Number plates
Legal UK number plate requirements
Checked on 10 September 2026.GOV.UK, Rules for number plates (as of 10 September 2026)
What does a legal UK number plate have to look like?
Black characters in the mandatory Charles Wright font on a reflective background, white at the front and yellow at the rear, at the published character size and spacing, with the supplier's name and postcode and the British Standard number displayed.
GOV.UK, checked on 10 September 2026, says the plates must be made from a reflective material, must not have a background pattern, must be marked to show who supplied them, and must carry a British Standard number. That number is BS AU 145e for plates fitted after 1 September 2021. The characters must not be removable or reflective. If the plates were fitted after 1 September 2021 they must also be a single shade of black.
Plates may have 3D raised characters, certain flags with a national identifier, and a green flash if the vehicle is zero emission. Everything else on the plate is outside the published list. INF104, the DVLA leaflet the rules page points to for height and size, is the source for the millimetre table below.
What are the character and spacing measurements?
The current-format plate introduced on 1 September 2001 is two letters for the memory tag, two numbers for the age identifier, a space, then three random letters. INF104 sets the character height, width, stroke and the gaps between those groups. The figure 1 and the letter I are the published exceptions to the 50mm width, because a full-width stroke would turn them into different characters.
| Dimension | Size |
|---|---|
| Character height | 79mm |
| Character width, except the figure 1 and the letter I | 50mm |
| Character stroke width | 14mm |
| Space between characters | 11mm |
| Space between groups | 33mm |
| Top, bottom and side margins | 11mm |
What does illegal spacing look like?
The prescribed gap between characters is 11mm and the gap between groups is 33mm. Move those gaps and the mark no longer matches the registration on the V5C. INF104 gives fixing bolts that change a letter as the published example of misrepresentation. Closing the group gap so a current-format mark reads as a name is the same offence, and it is the one private-plate buyers get caught on.
Example
A current-format mark spaced so the groups no longer match
- Registration on the V5C
- AB75 CDE
- Legal group gap
- 33mm between 75 and CDE
- Illegal display
- AB7 5CDE, bunched to look like a word
- The legal plate keeps 11mm between every character and 33mm between the age identifier and the three random letters.
- Moving the gap so the plate reads as AB7 5CDE changes how a camera and a person parse the mark.
- GOV.UK treats that as rearranging or altering the registration so it is hard to read.
The plate is illegal to display. The maximum fine is £1,000, the vehicle can fail its MOT, and DVLA can withdraw the registration.
What makes a plate fail a camera or an MOT?
Automatic number plate recognition needs the prescribed font, colour, reflectivity and spacing. Anything that changes how a character is read is what a roadside check is looking for. GOV.UK puts the consequence in one line: you could be fined up to £1,000 and your vehicle will fail its MOT if you drive with incorrectly displayed number plates.
- Altered spacing. Moving characters so the mark reads as a name or a word is the commonest failure and the one that risks losing the registration outright.
- Non standard characters. Italic, script and any font other than Charles Wright, and any character with a shadow or an outline.
- Screws, bolts or fixings placed so they change a character. A bolt turning an F into an E is treated as misrepresenting the mark.
- Tinted, mesh or reflective covers over the plate, which are not permitted at all.
- A background pattern, or characters that are removable or reflective.
- Two-tone or shaded characters on a plate fitted after 1 September 2021, which must be a single shade of black.
- Layered 4D acrylic characters whose shadow changes how a camera reads the letter.
Who must supply the plates, and how do I replace a pair?
You can only get a number plate made up from a registered number plate supplier. GOV.UK lists the usual reasons: the plate has been lost, damaged or stolen, you are importing a car to the UK, or you have purchased a personalised registration. The supplier sets the retail price and the production time. Government does not publish either figure.
The supplier will need to see original documents that prove your name and address, and a document that shows you are allowed to use the registration number. Photocopies are not the published route. A driving licence, a utility, Council Tax or rates bill from the last 6 months, a bank or building society statement from the last 6 months, or a national identity card will confirm name and address. A passport, a debit or credit card, a police warrant card or an armed forces identity card confirms name only.
- Find a registered number plate supplier. GOV.UK keeps the search on the displaying number plates guide.
- Take original proof of identity and address, not a photograph of the document.
- Take an entitlement document: the V5C or V5CNI, the green new keeper slip, a V750 or V778, a V11 tax or SORN reminder, or one of the other documents GOV.UK lists.
- If you are importing the vehicle, take the entitlement document DVLA issued for the UK registration. A foreign plate is not a UK plate.
- Check that plates fitted after 1 September 2021 show BS AU 145e, the supplier or manufacturer mark, and the name and postcode of the supplying outlet.
- Fit the plates before the vehicle is driven. A legal registration on the V5C does not make an illegal physical plate legal.
Which flags can sit on the left-hand band?
The left-hand band may carry one of four flags, with identifying letters beneath the flag. GOV.UK names the Union flag, the Cross of St George, the Cross of St Andrew also known as the Saltire, and the Red Dragon of Wales. The letters, or national identifiers, you can have are UNITED KINGDOM, United Kingdom or UK; GREAT BRITAIN, Great Britain or GB; CYMRU, Cymru, CYM or Cym; ENGLAND, England, ENG or Eng; SCOTLAND, Scotland, SCO or Sco; and WALES or Wales.
The flag must be above the identifier. You cannot have the flag or letters on the number plate margin, and neither can be more than 50 millimetres wide. No other badge, crest or logo is permitted in the band or anywhere else on the plate. There is no published Northern Ireland flag or identifier for the band. A Scottish or Welsh flag is a choice of display, not a change of the registration itself.
You do not need a separate UK sticker when driving outside the UK if the plate has the UK identifier with the Union flag. You must display a UK sticker if the plate has numbers and letters only, a GB identifier with the Union flag, a European Union flag, or a national flag of England, Scotland or Wales. You must display a UK sticker in Spain, Cyprus and Malta no matter what is on the plate. You do not need one in Ireland no matter what is on the plate. Do not put the sticker on the number plate.
- The left hand band may carry the Union flag, the Cross of St George, the Saltire or the Red Dragon of Wales.
- Beneath the flag the identifier may be UK, GB, ENG, ENGLAND, SCO, SCOTLAND, CYM, CYMRU, WALES or the equivalent mixed-case form GOV.UK lists.
- The UK identifier replaced GB for driving abroad, and a vehicle without one on the plate needs a UK sticker.
- No other badge, crest or logo is permitted in the band or anywhere else on the plate.
When can a plate have a green flash or traditional black faces?
A zero-emission vehicle may display a green flash on the left-hand side. That is optional. INF104 dates the permission from 8 December 2020. The rest of the plate still has to meet the size, spacing, reflectivity and British Standard rules. GOV.UK does not publish a disabled persons flash or identifier for number plates.
Vehicles manufactured after 1 January 1973 must display reflective plates, white at the front and yellow at the rear, with black letters and numbers. Vehicles manufactured before 1 January 1973 may display traditional black and white number plates, for example white, silver or grey characters on a black plate. From April 2020, vehicles manufactured before 1 January 1980 that are registered in the historic vehicles tax class, and whose keeper has applied to DVLA, may also display that traditional style. A later car cannot wear black plates to look older.
What do motorcycles, tricycles and trailers have to show?
Motorcycles and motor tricycles registered on or after 1 September 2001 must only display a number plate at the rear of the vehicle. If the motorcycle or tricycle was registered before 1 September 2001 you can also display a number plate at the front, but you do not have to. Motorcycle and motor tricycle numbers should be on two lines.
A trailer must display the same number plate as the vehicle you are towing it with. If you are towing more than one trailer, the number plate must be fixed to the trailer at the back. If the trailer needs to be registered to go abroad, you also fix the trailer registration plate to the back, as well as the towing vehicle's number plate, and as far away from it as possible. If you cannot fix the trailer registration plate on the back, fix it to both sides instead and make sure they are clearly visible.
When are 3D and 4D number plates legal?
A raised gel 3D plate can be legal if the characters keep to the specification and the plate meets the reflectivity standard. Layered 4D acrylic characters usually do not, because the shadow they cast changes how a camera reads them, and that is what a roadside check looks at.
Common questions
- Are 3D and 4D number plates legal?
- A raised or 3D gel plate can be legal if the characters still meet the specification and the plate passes the reflectivity standard. GOV.UK says plates may have 3D (raised) characters. Layered 4D acrylic characters are the ones that fail most often, because the shadow they cast changes how a camera reads the character. Plates fitted after 1 September 2021 must also be a single shade of black, with characters that are not removable or reflective. If a 4D plate throws a shadow that turns a letter into another letter, treat it as illegal and have a flat or gel pair made instead.
- Can I change the spacing to make my plate read as a word?
- No. Character and group spacing are fixed by regulation, and altering them so a mark reads as something else is the commonest reason a plate fails. INF104 is explicit: you cannot rearrange or misrepresent the numbers and letters to form names or words, or so that they are hard to read. Fixing bolts that change a letter count as the same offence. You can be fined up to £1,000 and the vehicle will fail its MOT. In some cases DVLA withdraws the registration, and you do not get back what you paid for the mark.
- Which flags are allowed on a number plate?
- The Union flag, the Cross of St George, the Cross of St Andrew or Saltire, and the Red Dragon of Wales, each with the matching national identifier beneath it. The published identifiers are UNITED KINGDOM, UK, GREAT BRITAIN, GB, ENGLAND, ENG, SCOTLAND, SCO, CYMRU, CYM, and WALES, including the mixed-case forms GOV.UK lists. The flag must sit above the letters. Neither the flag nor the identifier may sit on the plate margin, and neither may be more than 50 millimetres wide. No other badge, crest or logo is permitted. Northern Ireland does not have a published national flag for the left-hand band.
- What happens if my plate is not legal?
- You can be fined up to £1,000 and the plate will fail a roadworthiness inspection. If the mark has been misrepresented, DVLA can also withdraw the registration, which is the expensive outcome for anybody who paid for a private plate. INF104 adds that you will not get back money paid for the registration, or any other costs. A roadside camera that cannot read the prescribed groups is the practical reason the spacing and font rules exist. Have a registered supplier make a legal pair before the vehicle is driven again.
- Who is allowed to make a number plate?
- Only a registered number plate supplier. GOV.UK says you might need a pair made if a plate is lost, damaged or stolen, if you are importing a car, or if you have bought a personalised registration. The supplier must see original documents that prove your name and address, and a document that shows you are allowed to display the registration. A driving licence covers name and address. A passport confirms name only. Entitlement is usually the V5C, the green new keeper slip, a V750, a V778, a tax or SORN reminder, or one of the other documents listed on the GOV.UK plates page.
- Can a classic car display black and silver plates?
- Yes, if it was manufactured before 1 January 1973. INF104 says those vehicles may display traditional black and white number plates, meaning white, silver or grey characters on a black plate. From April 2020, vehicles manufactured before 1 January 1980 can also display that style if you have applied to DVLA and the vehicle is registered in the historic vehicles tax class. A newer car cannot wear black plates to look older. Replacement plates fitted after 1 September 2021 still need the British Standard mark and the supplier mark, even on a vehicle that is allowed the traditional colours.
- Do motorcycles need a front number plate?
- Not if the motorcycle or motor tricycle was registered on or after 1 September 2001. Those vehicles must display a plate at the rear only, and the characters should be on two lines. If the motorcycle or tricycle was registered before 1 September 2001 you can also display a front plate, but you do not have to. Trailer rules are separate: a trailer must show the towing vehicle's plate, on the rearmost trailer if you are towing more than one. A trailer registered to go abroad also needs its own trailer registration plate, fixed as far from the towing vehicle's plate as possible.
- Does a zero-emission car get a different plate?
- It may display a green flash on the left-hand side. GOV.UK lists that as optional, not mandatory, for a zero-emission vehicle. INF104 dates the permission from 8 December 2020. The rest of the plate still has to meet the same size, spacing, reflectivity and British Standard rules as any other car. GOV.UK does not publish a disabled persons identifier for number plates. The extra flash it does publish is the green flash. A wheelchair tax class on the V5C does not change the plate specification.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Rules for number plates (as of 10 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, Displaying number plates (as of 10 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, Flags, identifiers and stickers (as of 10 September 2026)
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Getting number plates made up (as of 10 September 2026)
- DVLA, INF104: vehicle registration numbers and number plates (as of 10 September 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk, The Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001 (as of 10 September 2026)