If you drive in the UK, you’re bound to occasionally encounter vehicles with a questionable private number plate. While these illegal private plates may be purchased unintentionally, they can still lead to serious consequences such as your private registration being revoked, an MOT failure and a hefty fine.
What are the rules and regulations for private number plates?
In the UK, vehicle registrations must comply with the BS AU 145e standard, which is a group of requirements established by the DVLA that became compulsory for all number plate providers in September 2022. Number plates are required to have the following features:
- The specific typeface of ‘Charles Wright 2001’ in black is obligatory for all drivers.
- Numbers plates placed on the front of the vehicle have to be the specified shade of white.
- The rear number plate must be the specified shade of yellow.
- ar All registration plates must show the supplier’s name, postcode and manufacturer’s mark.
- All characters must adhere to the DVLA’s guidelines concerning the size, spacing, grouping and positioning on the plate.
Generally, number plates that do not follow the rules set by the DVLA are illegal. Therefore, any number plate that contains any neon, frosted, or carbon characters is not suitable for road use.
Tinted number plates
The use of tinted number plates has become quite prevalent in recent years and is liked for its cool aesthetic. However, they are prohibited for road use, as they make use of a darkened acrylic or material placed over the front of number plates to decrease the reflectability of the vehicle registration. Not only does this hamper authorities and ANPR cameras from accurately reading car registrations, but it can also encourage drivers to engage in dangerous and unlawful driving.
Despite this, a startling number of drivers are still able to easily purchase tinted acrylic plates through dodgy suppliers. A tinted number plate can affect the driver’s safety and also the safety of other motorists on the road.
Illegal spacing of characters
The DVLA states that the group spacing of characters on a plate is required to be 33mm. In spite of this, there are a number of private plate providers that choose to violate this rule to provide an option to increase or decrease the spacing between a group of characters, in order to further highlight the spelling of words or names on their number plates.
Illegal 4D number plates
4D plates are all the rage among car owners who want to make a statement with their vehicles, as they provide a unique and memorable look, making your car stand out from the rest of the crowd. Ironically, they are not actually four-dimensional but instead feature a genuine 3D effect, which is achieved by raising characters on the number plate itself.
There are a number of sellers that offer 4D number plates with characters that have been raised to an excessive height on cars, vans and trucks. The police have indicated that it could be an issue if characters have been elevated to a height where the registration could become hard to read at certain angles.
It is important that potential buyers take note of product descriptions, as many contain a disclaimer stating that their plates are only intended to be used for illustrative purposes.
In conclusion, the prospect of buying a private number plate can be really exciting. Unlike other cosmetic modifications, a personalised registration gives you the opportunity to make your vehicle truly unique.
Although it is important to note that purchasing number plates through an authorised seller is an important and necessary step that should not be overlooked. Authorised sellers are the only ones who can guarantee that the number plates are up to the legal standard.
