How To Know The Time Of The Car By Its License Plate

If you have just found out that you can know the time of the car by the registration, do not be surprised because in reality it is possible, you can know the year of registration of the car and with that deduce how old it is and how old it is in circulation. This is very useful especially when we want to check the kilometers that the car has traveled and know if its appearance matches the age it has.

Whether you are a fan of mathematics or a fan of classic cars, you must learn how to know the time of the car by its license plate, in this article we show you how to easily and without complications calculate and determine the year in which a car was registered. car.

What do you need to know the time of the car by its license plate?

• Eager to learn.
• Time to read.
• A registration to consult
• Computer or mobile device.
• Internet connection.
• Good memory.
• Practice.

Methods to know the time of the car by its license plate

Knowing the time of a car is important especially when we consider buying a second-hand car, when we need to appraise it or even when we want to see if its appearance matches its year. There are several methods to find out the year, among them are: Check the date in the vehicle’s technical data sheet, estimate the registration date by checking the vehicle’s registration or even online by consulting the registration with a mobile application or a web page.

Estimate time knowing the history of car license plates

As the first option that you have to know the time of the car by the license plate, there is the estimate by the registration of license plates that has been carried out throughout history. We can know the approximate time because over the years there have been three significant changes in the format of the license plates, so if we know these changes and understand the method of assigning the license plate we can know the time of the car, so that you understand better We explain it to you in steps:

1. The first thing we should know is that in the history of registration formats there have been three changes, which are:
2. Starting from the year 1900 to the year 1971, the license plates had a province identification format that included one to three letters and these letters were followed by six-digit numbers, which did not have leading zeros. This was called numerical provincial. An example is: A-654321.
3. Then there is another format that was born in 1971 and lasted until the year 2000. Here the registration is modified a bit by adding a suffix of one or two letters at the end and instead of having six digits it becomes four. That is, the registration was in this order: One or two letters at the beginning, four digits without leading zeros, and one or two letters at the end. This format was known as alphanumeric provincial. An example is: BB-4321-BB
4. And the final change, the most notable of those that have been made, the one that goes from the year 2000 and that is still in force, the European model, a model in which the letters are eliminated at the beginning, the four digits are left without zeros. forward and up to three letters are added at the end, leaving a format of four digits and three letters at the end, which cannot contain vowels, nor the letter ‘Ñ’ and the letter ‘Q’. An example is: 4321-AAA.

Secondly, we must dedicate a little time to memorize the changes and formats that have been established at different times, remember that it basically looks like this:

1. Numeric provincial format (A-654321), from the year 1900 to the year 1971.
2. Alphanumeric provincial format (BB-4321-BB), from the year 1971 to the year 2000.
3. European model format (4321-AAA), from the year 2000 to the present.
4. Once we memorize and know what the license plate formats have been over the years, we must understand that, in the case of the first format, the letter referred to the province where it was registered and the numbers indicate that the lower the older the car is and the higher the less old. That is, in each province a letter was established that identified it and began to be assigned from the lowest numbers 111111 to the highest 999999.
5. We must also understand that in the second case, as in the first, the first letter referred to the province where the vehicle was registered and the numbers and letters, from smallest to largest, refer to the age of the vehicle. According to the above, there was an identification letter for the province and it began to be assigned from the minor numbers 1111 and the letters AA to the numbers 9999 and the letters ZZ.
6. In the last method, we understand that the letters that identified the provinces do not exist. Only the idea of ​​assigning the numbers and letters from lowest to highest is followed, so the higher they are, the more recent the vehicle registration will be.
7. Once we can understand all these aspects of the license plate formats, every time we see the license plate of a car, regardless of the format, we will be able to know the estimated time of the vehicle, knowing that the formats have a specific time and that during that time they left Assigning the registrations from lowest to highest.

Check the time of the car directly with a request to the DGT of the registration date

Another of the options that you have to find out the time of the car through the license plate, is consulting the information directly to the DGT, it is a good option, especially since it may be the case that you need the exact time of the vehicle and the conditions of the same. It should be noted that there is a report that can be requested for free and another that is paid, depending on what you need, you can request the paid report, but if you are only interested in knowing the time of the car and its status, just request the free one, To request it you must follow the following steps:

1. The first thing we should have on hand is a computer or mobile device with an Internet connection.
2. We must also have an electronic certificate installed in our browser or, failing that, a Cl@ve identification.
3. Once we have the above at hand, what follows will be to go to the page of the electronic headquarters of the DGT: sede.dgt.gob.es
4. Once there you must select the ‘PROCEDURES AND FINES’ section, then in the ‘Your car’ section select ‘Vehicle report’ and, finally, in the ‘What means do you have to request the report?’ choose the one you have.
5. After you identify yourself, you must enter the license plate you want to consult, the vehicle chassis or the NIVE and also the reason for which you are making the consultation.
6. In the last step, you will need to download the report and open it on your computer or mobile device.

Consult the pages or websites that offer the information

As a quick option, easier than the first and less detailed than the second, we can check the time of the vehicle by its license plate on web pages that offer a calculator that accurately gives the year of registration of a vehicle. It is an easy and simple method that we can access if we have a computer or a mobile device with an Internet connection, the steps you must follow are:

1. As we already mentioned, the first thing we should have on hand is a computer or mobile device with an Internet connection.
2. Then, we must locate ourselves in our preferred search engine and look for a site to consult the time of the car by license plate.
3. Our search engine will throw us several options and we must choose one.
4. These sites generally have in common that they offer options depending on the formats of the license plates.
5. In them you must first select the type of registration, depending on the case, you can choose: Provincial numerical format (A-654321), from the year 1900 to the year 1971;  Alphanumeric provincial format (BB-4321-BB), from year 1971 to year 2000; European model format (4321-AAA), from the year 2000 to the present.
6. Subsequently, you must enter the registration you want to consult according to the format.
7. And finally, wait for the system to give you the requested information.

Tips to know the time of the car by its license plate

• The idea of ​​learning to identify the time a car has just by looking at its license plate is very good, we have explained how to do it in three effective ways and as you have been able to notice, the third method is perhaps the fastest of all, the second is the one that be more reliable and detailed and the first one that we will always have available whether or not we have an Internet connection, but it is good that you keep these recommendations in mind so that you do not get confused:
• There is the possibility that a car is re-registered and in that case it will be impossible to check the time of the car by the license plate, so we recommend that you make sure and verify if a vehicle has been re-registered to know the exact time.
• If we find a re-registered car, the ideal is to request a detailed report from the DGT of the vehicle or resort to the vehicle’s technical file or the circulation permit.

You already know something new, you have learned how to know the time of the car by its license plate, now every time you see the license plate of a car you will have a quick idea of ​​what time it has! And you will be able to buy and sell a car with more guarantees when valuing the vehicle.