* Required on all vehicles first used on or after 1st August 1980.

NOTE: Revised Registration Plate Testing and Tow Bar Testing (see below) were effective from April 09.
see current Number Plate Regs graphic.

For registered vehicles the registration plate must be:

• present
• secure
• not faded, dirty or obscured
• Letters and digits must conform to the approved font design with correct spacing
• Front plates must be black digits on white background, rear must be black on yellow
• Honeycomb background is not allowed.

Vehicles manufactured before 1 January 1973 may have registration plates displaying white, grey or silver characters on a black background. A three-wheeled vehicle, which has a motorcycle derived front end, does not require a front number plate.

MOT Registration Plate Specifications

Relevant Dimension	Tricycles & quadricycles	All other vehicles
Character height	64mm	79mm
Character width (except for the figure 1 or letter I)	44mm	50mm
Stroke width	10mm	14mm
Space between two characters in group	10mm	11mm
Vertical space between groups of characters	13mm	19mm
Horizontal space between groups of characters	30mm	33mm
Margins(minimum)	11mm	11mm

The VIN number* must be:

• permanently displayed
• consistent
• legible.

*Required on all vehicles first used on or after 1st August 1980.