The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has officially released the “26” suffix for vehicle number plates, effective January 2, 2026, after a delay in implementing its planned high-tech registration system.

The Authority had intended to introduce new number plates that would drop the year-based suffix and feature Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.

The digital plates were designed to enable electronic scanning for vehicle tracking, road tolling, speed monitoring, and law enforcement.

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However, according to citinewsroom.com, the Director of Corporate Affairs at DVLA, Stephen Attuh, explained that the rollout has been postponed because the necessary amendments to the Road Traffic Regulations (L.I. 2180) were not passed by Parliament before it went on recess.

“The specific regulations in L.I. 2180, which we require to be able to amend before we can introduce the plate, were not successfully passed before Parliament went on recess.

"And so, being a law-guiding institution, that regime must actually be in place before we can roll out the new license plate. In its absence, we are compelled to continue with the current registration system or regime that we have,” Attuh stated.

He confirmed that the Authority has therefore transitioned from the 2025 “25” suffix to the new “26” suffix for all registrations starting January 2.

“So, we’ve moved from the suffix 25, which is for the year 2025, to the suffix 26, which begins today. Instead of the original plan of removing the suffix, unfortunately, because we couldn’t go through, that will not happen until we get the amendment done. Then we can move on to the new system and the new platform and issue those plates,” Attuh added.

The DVLA has assured the public that the modern RFID-enabled plates and the new digital platform will be launched once Parliament reconvenes and passes the required legislative instrument.

Until then, the existing year-suffix system remains in force nationwide.

ID/BAI

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