Foreign Vehicle Registration Check

Identifying foreign number plates on UK roads is easy to achieve, as the UK has established patterns for registration formats (suffix, prefix, dateless, Northern Irish or millennium) which foreign plates tend not to match.

They may also have different character font, spacing and colours, with different flags or European country of origin identifiers on the side.

The general rule for foreign number plates in the UK, is that a vehicle with foreign plates is allowed to be driven in the UK for 6 months in any one given year. After this 6 months is up, the vehicle should be registered with the DVLA, and fitted with UK number plates as opposed to foreign number plates.

If you are moving from a foreign country and registering as a resident of the UK, your vehicle must be registered within 2 weeks of moving, and your foreign registration plate will be changed for a UK number plate by the DVLA.

After the initial registration of a foreign vehicle (which will establish it's age and eligibility to take part in UK registration transfers), there is is a great opportunity to personalise your vehicle with one of our many desirable number plates.