Nearside or offside? Which side you need
On a UK car, nearside (N/S) is the passenger side, the left as you sit in the driver's seat, and offside (O/S) is the driver's side, the right. Nearside means nearest the kerb, offside means furthest from it. Doors, mirrors, headlights, tail lights and wings are all handed, so the side is the first thing to get right. Here is the table, the memory trick and how the labels appear in part listings.
Nearside and offside at a glance: which is left and which is right?
The table below is everything most buyers need. It applies to every right-hand-drive car registered in the UK, whatever the make. Read it sitting in the driver's seat facing forward, because that is the only reference point the trade uses.
| Term | Abbreviation | Side of car (UK) | Seat | Also written as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nearside | N/S, NS, N/S/F, N/S/R | Left | Passenger side | LH, Left hand, Passenger |
| Offside | O/S, OS, O/S/F, O/S/R | Right | Driver's side | RH, Right hand, Driver |
So N/S/F is nearside front (front passenger side) and O/S/R is offside rear (rear driver's side). A nearside front door on a Ford Focus is the front passenger door. An offside headlight is the one in front of the driver. If a listing says only "left" or "right", it means the same thing as nearside and offside, viewed from the driver's seat.
What do nearside and offside actually mean?
The words come from the kerb, not from where you happen to be standing. Nearside is the side nearest the kerb when the car is parked normally on a UK road, which is the left. Offside is the side away from the kerb, out towards the traffic, which is the right. Because the UK drives on the left, nearside and passenger side always mean the same thing here, and offside and driver's side always mean the same thing. The terms never flip when you walk round to the front of the car and look back at it. That is the whole point of using them instead of "the left one as I look at it", which is where most wrong orders start.
How do I work out which side I need without getting confused?
Sit in the driver's seat and face forward. Your right hand points to the offside, your left hand to the nearside. Everything follows from that. The driver's door is offside front. The front passenger door is nearside front. The headlight in front of you as the driver is the offside headlight. If you are standing in front of the car looking at the bonnet, the sides appear reversed, so do not trust that view. If you are ordering for someone else, ask them "driver's side or passenger side?" and translate: driver's side is offside, passenger side is nearside. Write the answer on the old part with a marker before you take it off, because a bare mirror or light unit looks almost identical from the other side once it is on the bench.
How do sides appear in used part listings?
You will see several labels for the same side, often mixed within one listing, because breakers copy what the manufacturer or the trade uses. Our own titles show this. A Jaguar XE mirror is listed as "N/S PASSENGER WING MIRROR" and its pair as "O/S DRIVER WING MIRROR". A Vauxhall Corsa headlight is "LH PASSENGER SIDE" and the other is "RH DRIVER SIDE". A Mercedes C-Class rear lamp is "N/S" and "LH" in the same title. All of these are consistent: N/S, LH, left and passenger belong together, and O/S, RH, right and driver belong together. The one label to treat with care is a bare "L" or "R" with no other word, which some sellers write from the front of the car. If a listing shows only that, ask which seat it is nearest before you buy.
Does left-hand drive change nearside and offside?
The kerb rule still applies abroad, but the sides swap relative to the driver, and the parts themselves can differ. A left-hand-drive car's headlights have a beam pattern that dips to the right, which fails a UK MOT, and its dashboard, wiper arms and some mirrors are mirror images of the UK items. So if you see a listing marked LHD, as with our BMW E90 E91 left side mirror 7182695 marked "(LHD)", it is for an imported or export car, not a normal UK one. On a UK right-hand-drive car you want RHD parts and then the correct side. If you are unsure whether a part is RHD, send us your registration and we will check.
Which car parts are handed, and which are not?
Handed parts come in a nearside and an offside version that are not interchangeable: doors, wing mirrors and mirror glass, headlights, tail lights, front wings, door handles, window regulators, door cards, suspension arms and many trims. Parts that are usually the same whichever side you need include bonnets, boot lids, tailgates, bumpers, grilles and most engine and gearbox components. Colour matters for panels as well as side. Our titles carry the paint code where known, such as a BMW 5 Series F10 front door in Alpine White 300 or a Vauxhall Corsa D bumper in Black Sapphire Z20R, so match the code on your car's VIN plate as well as the side.
What we usually have in stock for handed parts
Stock changes daily as cars arrive and parts sell, so treat this as a snapshot of the type of handed items we carry. Each has the manufacturer part number in the title and the side spelt out.
- Jaguar XE X760 nearside passenger wing mirror, Polaris White, 21285001
- Jaguar XE X760 offside driver wing mirror, Polaris White, 21285002
- BMW 5 Series E60 E61 LCI nearside left headlight 7177729
- Vauxhall Corsa D headlight LH passenger side 95511329
- Vauxhall Corsa D headlight RH driver side 13392708
- Peugeot 508 headlight LH passenger side 9678393380
- Mercedes C-Class W204 saloon tail light N/S LH 2049060403
- Mercedes B-Class W245 N/S passenger tail light A1698202564
- Mercedes B-Class W245 O/S driver tail light A1698202664
- Vauxhall Insignia tailgate tail light passenger side 22950969 and driver side 22950970
Browse what is live now in lighting, glass, mirrors and wipers and body and exterior. For model-specific side guides see our Vauxhall Corsa wing mirror guide and BMW 3 Series door guide.
Buy with confidence
Every part we sell comes off a known donor car, is inspected before listing, and is photographed so you see the actual item, with the side and part number in the title. Tracked UK delivery on every order, free on most parts (panels, engines and gearboxes carry a charge shown on the product page), and 30 day returns if it is not right. Order before 2pm on a working day for same-day dispatch. Send us your registration and the part you need and we will confirm fitment, including the side, before you buy. Parts worth your trust.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between nearside and offside?
Nearside is the side of the car nearest the kerb, which on a UK right-hand-drive car is the left, the passenger side. Offside is the side furthest from the kerb, the right, the driver's side. The terms describe the car itself, not the way you are facing, so they do not change when you walk round the vehicle.
Is nearside left or right in the UK?
Nearside is left on a UK car. Sit in the driver's seat facing forward and your left hand points to the nearside, the passenger side. Your right hand points to the offside, the driver's side. In part listings nearside is written N/S or LH, and offside is written O/S or RH.
What do N/S/F and O/S/R mean on a part listing?
N/S/F is nearside front, the front passenger side. O/S/R is offside rear, the rear driver's side. Breakers use these to pinpoint one of the four corners of the car. A nearside front door, for example, is the front passenger door, and an offside rear light is the rear light on the driver's side.
Does left-hand drive change nearside and offside?
The kerb rule still holds but the sides swap relative to the driver, and some parts differ. Left-hand-drive headlights have the wrong beam pattern for the UK and fail an MOT. On a UK car you want right-hand-drive parts in the correct side. If a listing is marked LHD it is for an imported car.
Which car parts are handed?
Doors, wing mirrors and glass, headlights, tail lights, front wings, door handles, window regulators and many trims are side-specific. Bonnets, tailgates, bumpers and grilles usually are not. If you are unsure, send us your registration and the side you need and we will confirm before you buy.