Vehicle registration records

Vehicle registration began as a consequence of the 1903 Motor Car Act, which introduced measures to help identify both vehicles and their drivers. All motor vehicles had to be registered, and had to display this registration in a prominent place. Responsibility for registration was passed to County and County Borough Councils. Under the 1920 Road Act, councils were required to register every vehicle when licensing and to give each vehicle its own individual number. In 1965, as a result of the increasing number of vehicles the system was centralised in Swansea, with Hull becoming one of 81 regional support offices. Council responsibility for registration ceased in Hull in 1974.

There are three main series of records at the History Centre:

C DPR/1/ One register for early cars (1904-1925)

C DPR/2  Two registers for early cars and motor vehicles (1904-1920)

C DPR/3 individual registration cards for cars and motorcycles (1914-1974), there are 201 boxes in this series so we need to know the year (definitely) and registration (bonus)

These cards record the vehicle registration number, vehicle details (eg. Make, model, engine size etc.) and sometimes transfer details.