Motorcycle number plates look like a smaller version of a car's rear plate, but the rules behind them are different. The characters are smaller, they sit on two lines, and most bikes only carry one plate. Here's what you need to know before you order.
Rear plate only
Motorcycles first registered on or after 1 September 2001 must display a rear plate only – no front plate. Older bikes can still carry a front plate, but very few do.
The rear plate follows the same colour rules as a car's: black characters on a yellow reflective background.
Two lines of characters
A bike plate shows the registration on two lines. A current-style registration such as MT21 BKE splits into MT21 on the top line and BKE underneath. Older and personalised registrations are split in the same way, keeping the two groups apart.
Character sizes and spacing
Bike characters are smaller than car characters, but the font is the same – Charles Wright 2001. The rules fix:
- 64mm character height and 44mm character width (the number 1 and the letter I are narrower)
- 10mm between characters
- 13mm between the two lines
- at least 11mm of clear margin around the characters
You can't squash the characters, change the font or move them closer together to fit a smaller plate.
Common sizes
- 9" × 7" (229 × 178mm) – the standard motorcycle plate. It fits every current registration at full size.
- Shaped "stepped" plates – cut to the shortest legal outline for your registration, with the top line narrower than the bottom where the characters allow. They're road legal as long as the character size and margins are kept.
- 7" × 5" and 6" × 4" – popular for a tidy look, but too small for full-size characters on most registrations. These are show plates and must not be used on the road.
Borders, flags and markings
A plain border is allowed, but it must not cover or crowd the characters. A road-legal plate must also carry the British Standard mark and the supplier's name and postcode. On a bike plate these are tiny and sit along the bottom edge.
Our motorcycle plates don't include a flag option, which keeps the layout clean on a small plate.
2D or 4D?
You can choose:
- Standard printed (2D) – the classic flat plate
- 4D acrylic – raised laser-cut characters for real depth
4D characters are legal on a bike as long as they're solid black, the right size and in the right font. Read more in are 4D number plates legal?
Documents you'll need
Road-legal bike plates need the same checks as car plates: your V5C (or other proof of entitlement) and photo ID. See what documents you need.
Design yours
Our motorcycle plate builder lays out the two lines to the rules automatically. It shows which sizes are road legal for your registration and lets you preview the plate in 3D on a bike before you order.