Number Plates Law
U.K. Number Plates Laws
Pre-January 1973
Vehicles first registered before January the first 1973 have the option of using the white on black or silver on black number plates. These are made either from pressed metal or plastic digits riveted on a metal plate. Occasionally an adhesive black vinyl background with white letters is more suitable.
Post- January 1973
Number Plate characters can be either 89mm by 64mm or 79mm by 57mm gaps between characters must be 13mm for the taller characters and 11mm for the shorter. The gap between the two "parts" of the number plate must be 38mm ( 89mm tall characters) and 33mm for the shorter ones. No definitive font is given but styled characters ( for example italics) are forbidden. Note these regulations govern number plates FITTED after Jan 1973 but before September 2001, they do not relate to the year of the car.
Post September 2001
Characters must be 79mm high and 50mm wide with a stroke of 14mm.Inter-character gap is 11mm and the space between the two parts of the registration number is 33mm.The only font allowed is based on the "Charles Wright" font.
To make all this enforceable every number plate suppliers must be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and must show his name and post code on each number plate he supplies.
In addition you must supply proof of I.D.when buying plates ( preferrably a photocard driving licence ) and also proof that the number is yours( V5 registration document ( log book) , V750 (pink) or V778 (green) certificate for the registration number, V11 vehicle licence renewal, or V948).
The supplier must keep records of all the above and make them available to the police if requested.
Due to the unique nature of private number plates, for example "car registrations are not items of property in their own right. They are assigned, and may be withdrawn by the Secretary of State. They are assigned to the vehicle rather than its keeper" and many of the car registrations we have available to us involve a third party, therefore unless the registration is one of our own cherished number plates we MUST check availability before we can confirm that it is possible to transfer it. Similarly we rely on these third parties to inform us that it has been sold. If you see "your" cherished number plate on our website and it should not be there, we would welcome your feedback so that we can rectify the mistake. With regard to the Distance Selling Regulations, we must notify you that as the contract will begin as soon as payment is made, the cooling off period and right to cancel will no longer apply. This website contains cherished number plates from our own stock,car registrations where we are acting as an agent and government stock.We reserve the right to withdraw from sale or change the price of any private number plate without notice. All personalised number plates on this website are subject to a D.O.T. transfer fee, some are also subject to V.A.T. at 17.5%. Additional costs are sometimes applicable for the transfer of personalised number plates to N.Ireland... E.&.O.E.