Three-month warning for car owners with a fine of more than £1,000

Drivers have been warned they could face a £1,000 fine if they break the number plate rules. It comes ahead of the change to 74 vehicle number plates for vehicles registered between September 2024 and the end of February 2025.

Absolute Reg’s Jake Smith warned that drivers need to “make sure they are up to speed with number plate laws” and anyone not facing points on their license or a failed MOT.

Mr Smith told The Mirror: “Number plate regulations vary from general design to visibility, making it an offense to conceal the plate in any way.”

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Both front and rear number plates must be displayed at all times and must be clearly visible without obstruction by dirt or debris. It is also illegal to put plates on a car that make it look younger than it actually is.

For example, you cannot put a 74 plate on a car from 2003. The DLVA allows certain flags to be printed on a number plate, including: the Union Jack, St George’s Cross and the Red Dragon of Wales.

Electric vehicles (EVs) can be easily spotted by a green stripe, but this is only allowed if the car is registered with zero emissions. The UK government says all characters must be 79mm high and – except for the letter one – must be 50mm wide.

Character stroke – a given term for thickness – must be 14 mm and 11 mm space is required between characters. The space between the age identifier and the random letters must also be 33 mm, while the top, bottom and side edges of the plate must be 11 mm.

UK drivers should comply with the Road Vehicles (Display of Number Plates) Regulations 2001 and opt for the official Charles Wright font.

According to the government, the license plates on your vehicle must:

• Be made of a reflective material
• Display black characters on a white background (faceplate)
• Display black characters on a yellow background (back plate)
• They do not have a background pattern
• Be marked to show who provided the license plate
• To be marked with a British Standard number. This is ‘BS AU 145e’ for plates fitted after 1 September 2021
• The characters must not be “removable or reflective”. If your number plates were fitted after 1 September 2021, they must also be a single shade of black.