UK number plate rules: fines and how to keep your registration

An incorrect number plate is not a small matter in the UK: you can be fined up to £1,000, and the car will fail its MOT test. Here is how a plate must look by law, and how to keep a private registration when you change vehicles.

What must a UK number plate look like?

The core DVLA rule is that your registration number must be displayed correctly and be readable. You cannot rearrange letters or numbers, change their spacing, or style them so the plate is hard to read.

Plates fitted after 1 September 2021 must meet British Standard BS AU 145e. Under it, a plate must be:

• made from reflective material, with no background pattern;
• in a single shade of black for the characters;
• on a white background at the front and a yellow background at the rear;
• marked to show the supplier who made it.

Raised (3D) characters are allowed, but non-standard fonts that change the look of the plate are not.

What happens if the plate is wrong?

Driving with an incorrectly displayed number plate can bring a fine of up to £1,000, and the vehicle will fail its MOT test — so you cannot legally use it. "Styled" plates with altered spacing or unreadable fonts are a straight route to extra cost.

How do you keep a number when you change cars?

If you want to keep a personal or familiar registration number and move it to another vehicle, you do this through DVLA:

• the online "take a number off a vehicle" service — you need the V5C log book;
• by post — form V317 ("transfer or retain a vehicle registration number");
• the fee is £80;
• you receive a V778 retention document, valid for 10 years, which you must renew before it expires.

Online, the number is removed immediately if the vehicle does not need an inspection, and you can assign it to another car straight away using the reference you receive. You cannot use the online service if the vehicle is not in your name — use the post instead. Numbers starting with "Q" or "QNI" cannot be kept.

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Where to buy plates, and what else to remember

Only a registered number plate supplier may make and sell number plates. They must see documents proving your identity and your right to the registration number — without them, they cannot make the plate. This is a safeguard against swapping plates onto stolen cars.

A few extra rules apply. Motorcycles and tricycles registered on or after 1 September 2001 display a plate only at the rear, with the number on two lines. A trailer must show the same plate as the vehicle towing it. And to make plates harder to remove quickly, theft-resistant plates are available — your supplier or dealer can advise.

The bottom line

Keep your plate to the BS AU 145e standard, do not experiment with fonts or spacing, and move a private number officially through DVLA for £80. That is cheaper than a fine of up to £1,000 and a repeat MOT.