Avoid the fine
If you want to avoid a hefty £1,000 fine, then you need to follow these rules on a number of registration plate rules.
There is a huge push to make sure drivers are displaying the correct style of plates, they are in the right place and that they are legal.
Number Plates
We published an article not long ago on Understanding UK Car Registrations, which proved very popular so we thought we’d try and encourage our readers to stay legal.
As we’ve all seen, there are some drivers who really push the boundaries when it comes to displaying number plates and the fonts being used, if you’re caught by the police you could land yourself a fine of up to £1,000.
On top of this, if your car is required to have an MOT test, it could fail.
In extreme cases, and you have a personalised plate. It could be permanently withdrawn.
Here are the seven items that your registration plate must comply with to avoid a fine:
7. Font
There is a standard font which must be used for number plates. The only additional option that can be added is to make the font 3D. All other fonts and styles (eg. italics) are not allowed.
6. Visibility
As many of us have seen recently, the trend is to display your number plate in the front window. This is illegal. Number plates must be displayed on the vehicle at all times on the front and the back.
Letters and numbers must be visible at all times, even in the snow and the bad weather.
5. Background
The colour of the number plates differs front to back, but it is really important that the front number plate has a white background and the rear has a yellow background.
If you car is over 40 years old, you’re allowed to display the Black & Silver plates. This is a rolling 40 years and your car needs to be registered as “historic.”
4. Flags & Emblems
You are allowed to display a flag on the left-hand side of the number plate. But it can only relate to the place that the vehicle is from. The flag/emblem cannot be any larger than 5mm wide and a GB sticker must be displayed if you are planning to take your car abroad.
3. Size
It is really important that registration plates are easy to read, and whilst there are lots of measurements with regards to the individual charactors. They must be at least 79mm tall with the thickness of the black print at 14mm.
2. Formation
Nowadays, number plates are made up of 2 letters, 2 numbers followed by another 3 letters.
The first 2 letters state where the vehicle was registered, the next 2 numbers are the year it was registered and the last 3 letters are randomly created letters. More can be found on our article; understanding vehicle registrations. The link is at the top of the page.
1. Cherished Plates (Personalised Plates)
Personalised number plates can be purchased from various outlets, but it is highly recommended to buy these from a trusted seller or the DVLA themselves.
When displaying them on a vehicle, they need to be displayed in the correct way, depending on the plate style (eg. suffix, prefix, etc.).
You can also not put an age related plate on a vehicle to make it look younger than it is.
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