 (Jan 1973 – Jun 1979).
1 IN to 9999 IN (Jun 1979 – Jan 1982);
1 ZX to 9999 ZX (Jan 1982 – Jan 1986).
1 AIN to 375 CIN (Jan – Dec 1986).

Kildare CC: (in original issuing sequence) IO ZW

IO 1 to IO 9999 (Dec 1903 – Jun 1953);
ZW 1 to ZW 9999 (Jun 1953 – Apr 1963).
AIO 1 to ZIO 99912 (Apr 1963 – Mar 1976);
AZW 1 to YZW 999 (Mar 1976 – May 1983).
1 ZW to 9343 ZW (May 1983 – Dec 1986).
12 IIO and OIO were not issued.

Kilkenny CC: IP

IP 1 to IP 9999 (Jan 1904 – Feb 1955);
AIP 1 to ZIP 99913 (Feb 1955 – Jul 1974).
1 IP to 9999 IP (Jul 1974 – Oct 1978);
1 AIP to 235 UIP13 (Oct 1978 – Dec 1986).
13 GIP, KIP were not issued in original format, RIP were not issued in reverse format.

Laoighis CC (County Council of Queens County renamed Laoighis (alternative spellings Laois and Leix) in June 1922): CI

CI 1 to CI 9999 (Dec 1903 – Jul 1960).
ACI 1 to ZCI 999 (Jul 1960 – Apr 1981).
1 CI to 7342 CI (Apr 1981 – Dec 1986).

Leitrim CC: IT

IT 1 to IT 999914 (Dec 1903 – May 1972).
AIT 1 to KIT 780 (May 1972 – Dec 1986).
14 A duplicate series of IT for cars and motorcycles existed prior to 1921.

Limerick CC: IU IV

IU 1 to IU 9999 (Dec 1903 – Nov 1954).
AIU 1 to ZIU 99915 (Nov 1954 – Sep 1971).
1 IU to 9999 IU (Sep 1971 – May 1975).
1 AIU to 999 ZIU15 (May 1975 – Feb 1982)(note reverse GIU not issued).
AIV 1 to OIV 52016 (Feb 1982 – Dec 1986).
15 GIU (both original and reverse format) were not issued; JIU 111 issued early in December 1961 – main JIU sequence commenced April 1962.
16 IIV and MIV were not issued.

Limerick City: TI

TI 1 to TI 9999 (Jan 1904 – Oct 1959).
ATI 1 to ZTI 999 (Oct 1959 – Mar 1977).
1 TI to 9999 TI (Mar 1977 – Jan 1982).
1 ATI to 929 FTI (Jan 1982 – Dec 1986).

Longford CC: IX

IX 1 to IX 9999 (Dec 1903 – Feb 1970).
AIX 1 to PIX 710 (Feb 1970 – Dec 1986).

Louth CC: (in original issuing sequence) IY ZY

IY 1 to IY 9999 (Dec 1903 – Oct 1954);
ZY 1 to ZY 9999 (Oct 1954 – Jan 1964).
AIY 1 to ZIY 999 (Jan 1964 – Oct 1976);
AZY 1 to YZY 999 (Oct 1976 – Sep 1985).
101 ZY to 2507 ZY (Sep 1985 – Dec 1986).

Mayo CC: IZ IS

IZ 1 to IZ 9999 (Jan 1904 – Oct 1954).
AIZ 1 to ZIZ 99917 (Oct 1954 – May 1971).
1 IZ to 9999 IZ (May 1971 – Feb 1976).
1 AIZ to 999 ZIZ17 (Feb 1976 – Apr 1983).
AIS 1 to HIS 990 (Apr 1983 – Dec 1986).
17 GIZ (both original and reversed format) were not issued.

Meath CC: (in original issuing sequence) AI ZN

AI 1 to AI 9999 (Dec 1903 – Sep 1951);
ZN 1 to ZN 9999 (Sep 1951 – Feb 1962).
AAI 1 to ZAI 999 (Feb 1962 – Jun 1975);
AZN 1 to YZN 999 (Jun 1975 – Oct 1982).
1 AI to 9999 AI (Oct 1982 – Dec 1986);
10 ZN to 88 ZN (Dec 1986).

Monaghan CC: BI

BI 1 to BI 9999 (Dec 1903 – Mar 1961).
ABI 1 to ZBI 999 (Mar 1961 – Oct 1981).
1 BI to 6540 BI (Oct 1981 – Dec 1986).

Offaly CC (County Council of Kings County, renamed Offaly in June 1922): IR

IR 1 to IR 9999 (Jan 1904 – May 1960).
AIR 1 to ZIR 999 (May 1960 – Mar 1981).
1 IR to 7834 IR (Mar 1981 – Dec 1986).

Roscommon CC: DI

DI 1 to DI 999918 (Dec 1903 – Jan 1963).
ADI 1 to ZDI 999 (Jan 1963 – Apr 1980).
1 DI to 9999 DI (Apr 1980 – Feb 1986).
100 ADI to 292 BDI (Feb – Dec 1986).
18 A duplicate series of DI for cars and motorcycles existed prior to 1921.

Sligo CC: EI

EI 1 to EI 9999 (Dec 1903 – Nov 1959).
AEI 1 to ZEI 999 (Nov 1959 – Feb 1980).
1 EI to 9999 EI (Feb 1980 – Apr 1986).
1 AEI to 835 AEI (Apr – Dec 1986).

Tipperary North Riding CC: FI

FI 1 to FI 999919 (Dec 1903 – Jan 1958).
AFI 1 to ZFI 99920 (Jan 1958 – May 1977).
1 FI to 9999 FI (May 1977 – Jan 1981).
1 AFI to 418 JFI (Jan 1981 – Dec 1986).
19 FI 1-50 issued for cars only; then duplicate series for cars and motorcycles from FI 51 up, until 1920.
20 The series with the prefix JFI never issued although the series with the suffix JFI was issued. ZFI was not authorised by SR&O (Statutory Rules & Orders) No.128, issued 18 May 1967 and was issued in error, commencing Dec 1976. SR&O No.128 only authorised the blocks KFI-PFI and RFI-YFI. No retrospective SR&O was issued to legitimise ZFI's issue.

Tipperary South Riding CC: HI GI

HI 1 to HI 999921 (Dec 1903 – Sep 1954).
AHI 1 to ZHI 999 (Sep 1954 – Nov 1971).
1 HI to 9999 HI21 (Nov 1971 – May 1976).
1 AHI to 999 ZHI (May 1976 – May 1985).
AGI 1 to CGI 871 (May 1985 – Dec 1986).
21 GHI and IHI (both original and reversed format) were not issued.

Waterford CC: KI

KI 1 to KI 9999 (Jan 1904 – Mar 1961).
AKI 1 to ZKI 999 (Mar 1961 – Jul 1979).
1 KI to 9999 KI (Jul 1979 – Jun 1986).
1 AKI to 586 AKI (Jun – Dec 1986).

Waterford City: WI

WI 1 to WI 9999 (Jan 1904 – Jan 1966).
AWI 1 to WWI 80 (Jan 1966 – Dec 1986).

Westmeath CC: LI

LI 1 to LI 9999 (Dec 1903 – Jun 1959).
ALI 1 to ZLI 999 (Jun 1959 – Aug 1978).
1 LI to 9999 LI (Aug 1978 – Feb 1983).
1 ALI to 869 GLI (Feb 1983 – Dec 1986).

Wexford CC: (in original issuing sequence) MI ZR

MI 1 to MI 999922 (Jan 1904 – Jan 1952);
ZR 1 to ZR 9999 (Jan 1952 – May 1961).
AMI 1 to YMI 99923 (May 1961 – Jul 1973);
AZR 1 to YZR 999 (Jul 1973 – Jun 1980).
1 MI to 9999 MI (Jun 1980 – Oct 1983);
1 ZR to 8071 ZR (Oct 1983 – Dec 1986).
22 MI 9922-9999 were issued by the Police in 1921 as a consequence of The Road Vehicles (Defaulting Councils)(Ireland) Order, 1921.
23 ZMI were not issued.

Wicklow CC: NI

NI 1 to NI 9999 (Jan 1904 – May 1957).
ANI 1 to ZNI 99924 (May 1957 – May 1975).
1 NI to 9999 NI (May 1975 – Mar 1979).
1 ANI to 426 TNI (Mar 1979 – Dec 1986).

This is often right, put in reg here and year field fills itself out.

https://www.carsireland.ie/add.php

And to find the county use Macplaxtons lists...

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=75629769

I have an old photograph, probably from the late 1920s, showing a man on a motorbike. Is there any way I can find out to whom the bike was registered then?

Cars registered in NI will usually have 3 letters and up to 4 digits afaik. One of the 3 letters will be 'I' or 'Z'. You will never see those letters on a GB reg plate.

Were they NI format plates?

IIRC one was in a GB format like AB123 AZP on a yellow plate. The other was a simple 1234 ZP type reg on a black plate (on a modern motorbike).

The reg "Bnnn *SB" is a GB (not NI) reg - B=Aug '84 -> Jul '85 & SB=Strathclyde in Scotland

Was it exported before September 1979? If so the Irish Government must have managed to get it back (on loan?) for the duration of the Pope JP II visit. It dates from August 1971.