Vehicle Registration Plates of The United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories - Colour and Dimensions

Colour and Dimensions

Number plates must be displayed in accordance with The Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001.

All vehicles manufactured after 1 January 1973 must display number plates of reflex-reflecting material, white at the front and yellow at the rear, with black characters. This type of reflecting plate was permitted as an option from 1968: many vehicles first registered before 1973 may therefore carry the white/yellow reflective plates and, where they were first registered during or after 1968, they may have carried such plates since new.

In addition, characters on number plates purchased from 1 September 2001 must use a mandatory typeface and conform to set specifications as to width, height, stroke, spacing, and margins. The physical characteristics of the number plates are set out in British Standard BS AU 145d, which specifies visibility, strength, and reflectivity.

Number plates with smaller characters are only permitted on imported vehicles, and then only if they do not have European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval and their construction/design cannot accommodate standard size number plates.

The industry standard size front number plate is 520 mm × 111 mm (20½" × 4⅜"). Rear plates are either the same size, or 285 mm × 203 mm or 533 mm × 152 mm. There is no specified legal size for a number plate. For example, the rear number plate of a Rover 75 is 635 mm x 175 mm. However, all number plates must adhere to British Standard BS AU 145d, which must be marked on the plate, along with the name and postcode of the manufacturer and the supplier of the plates.

Older British plates had white, grey or silver characters on a black background. This style of plate was phased out in 1972, and is now legal to be carried only on vehicles first constructed before 1 January 1973.

Motorcycles formerly had a double-sided number plate on top of the front mudguard, curved to follow the contour of the wheel and visible from the sides. The requirement for the front number plate was dropped in 1975 because of the severe danger these presented to pedestrians in the event of a collision. Motorcycles registered after 1 September 2001 only need to display a rear number plate, while motorcycles registered before that date can display a number plate at the front if desired. From 1973 onwards, the front plate is white and the rear plate is yellow.

Specialist HM Forces vehicles use non reflective black plates with white lettering. This is because in combat, the reflective plate can be used for targeting by laser guided weapons. The UK forces use a completely different system of numbering.