The industry standard front license plate measures 520 mm × 111 mm (201/2″ × 43/8″). The rear plates are the same size or measure 285 mm × 203 mm (about 11″x8″) or 533 mm × 152 mm (about 21″x6″). There is no fixed legal dimension other than an absolute minimum margin of 11 mm, which corresponds to a minimum height of 101 mm (one line) and 199 mm (2 lines) for vehicles and 86 mm for imported single-line vehicles and 164 mm for two-line motorcycles or imported vehicles, the total length is based on the registration number itself. in which the smallest possible licence plate is 1 with a minimum dimension of 36 mm × 101 mm for a vehicle or 32 mm × 86 mm for a motorcycle or imported vehicle; while a 7-digit license plate without 1 or I has a minimum size of 460 mm × 101 mm (one line) or 255 mm × 199 mm (two lines) for a car or 231 mm × 164 mm for an import or motorcycle. In addition to the elements prescribed by law, it is possible to customize or mark the sign. Use of elements such as page badges or flags, lips for supplier advertising, and high 3D numbers. Although the options are optional, everyone must comply with legal rules and regulations. Since many vehicles registered before 1963 were scrapped, some of their “undated” plates were transferred to other vehicles before 1963 as personal licence plates. They can be valuable and can also be used to hide the age of an older vehicle. Many classic cars and classic cars no longer carry their original license plates, as owners are offered high premiums for desired registrations. In addition, registrations in Northern Ireland are also considered “undated” and are often transferred to vehicles outside Northern Ireland.
[66] Coaches frequently operate in other parts of the United Kingdom and their registration numbers were originally issued in Northern Ireland. Normally, the last two letters would indicate where the car was originally registered. The letters I and Z are reserved for Ireland. [41] [42] If you want to find the office code (or the board code until 1974) more easily, look at the bold letters next to the examples (ABC 123D; A123 BCD). Note that licence plates prior to 2001 where the last two letters indicate the original electoral district do not match the first two letters of the post-2001 system, for example, AB before 2001 is Worcester, while AB after 2001 is Peterborough. You can be fined up to £1,000 and your vehicle will fail the TÜV test if you drive with incorrectly displayed number plates. To be legal on the street, your license plate must contain several elements. At a minimum, it must have a record, showing the name and postal code of the supplier as well as a BS number.
In addition, it must be a construction certified to British standards. There are different formats of DVLA license plates; Without a date, suffix, prefix and current format, you can read all about it in our license plate format guide. This section shows all legally permitted license plate elements, including the side badge and optional border. These increasingly common plates have raised lettering that stands out more strongly from the bottom of the plate. However, despite their popularity, more and more incidents have been reported where police have stopped vehicles with such license plates, especially on social media. This has led motorists to wonder what the rules are for an initially gray area. Currently, no other flag can be displayed on the panel. These provisions do not extend to Northern Ireland as there is no consensus on a national symbol. Motorcycles have a smaller license plate than cars, making them easier to install on the motorcycle. You can see below that they also use a second line for the 3 random digits. In fact, this 2- and 3-wheel format also uses a smaller font size than the standard. Most font sizes change for motorcycle and tricycle registrations.
Characters must be 64 mm high and 44 mm wide. Each digit has a line width of 10 mm and the distance between them decreases to 10 mm. The 3 random digits are placed on their own line, 13mm below the year of issue. Again, the area in front of the random numbers can hold a page badge as long as there is space. A limited number of “flag” registrations, which have a similar format to previous civil registrations, have been issued to embassies and high commissions for use instead of a “D” or “X” registration on their vehicles. For example: The U.S. Embassy can use USA 1 registration; Embassy of Zimbabwe ZIM 1; High Commission of Jamaica JAM 1 and Embassy of South Korea ROK 1 – “Republic of Korea”. However, the North Korean embassy had to buy a makeup plate: PRK 1D. In the late 1990s, the range of available figures began to run out again, exacerbated by the switch to semi-annual changes to registration letters (March and September) in 1999 to smooth the wave of registrations each August, so a new system had to be adopted. It was decided to explore a system that would be easier to remember and read more clearly for witnesses to vehicle-related accidents or crimes, while respecting a normal standard plate size. At this point, you may be wondering why the DVLA introduces so many rules and regulations on license plates.
License plates are unique and essential for law enforcement, which is the main reason why legal license plate specifications were established. It is illegal to distort the age of your car by making it look younger. For example, you are not allowed to put an age rating 07 on a car registered in 2004. However, you could bet 07 on a 2018 car. So, if you buy personalized license plates as a gift for your friend, be sure to check the car`s registration date. All motorcycles and tricycles must have a license plate on the rear of the vehicle. Motorcycles and tricycles registered before 1 September 2001 may, but are not required, carry a registration plate at the front of the vehicle.