By HD, owner of PlateBoss (all words and photographs from HD).
Note: The number plates shown in the photographs are ‘demonstration’ plates only, not real plates for road use.
Recently a black cab driver came into our workshop in Hounslow. His
front number plate had a crack running through it, and it had just
failed the MOT. No plate, no pass, and no pass means no fares. We made
him a new one in about five minutes and he went straight back for the
retest.
It’s a story we hear all the time. Number plates are one of the easiest
things to check before an MOT, and one of the most overlooked. Here’s
what goes wrong, why winter makes it worse, and a quick check you can do
yourself.
Why plates matter more than people think
Number plates are part of the MOT. If yours don’t meet the rules, the
car fails. On the road, the police can fine you up to £1,000 for plates
that are incorrectly displayed or can’t be read. Number plate
recognition cameras need to read them too, for everything from speed
cameras to car parks and clean air zones.
The MOT fails we see most often
– Cracked, faded or peeling plates. Plates take a battering from stones,
car washes and sunlight. Once the characters fade or the reflective
surface starts to lift, the plate can fail.
– Loose or missing plates. A plate held on by one screw, or a front
plate that has fallen off altogether.
– The wrong font or spacing. Fancy fonts, italic letters and squashed or
moved gaps to make a registration spell a word are not legal, however
good they look.
– Missing markings. Every road-legal plate has to show who made it and
the British Standard number. For plates made since September 2021 that’s
BS AU 145e. If those marks aren’t there, it’s not a legal plate.
– A broken number plate light. It’s easy to forget, but the rear plate
light is checked too.
The winter problem
In winter we see more plates that are legal but simply can’t be read.
Road salt and spray leave a grey film over the plate, and on a dark, wet
evening the rear plate can disappear altogether. Cameras and police
officers don’t care whether it’s dirty or damaged: if they can’t read
it, it’s a problem. A quick wipe when you fill up with fuel makes a real
difference.
3D, 4D and show plates
Raised characters are allowed. 3D gel and 4D plates are fine on the
road, as long as they meet the same rules as any other plate: the right
font and spacing, black characters on a white front and yellow rear
plate, a single shade of black, and the correct markings.
What isn’t legal are “show plates”: plates with different fonts,
rearranged spacing, patterned backgrounds or tiny motorbike plates.
They’re made for car shows, not public roads. We get asked for them
every week and we turn them down every week.
The two-minute check
Before your MOT, walk round the car and look at both plates:
1. Are they cracked, faded, peeling or discoloured?
2. Are they firmly fixed, front and rear?
3. Is the font the standard one, with nothing moved or squashed?
4. Is there a supplier’s name and BS AU 145e marked on each plate?
5. Is the background plain: white at the front, yellow at the back?
6. Does the rear number plate light work?
7. Are they clean enough to read from a distance?
If any answer is no, sort it before the test. It’s quicker and cheaper
than a fail and a retest. If you want more detail, we’ve put together
the full list of MOT plate checks
(https://plateboss.co.uk/number-plates/number-plate-mot-fail/).
If your plates need replacing
You can’t simply walk in and order a number plate. A DVLA-registered
supplier has to see proof of who you are and proof that you’re entitled
to that registration, such as your V5C logbook. That rule protects all
of us, because it makes it harder for criminals to clone plates.
Not everyone likes it. Last month a customer who had bought a car at
auction didn’t have the logbook yet, and he refused to leave without his
plates. We had to explain several times that as a DVLA-registered
supplier we simply can’t hand plates over without the right documents.
He came back the following week with the paperwork, and we made them on
the spot.
Having the right documents with you can save the day. Earlier this year
a customer flew back into Heathrow from holiday and found the plates had
been stolen from their car, which they’d left at the hotel. They had a
long drive home ahead of them. Luckily the logbook was in the car and
they had their ID with them, so we made a new pair in a few minutes and
they got home on time.
So keep your logbook somewhere safe, take ID when you go, and use a
registered supplier. Your plates are a small part of the car, but they
can stop you in your tracks.
HD runs PlateBoss, a family-run, DVLA-registered number plate maker in
Hounslow, West London, making road-legal plates since 2019.
