Vehicle Registration
From 1904 until the setting up of the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Centre (DVLC) in 1978, local councils in Scotland carried out road vehicle licensing.
1903-1920
The registration of road vehicles had been envisaged in the last decades of the nineteenth century, primarily to aid the policing of speed limits laid down in acts of parliament concerning roads. However, a registration system for motor vehicles was not implemented until 1903, under the Motor Car Act.[1] In Scotland registration was a function of county councils and town councils of the four largest burghs (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow). From 1904 registers were kept of all motorcars and motorcycles (either in combined or in parallel registers) and licenses were to be issued to drivers (although no driving test was required). Number plates had to be attached to the front and rear of each vehicle, and these carried a combination of letters and numbers, which identified the county or burgh of registration. In Scotland all registration numbers included the letters G, S or V.
1920-1969
In 1919 vehicle registration in the UK was placed under the supervision of the newly formed Ministry of Transport, but the administration of the system was left in the hands of county and burgh authorities under the Roads Act of 1920.[2] In Scotland the town councils of Coatbridge, Greenock, Kirkcaldy, Motherwell & Wishaw, and Paisley became licensing authorities in addition to the county councils and the four cities: the qualification was set as a population over 50,000. The act confirmed the letter ‘S’ as a vehicle identifier specific to Scotland, but the letters G and V were no longer to be applied solely to Scottish registrations. Separate registers for motorcycles were abolished. Record keeping changed. In addition to the bound register(s) of cars, motorbikes and licenses issued, registration authorities were now to keep a record card for each registration mark, and a file on each vehicle. Although this made vehicle identification easier, the triplication of record keeping led to local variations in how records were kept, and in most cases the quality of information entered in bound registers began to deteriorate, as local authorities put most effort into keeping and updating the file and card records.
National Registration System, 1969-1978
The 1969 Vehicle and Driving Licences Act set up the centralised (and computerised) Driving and Vehicle Licensing Centre (DVLC) in Swansea, South Wales, which became the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in 1990. The transition from local record keeping to national registration was supposed to have been completed by 1975, but local record keeping in some areas continued until 31 March 1978. The transition period coincided with the reorganisation of local authorities in Scotland (and England and Wales) and this was to have a serious effect on the preservation of the historical registers and other records.
Survival of Local Registers
Local registration offices were instructed, by the Department of the Environment, to transfer their surviving vehicle files to the DVLC in Swansea and to transfer registers to local archive services. However, during the transition period in the mid-1970s, few Scottish local authorities maintained a professional archive service, and those that did were heavily involved in the reorganisation of local government. Those local archive services that did exist made attempts in the 1970s and 1980s to locate and preserve surviving local registers and other registration records with varying degrees of success. Some managed to acquire them directly from local vehicle taxation offices. In many cases the survival of records from former counties and burghs was depressingly poor. Some registration offices may have destroyed records during their winding-up. Others may have been casualties of the reorganisation of local government administration. Others appear to have been transferred to Scottish police forces, some of which, in turn, destroyed them in the 1980s. Some records passed into private hands, either directly from local taxation offices when they closed, or via police forces, when these disposed of records in the 1980s. For a list of surviving local records see the Frequently Asked Question 1 below.
Contributors: Robin Urquhart (SCAN, 2002); Robert Steward and Christine Lodge (both Highland Council Archives, 2002); Steve Connelly (Perth & Kinross Council Archives, 2002); Iain Flett (Dundee City Archives, 2002).
Bibliography
Riden, Philip, 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).
Dundee Motor Registrations TS1 – TS1000, ed by J.G.L. Wright, (Friends of Dundee City Archives, 2003)
References
[1] Motor Car Act 1903 (3 Edw VII c.36).
[2] Roads Act 1920 (10 & 11 Geo V c.72).
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.