About SM17 HBE
Current style
SM17 HBE is a current-style registration, the format the DVLA has issued since September 2001. The first two letters, SM, are the memory tag, and S is the region letter for Scotland.
The number 17 is the age identifier for March 2017, so this plate can go on any vehicle first registered on or after 1 March 2017. A registration can never make a vehicle look newer than it is, so it cannot go on anything older.
Private registrations move between owners through the DVLA: once a price is agreed, the registration can go straight onto your vehicle, or be held on a retention certificate until you are ready to use it.