Information on Vehicle Registration Records

Information on Vehicle Registration records

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. For more information about the licensing of cars and other road vehicles, and surviving historical records, see below.

Motor Car Act 1903 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. In Scotland, registration was a function of county councils and town councils of the larger burghs (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow). From 1904 registers were kept of all motorcars and motorcycles (either in combined or parallel registers) and licenses were 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.

Roads Act 1902 In 1919 vehicle registration in the UK was placed under the supervision of the newly formed Ministry of Transport, but the administration system was left in the hands of county and burgh authorities under the Roads Act of 1920 (in Scotland the town councils of Coatbridge, Greenock, Kirkcaldy, Motherwell & Wishaw, and Paisley became licensing authorities). 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 variation 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 The 1969 Vehicle and Driving Licenses Act set up the centralised (and computerised) Driving and Vehicle Licensing Centre (DVLC) in Swansea, South Wales. 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.

www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/archives - 2 - Survival of local registers Local registration offices had been instructed, by the Department of the Environment to transfer their surviving vehicle files to the DVLC in Swansea and to transfer registers to local archives 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, either directly from local taxation offices when they closed, or via police forces, when these disposed of records in the 1980s.

Bibliography 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 (London, 1991)

www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/archives - 3 - 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.

Vehicle Registration County, City or Burgh AG Ayrshire AS Nairnshire AV Aberdeenshire BS Orkney CS Ayrshire DS Peebleshire 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 Renfewshire JS Ross & Cromarty MS Stirlingshire NS Sutherland PS Shetland RG Aberdeen City RS Aberdeen City S Edinburgh City SA Aberdeenshire SB Argyllshire SC Edinburgh City SD Ayrshire SE Banffshire SF Edinburgh City SG Edinburgh City SH Berwickshire SJ Buteshire SK Caithness SM Dumfriesshire SN Dunbartonshire SO Morayshire SP Fife SR Angus SS East Lothian ST Inverness-shire SV Kinross-shire

www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/archives - 4 - SW Kircudbrightshire 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

www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/archives - 5 - Where can I find registration records for former (pre-1978) Scottish vehicle licensing offices?

In most cases, the records listed are registers, but some are the registration cards (compiled under the 1920 Roads Act).

Registration Burgh Surviving Dates Location RG Aberdeen City 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa RS Aberdeen City Presumed Destroyed XB Coatbridge Destroyed TS Dundee City 1904-81 Dundee City Archives TS Dundee City 1921-48 Dundee City Archives FS Edinburgh City 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa S Edinburgh City 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SC Edinburgh City 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SF Edinburgh City 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SG Edinburgh City 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa G Glasgow City 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa GA Glasgow City 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa GB Glasgow City 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa GD Glasgow City 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa GE Glasgow City 1928-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa GG Glasgow City 1930-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa US Glasgow City 1933-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa VS Greenock 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa XA Kirkcaldy Destroyed GM Motherwell & Wishaw 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa XS Paisley 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa

Registration County Surviving Dates Location AV Aberdeenshire 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SA Aberdeenshire 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SR Angus 1903-74 Dundee City Archives SR Angus 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SB Argyllshire 1903-20 Argyll & Bute Archives SB Argyllshire 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa AG Ayrshire Presumed Destroyed CS Ayrshire Presumed Destroyed SD Ayrshire Presumed Destroyed SE Banffshire 1903-38 Moray Heritage Officer SH Berwickshire 1903-46 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SJ Buteshire 1903-31 Glasgow City Archives SK Caithness 1921-48 (cards) Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SK Caithness Not known Registers believed to be in private hands. Enquiries to Highland Council Archives., SL Clackmannanshire Presumed Destroyed SM Dumfriesshire 1903-70 Dumfries & Galloway Archives SM Dumfriesshire 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SN Dunbartonshire 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa

www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/archives - 6 - SS East Lothian 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa FG Fife 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SP Fife 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa ST Inverness-shire 1903-75 Highland Council Archives ST Inverness-shire 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SU Kincardineshire 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SV Kinross-shire 1904-21 Dundee City Archives SW Kircudbrightshire 1903-76 Dumfries & Galloway Archives V Lanarkshire Presumed Destroyed VA Lanarkshire 1922-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa VD Lanarkshire 1930-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SX Linlithgowshire 1904-21 Edinburgh City Archives SX Linlithgowshire 1934-58 Edinburgh City Archives SX Linlithgowshire 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SY Midlothian 1949-52 Edinburgh City Archives SO Morayshire 1903-46 Moray Heritage Officer AS Nairnshire Presumed Destroyed BS Orkney 1904-76 Orkney Archives BS Orkney 1904-60 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa DS Peebleshire Presumed Destroyed ES Perthshire 1909-10 Dundee City Archives ES Perthshire 1904-45 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa GS Perthshire Presumed Destroyed HS Renfewshire 1903-49 Glasgow City Archives JS Ross & Cromarty 1974 Highland Council Archives JS Ross & Cromarty 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa PS Shetland 1904-72 Shetland Archives MS Stirlingshire 1903-20 Stirling Council Archives WG Stirlingshire Presumed Destroyed NS Sutherland 1904-26 Highland Council Archives NS Sutherland 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa SX West Lothian 1904-21 Edinburgh City Archives SX West Lothian 1934-58 Edinburgh City Archives SX West Lothian 1921-48 Kithead Trust, Droitwich Spa

The Kithead Trust Moray’s Heritage De Salis Drive East End School, Hampton Lovett Institution Road, Droitwich Spa Elgin, Moray, Worcs IV30 1RP. WR9 0QE Tel: 01343 569011 Tel: 01905 776681 Fax: 01343 549050 (Enquiries by letter or email to [email protected] only) Email: [email protected]