• Search tip: for exact phrase use "quotation marks" or for all words use +
  • More search tips here

                  Where can I find registration records for former (pre-1978) Scottish vehicle licensing offices?

                  Not all the vehicle registration records still survive.  Some can be found in local authority archives services and the Kithead Trust holds some records. <https://kitheadtrust.org.uk/ > [accessed 26 April 2024]. The following information is taken from Philip Riden, How to Trace the History of Your Car: a guide to motor vehicle registration records in Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man and The Channel Islands (Merton Priory Press, 1998). In most cases the records listed are registers, but some are the registration cards (compiled under the 1920 Roads Act). For further details see Riden

                  County vehicle registration records

                  Aberdeenshire

                  Records for index marks AV and SA, 1921-48, with Kithead Trust.

                  Angus

                  Registers for index marks SR, 1903-74, are with Dundee City Archives, other records for index marks SR, 1921-48 with Kithead Trust.

                  Argyllshire

                  Registers for index marks SB, 1903-20, with Argyll & Bute Archives, other records for index marks SB, 1921-48, with Kithead Trust.

                  Ayrshire

                  All registration records for index marks AG, CS, and SD presumed destroyed.

                  Banffshire

                  Registers for index marks SE, location unknown.

                  Berwickshire

                  Records for index marks SH, 1903-46, with Kithead Trust.

                  Buteshire

                  Registers for index marks SJ, 1903-31, with Glasgow City Archives.

                  Caithness

                  Record cards index marks SK, 1921-48, with Kithead Trust. Registers for index marks SK are  believed to be in private hands. Enquiries to Highland Archive Service.

                  Clackmannanshire

                  All registration records for index marks SL presumed destroyed.

                  Dumfriesshire

                  Registers for index marks SM, 1903-70, with Dumfries & Galloway Archives, other records for index marks SM, 1921-48, with Kithead Trust.

                  Dunbartonshire

                  Records for index marks SN, 1921-48, with Kithead Trust.

                  East Lothian

                  Records for index marks SS, 1921-48, with Kithead Trust.

                  Fife

                  Records for index marks FG and SP, 1921-48, with Kithead Trust.

                  Forfarshire (see Angus)

                  Haddingtonshire (see East Lothian).

                  Inverness-shire

                  Registers for index marks ST, 1903-75, with Highland Archive Service, other records for index marks ST, 1921-48, with Kithead Trust.

                  Kincardineshire

                  Records for index marks SU, 1921-48, with Kithead Trust.

                  Kinross-shire

                  Registers for index marks SV, 1904-52, with Perth & Kinross Archives. But note that SV is a popular registration because it appears to have been issued for re-registered vehicles for vehicles before 1931 (vintage) and for vehicles between 1931 and 1963. Perth & Kinross Archives do not hold information on re-registrations.

                  Kirkcudbrightshire

                  Registers for index marks SW, 1903-76, with Dumfries & Galloway Archives.

                  Lanarkshire

                  Records for index marks VA, 1922-48, and VD, 1930-48, with Kithead Trust. All records for index marks V presumed destroyed.

                  Linlithgowshire (see W Lothian)

                  Midlothian

                  Records for index marks SY, 1949-52, with Edinburgh City Archives.

                  Morayshire

                  Registers for index marks SO, 1903-46, with Moray Heritage Officer.

                  Nairnshire

                  All records for index marks AS presumed destroyed.

                  Orkney

                  Registers for index marks BS, 1904-76, with Orkney Archives. Other records for index marks BS, 1904-60, with Kithead Trust.

                  Peebleshire

                  All records for index marks DS presumed destroyed.

                  Perthshire

                  Records for index marks ES, c.1904-1920s, with Perth & Kinross Archives. Other records for index marks ES, 1904-45, with Kithead Trust. All records for index marks GS presumed destroyed.

                  Renfrewshire

                  Registers for index marks HS, 1903-49, with Glasgow City Archives.

                  Ross & Cromarty

                  Records for index marks JS, 1974, Highland Archive Service, other records for index marks JS, 1921-48, with Kithead Trust.

                  Shetland

                  Registers for index marks PS, 1904-72, with Shetland Archives.

                  Stirlingshire

                  Registers for index marks MS, 1903-20, with Stirling Council Archives. All records for index marks WG presumed destroyed.

                  Sutherland

                  Registers for index marks NS, 1904-26, with Highland Archive Service, other records for index marks NS, 1921-48, with Kithead Trust.

                  West Lothian

                  Records for index marks SX, 1904-21 and 1934-58, with Edinburgh City Archives, other records for index marks SX, 1921-48, with Kithead Trust.

                  Wigtownshire

                  Registers, 1904-1973, are held by Stranraer Museum, The Old Town Hall, George Street, Stranraer DG9 7JP.

                  Burgh vehicle registration records

                  Burgh (Index mark) Surviving Dates Location of records
                  Aberdeen (RG) 1921-48 Kithead Trust
                  Aberdeen (RS) Presumed Destroyed
                  Coatbridge (XB) Destroyed
                  Dundee (TS) 1904-81 Dundee City Archives*
                  Dundee (YJ) 1932-1964 Dundee City Archives
                  Edinburgh (FS) 1921-48 Kithead Trust
                  Edinburgh (S) 1921-48 Kithead Trust
                  Edinburgh (SC) 1921-48 Kithead Trust
                  Edinburgh (SF) 1921-48 Kithead Trust
                  Edinburgh (SG) 1921-48 Kithead Trust
                  Glasgow (G) 1921-48 Kithead Trust
                  Glasgow (GA) 1921-48 Kithead Trust
                  Glasgow (GB) 1921-48 Kithead Trust
                  Glasgow (GD) 1921-48 Kithead Trust
                  Glasgow (GE) 1928-48 Kithead Trust
                  Glasgow (GG) 1930-48 Kithead Trust
                  Glasgow (US) 1933-48 Kithead Trust
                  Greenock (VS) 1921-48 Kithead Trust
                  Kirkcaldy (XA) Destroyed
                  Motherwell & Wishaw (GM) 1921-48 Kithead Trust
                  Paisley (XS) 1921-48 Kithead Trust

                  *Published as Dundee Motor Registrations TS1 – TS1000, ed. by J.G.L. Wright, (Friends of Dundee City Archives, 2003)

                  How can I tell where a car was registered from its pre-1978 registration plate?

                  The following is a list of Scottish motor vehicle registrations. For other British and Irish vehicle registration index marks consult Philip Riden, How to Trace the History of Your Car: a guide to motor vehicle registration records in Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man And The Channel Islands (Merton Priory Press, 1998).

                  Vehicle Registration County, City or Burgh
                  AG Ayrshire
                  AS Nairnshire
                  AV Aberdeenshire
                  BS Orkney
                  CS Ayrshire
                  DS Peeblesshire
                  ES Perthshire
                  FG Fife
                  FS Edinburgh City
                  G Glasgow City
                  GA Glasgow City
                  GB Glasgow City
                  GD Glasgow City
                  GE Glasgow City
                  GG Glasgow City
                  GM Motherwell & Wishaw Burgh
                  GS Perthshire
                  HS Renfrewshire
                  JS Ross & Cromarty
                  MS Stirlingshire
                  NS Sutherland
                  PS Shetland
                  RG Aberdeen City
                  RS Aberdeen City
                  S Edinburgh City
                  SA Aberdeenshire
                  SB Argyll
                  (but note that there was a fashion for owners of cars manufactured by the Argyll Motor Company of Glasgow to register them in Argyll regardless of where their owners lived)
                  SC Edinburgh City
                  SD Ayrshire
                  SE Banffshire
                  SF Edinburgh City
                  SG Edinburgh City
                  SH Berwickshire
                  SJ Buteshire
                  SK Caithness
                  SL Clackmannanshire
                  SM Dumfriesshire
                  SN Dunbartonshire
                  SO Morayshire
                  SP Fife
                  SR Angus
                  SS East Lothian
                  ST Inverness-shire
                  SU Kincardineshire
                  SV Kinross-shire
                  (But note that SV is a popular registration because it appears to have been issued for re-registered vehicles for vehicles before 1931 (vintage) and for vehicles between 1931 and 1963.
                  SW Kirkcudbrightshire
                  SY Midlothian
                  TS Dundee City
                  US Glasgow City
                  V Lanarkshire
                  VA Lanarkshire
                  VD Lanarkshire
                  VS Greenock Burgh
                  WG Stirlingshire
                  XA Kirkcaldy Burgh (from 1960s, previously allocated to London)
                  XB Coatbridge Burgh (from 1960s, previously allocated to London)
                  XS Paisley Burgh
                  YJ Dundee City (from 1932)

                  What sort of information will a vehicle or licensing register for a county or burgh tell me about a vehicle and its owner(s)?

                  If the vehicle licensing register for a county or burgh survives, it may contain quite a lot of useful information, or it may contain very little. The problem is that, after the Roads Act of 1920, record keeping by licensing authorities became gradually less standardised. Some authorities kept registers faithfully, while others merely listed the registration number without any other details (putting more efforts into keeping the card record system).

                  The registers themselves are usually quite bulky. Where information has been entered consistently and competently, there are lots of details, such as the name and address of the licensee, the type of vehicle, and subsequent changes in registration.