Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Rear number plate lamp
Checked on 30 July 2026.ClickMechanic, Car lights replacement cost guide (as of 30 July 2026)
What does rear number plate lamp cost in the UK?
£30 to £200 fitted at an independent garage, VAT included, on a mainstream car. The midpoint of that range is about £115, and where you land inside it is decided by access, parts and wheel size rather than by the garage's postcode.
The lamp is usually two screws in the boot lid or the bumper, the lens comes off and the bulb or the whole sealed unit goes in. The published range for exterior lamp work is £30 to £200, and a number plate lamp sits at the very bottom of it: the top of that range is for headlamp units where the bumper has to come off. A bulb from a parts shop is a couple of pounds. Two things can turn it into a real job. Water gets into these lamps because they sit low and face the weather, so the holder is often corroded and the whole unit is replaced rather than the bulb, and on cars with a sealed LED unit there is no bulb to change at all.
How this job compares
| Job | Area | Fitted price |
|---|---|---|
| Front wiper blades | Visibility | £19 to £45 |
| Rear number plate lamp | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | £30 to £200 |
| Exhaust section or full system | Noise, emissions and leaks | £100 to £1,200 |
Other lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment work
| Job | Fitted price | Labour |
|---|---|---|
| Headlight bulb | £30 to £200 | 1.5h |
| Car battery | £30 to £300 | 1h |
Common questions
- How much does rear number plate lamp cost?
- £30 to £200 fitted at an independent garage, including VAT, for a mainstream car.
- How urgent is it?
- The cheapest fault on this list, and no reason to stop driving in daylight. It is a major defect when the rear registration plate has only one lamp and it is out, or when every lamp is out. With two lamps and one working the plate is still lit, but the dead one is worth a bulb.
- What moves the price within that range?
- Access, parts and wheel size, mostly. A job that needs the bumper or an arch liner off costs an hour more than the same job on a car where it does not, and a genuine part can be several times an aftermarket one.
- Is this price for one side or both?
- Treat the range as the job as the source published it. Where a part is replaced in pairs the detail below says so, and the second side adds less than double because the labour overlaps.
Sources
Every figure on this page was read off the publisher's own page on the date shown.