All number plates manufactured after September 1st 2001 in the United Kingdom must use the same compulsory font. There are a range of further requirements around digits and spacing that must also be met for reg plates to be road legal.
In this post we'll be taking a look at car number plates, in particular the fonts that will make your reg plates road legal in the UK. Let's explore the current vehicle registration legislation in a bit more detail before providing a full breakdown of the rules introduced by the DVLA back in September 2001.
Everything you need to know about registration font legislation
The number plate font name
Charles Wright was the namesake and supposed original designer of the font which features on UK car registrations. The font has been in use for many years, being slightly updated in 2001 (the revised font sometimes being called "Charles Wright New"), and its this font that is compulsory on all private registration plates.
The font is clear, simple, bold, and pretty much perfect for car number plates; allowing it to be easily read at a distance by both people and ANPR systems.
Font colours
The lettering on a number plate should be solid black. Although there was a period where two-tone, highline, 3D effect, carbon, honeycomb and other variations were permitted, the current law is very clear that the font should be solid black.
There's no particular reference around 4D plates in the law, so as long as any "protruding" characters are also solid black (and the correct size and spaced appropriately), these fit the bill and are considered legal.
Number plate digit spacing
Spacing is often ignored when it comes to dodgy number plate manufacturers, but it's a crucial aspect to make a private plate road legal.
First of all, the digits on UK number plates have to be monospaced. This means that every character (except I / 1) is of equal height and width. This extends to all reg plates on UK roads, from prefix registration plates to suffix private number plates, dateless car registrations, and those from Northern Ireland.
On top of this, all other car registration spacing has to be uniform. This means that there must be an exact gap between each character, as well as a minimum margin around the outside of the vehicle registration and the space in the middle of a registration number must also meet a specific requirement according to UK law.
Legal number plates on cars and vans
The plate displayed at the front of the vehicle is white with black letters while rear number plates have black letters on a yellow reflective background. The size and shape of the underlying acrylic may vary (for example, some Jaguars have curved plates, or you may have seen short hex plates), but the measurements for the characters are very specific and are as follows:
- 79mm character height
- 50mm character width (excluding the letter I or number 1)
- 11mm between characters
- 33mm between groups of characters (i.e the space)
- 11mm margin around the top, bottom and side of the full registration
Legal number plates on motorcycles
There is only one plate on a motorbike at the rear. It should be black letters on a yellow reflective background, and by nature of the vehicle, the allowed dimensions are slightly smaller:
- 64mm character height
- 44mm character width (excluding the letter I or number 1)
- 10mm space between characters
- 30mm between groups of characters (i.e the space)
- 11mm margin around the top, bottom and side of the full registration
Additional flair
In addition to the above, you cannot add anything extra to a registration number other than a green eco-flash (to signify an electric vehicle), flags (from a limited pool of permitted choices - Union Jack, St. George Cross, Welsh Dragon and the St. Andrew Cross (Scottish Saltire)) and borders. This means that, for example, you cannot add your own slogan beneath your private registration on the number plate (this space is for the name of the manufacturer/supplier of the plate) and you cannot add any custom image to the side of the number plate.
Essentially, you can't mess with the format that we've spoken about above, and personalisation beyond what's acceptable by the standards of the DVLA is strictly prohibited.
Penalties for illegal number plates
The risk of illegal spacing, materials, digits, or anything else we've detailed is a failed MOT for your vehicle and your number plate may also be seized. You're also liable to a police fine of up to £1,000.
