How To Correctly Display A Personalised Number Plate

A personalised number plate adds a luxurious feature to any car. However, with this personalisation comes risks too – these including a £1,000 fine and a failed MOT.
Do you know the legal standards? Here’s the CarCliq guide to the private number plate regulations and laws.

The Law requires that plates must be legible and comply with the set standards, so you are able to read the plate easily. It is illegal to place a screw or bolt in a place where it should not be or making the letters and numbers smaller.

 

Six key mistakes drivers commonly make with number plates:

1. The wrong colour – correct number plates should have black characters on a white background on the front, and on a yellow background on the rear.
    
2. Incorrect spacing – the correct spacing should read e.g. AC55 ABC.
    
3. Illegal background – use of a non-conforming background that is not a plain colour or features stickers that interfere with the plate’s legibility, is illegal.
    
4. The wrong font – only the standard “Charles Wright 2001” font is acceptable.
    
5. Apart from the letter ‘I’ and the number ‘1’, characters must be 79mm high and 50mm wide.
    
6. A different flag – the only flags valid on the far left of the plate are the EU flag, the Union Jack, the St George Cross, the Scottish Saltire (St Andrew Cross), and the Red Dragon of Wales.

Letters accompanying these flags are limited to the following:

• GREAT BRITAIN, Great Britain or GB.
• UNITED KINGDOM, United Kingdom or UK.
• ENGLAND, England, ENG, Eng.
• SCOTLAND, Scotland, SCO and Sco.
• CYMRU, Cymru, CYM or Cym.
• WALES or wales. 

Did you know your car will fail its MOT test if you drive with incorrectly displayed number plates?
According to figures obtained from the Metropolitan Police, around 800 number plate offences were recorded in the first 5 months of 2019. This included vehicles failing to conform to the regulations due to dirty and obscured plates and vehicles with no plates fitted at all!
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So, if you are considering investing in a personalised number plate, please make sure you are complying with the law.
 

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