About HO12 HMJ
Current style
HO12 HMJ is a current-style registration, the format the DVLA has issued since September 2001. The first two letters, HO, are the memory tag, and H is the region letter for Hampshire and Dorset.
The number 12 is the age identifier for March 2012, so this plate can go on any vehicle first registered on or after 1 March 2012. 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.