Overview

Number plates (also known as licence plates) must show your registration number correctly. You cannot rearrange letters or numbers, or alter them so that they’re hard to read.

You could be fined up to £1,000 and your vehicle will fail its MOT test if you drive with incorrectly displayed number plates.

The current vehicle registration number format was introduced in 2001. It consists of:

• 2 letters (these refer to the region in the country where your vehicle was first registered)
• 2 numbers (these tell you when it was issued)
• 3 letters chosen at random

Rules for number plates
The number plates on your vehicle must:

be made from a reflective material
display black characters on a white background (front plate)
display black characters on a yellow background (rear plate)
not have a background pattern
be marked to show who supplied the number plate
be marked with a British Standard number - this is ‘BS AU 145e’ for plates fitted after 1 September 2021
The characters must not be removable or reflective. If your number plates were fitted after 1 September 2021, they must also be a single shade of black.

Your number plates can also:

have 3D (raised) characters
display certain flags, symbols and identifiers
display a green flash, if you have a zero-emission vehicle
If you ride a motorbike or motor tricycle
Motorcycles and motor tricycles registered on or after 1 September 2001 must only display a number plate at the rear of the vehicle.

If you ride a motorbike or motor tricycle 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 number plate numbers should be on 2 lines.

Towing a trailer
Your trailer must display the same number plate as the vehicle you’re towing it with. If you’re towing more than one trailer, the number plate must be fixed to the trailer at the back.

Taking commercial or heavy trailers abroad
If your trailer needs to be registered to go abroad, you need to fix the trailer registration plate to the back, as well as the towing vehicle’s number plate.

Fix the trailer registration plate as far away as possible from the towing vehicle’s number plate.

If you cannot fix the trailer registration plate on the back of your trailer, fix it to both sides instead. Make sure they’re clearly visible.

Letter spacing, size and style
The characters on a number plate need to be a certain height and size.

Read leaflet INF104: vehicle registration numbers and number plates - height and size measurement, for more information.

If you have a trailer, read leaflet INF291: trailer registration numbers and number plates.

Getting number plates made up

You might need to get a number plate made up if for example:

• your number plate has been lost, damaged or stolen
• you’re importing a car to the UK
• you’ve purchased a personalised registration number

You can only get a number plate made up from a registered number plate supplier.

The supplier will need to see original documents that:

• prove your name and address
• show you’re allowed to use the registration number

Identity documents

You can use the following to confirm your name and address:

• driving licence
• utility, Council Tax or rates bill from the last 6 months
• bank or building society statement from the last 6 months
• national identity card

The following will confirm your name only:

• passport - does not have to be issued in the UK
• bank or building society debit or credit card
• police warrant card
• armed forces identity card

Proving you can use the registration number

You must bring one of the following to show you’re allowed to display the registration number:

• vehicle registration certificate (V5C or V5CNI)
• green ‘new keeper’ slip from the V5C or V5CNI
• certificate of entitlement (V750 or V750NI) to the number
• retention document (V778)
• a renewal reminder for vehicle tax or SORN (V11 or V11NI)
• temporary registration certificate (V379 or V379NI)
• a number plate authorisation certificate (V948) with an official stamp from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
• an electronic number plate authorisation certificate (eV948 or eV948/2)
• a letter of authorisation from a fleet operator (including lease or hire company) quoting the document reference number from the registration certificate
• if your fleet is in the new V5C on demand scheme (also called ‘V5C suppression’), a PDF of the vehicle’s details from the view vehicle record service
• UK trailer registration certificate (VTRC)

Flags, identifiers and stickers

You can display one of the following flags with identifying letters on the left-hand side of the number plate:

• Union flag (also known as the Union Jack)
• Cross of St George
• Cross of St Andrew - also known as the Saltire
• 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, Eng
• SCOTLAND, Scotland, SCO or Sco
• 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.

Stickers for driving outside the UK

You may need to display a white oval UK sticker on the rear of your vehicle when driving outside the UK. This depends on your number plate and where you are going.

You do not need a UK sticker if your number plate has the UK identifier with the Union flag (also known as the Union Jack).

You must display a UK sticker if your number plate has any of these:

• numbers and letters only, no flag or identifier
• a GB identifier with the Union flag
• a European Union flag
• a national flag of England, Scotland or Wales

UK stickers have replaced the old white oval GB stickers. If you have a GB sticker, cover or remove it before driving outside the UK.

Do not put the sticker on your numberplate.

Driving in Spain, Cyprus and Malta

You must display a UK sticker to drive in Spain, Cyprus and Malta, no matter what’s on your number plate.

Driving in the Republic of Ireland

You do not need a UK sticker to drive in Ireland no matter what’s on your number plate.