Road legal number plates
What the UK rules require, how our builder checks your design, and what we need from you before we can make road-legal plates.
This guide summarises the DVLA's rules for displaying number plates (published in its leaflet INF104: Vehicle registration numbers and number plates). Always check the current official guidance on GOV.UK if you're unsure.
The essentials
- Font: characters must use the prescribed “Charles Wright” style typeface. No italic, stylised or decorative fonts.
- Character size: 79mm tall and 50mm wide (except the number 1 and letter I), with a 14mm stroke.
- Spacing: 11mm between characters, 33mm between the two groups, and at least 11mm margins at the top, bottom and sides.
- Colours: black characters on a white reflective background at the front and a yellow reflective background at the rear. Raised (3D or 4D) characters must be a single colour – black.
- Spacing can't be moved: characters must not be rearranged or re-spaced to spell words or names.
- Standard and supplier marking: plates must meet the British Standard (currently BS AU 145e) and show the supplier's name and postcode.
- No background patterns: plates must not have a background pattern, and borders must not be reflective.
Short and custom-size plates
There's no single mandatory plate length – but every character must still be full size with the correct spacing and margins. That's why a short registration (like RG 24) can sit legally on a short plate, while a full current-style registration needs a plate around 460mm wide.
Our builder works out the minimum legal width for your exact registration. If a chosen size would force the characters to shrink, the plate is labelled Show plate – not for road use.
National identifiers and flags
You may display the UK national identifier, with or without the Union flag, on the left of the plate. Since September 2021 “GB” is no longer valid for driving abroad, so we offer the UK identifier only. It needs extra plate width, which the builder accounts for.
Documents we need
Number plate suppliers must be registered with the DVLA and must see proof of your identity and your entitlement to the registration before making road-legal plates. At checkout you'll upload:
- Entitlement: your V5C registration certificate (logbook), a V750 certificate of entitlement, a V778 retention document, or a V62/new keeper slip.
- Identity: a photocard driving licence or passport.
We check these before your plates go into production. We never assume a registration is yours just because you've typed it in.
Show plates
Show plates are made for display, events and off-road use. They may have shortened or reduced-size characters or non-standard shapes, and they must not be used on a vehicle on a public road. Displaying an incorrect plate can lead to a fine of up to £1,000 and failing your MOT.
How our builder helps
- It recognises current, prefix, suffix and dateless registration formats and spaces them correctly – it never invents a spacing.
- It calculates character size and margins for the selected plate width and identifier.
- It fixes front plates to white and rear plates to yellow.
- It clearly labels every design as a road-legal layout or a show plate before you order.