Your Guide to Number Plates in NSW From Regular to Revved Up
Reg Plates ArticleYour Guide to Number Plates in NSW From Regular to Revved Up

Driving in NSW? Understanding your number plates is key! This guide demystifies the world of NSW vehicle registration, covering everything from standard plates to personalized picks.
Standard Issue: Seeing Green (and Black)
Most NSW cars sport the classic green and black plates. These standard issue plates display a three-letter, three-number combination followed by the NSW state abbreviation. They're assigned randomly upon vehicle registration and can't be chosen, but hey, who knows, maybe you'll snag a lucky sequence!
Going Custom: Personalized Plates for Personality
Craving a plate that reflects your personality or passions? Dive into the realm of personalized plates! Choose from:
Slogan plates: Express yourself with pre-defined slogans like "Beach Bum" or "Foodie."
Custom combinations: Design your own three-letter, four-number combo, letting your creativity shine.
Anniversary, club, or hobby plates: Show your love for sports, clubs, or special occasions with dedicated plate series.
Charity plates: Support a cause close to your heart with designated charity plates, a portion of the fee going to your chosen organization.
Remember, personalized plates come with an additional fee and availability checks are crucial. Don't forget, your chosen combination shouldn't be offensive or misleading!
More Than Just Display: Regulations and Responsibilities
Number plates aren't just decoration. They play a vital role in vehicle identification and must be:
Clearly visible: Both front and rear plates need to be clean, unobscured, and readable from 20 meters away. Fancy covers? Only clear, untinted ones allowed.
Securely mounted: Plates should be upright and parallel to the vehicle's axles, not exceeding 1.3 meters above ground. Wobbly plates won't fly!
Legally yours: Don't transfer plates between vehicles without proper authorization. Lost or stolen plates? Report them promptly.
Ordering, Renewing, and Beyond: Getting Your Plate Needs Sorted
Ready to order your standard or personalized plates? Service NSW makes it easy online or at service centers. Renewals are a breeze online too. Need replacements? Lost plates? The Service NSW website has you covered.
Fun Facts for the Road Warriors
Did you know? NSW plates used to be blue and white! The switch to green happened in 1976.
There are over 16 million possible personalized plate combinations, so get creative!
Special heritage plates celebrate iconic NSW symbols like the Sydney Opera House.
Whether you're a regular rider or a personalized plate enthusiast, this guide equips you with the knowledge to navigate the world of NSW vehicle registration. So buckle up, choose your plates, and hit the road with confidence!
How close a series of letters or numbers are to a real name of word: if the match quality is high (and the numbers and letters are very convincing in making a popular word), the value of the registration plate will be higher. This means that a match like 5IMON, for the name Simon, will be worth a lot more than a more obscure set of letters and numbers that are not as convincing a match, such as S17 MMM for the name Sam.
The style of the plate: this means establishing if it is a new-style plate, an older-style format or if it is dateless or Irish, for instance. Other options are that it is a prefix-style plate or a suffix-style plate. New-style number plates, which have been produced since 2001, tend to be the least valuable because they are a bit less appealing to some collectors, plus the rule about not having plates that are newer than your car can also come into play, putting people off from buying a newer-style plate for their older car. Prefix-style number plates, which were in production between 1983 and 2001 can be more popular as more vehicles are entitled to have those licence numbers, and they may have fewer characters in total. Suffix-style plates, issued from 1963 to 1983 are relatively rare, which means they can attract higher prices than prefix-style plates and newer designs. Dateless number plates, also known as cherished number plates, were produced between 1903 and 1963 and are nearly always the most valuable number plate configurations; they have fewer digits and their dateless nature means that people can hide the age of their car. Irish number plates are similar to dateless number plates, especially because they don’t have a year identifier. They also tend to be cheaper than other types of vehicle registration plates.
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