Registration Code (seven Characters)

[Ulrike Dweck]

Vehicleregistration plates (commonly referred to as "number plates" in British English) are the alphanumeric plates used to display the registration mark of a vehicle, and have existed in the United Kingdom since 1904. It is compulsory for motor vehicles used on public roads to display vehicle registration plates, with the exception of vehicles of the reigning monarch used on official business.[1]

The Motor Car Act 1903, which came into force on 1 January 1904, required all motor vehicles to be entered on an official vehicle register, and to carry alphanumeric plates. The Act was passed in order that vehicles could be easily traced in the event of an accident, contravention of the law or any other incident. Vehicle registration alphanumeric plates in the UK are rectangular or square in shape, with the exact permitted dimensions of the plate and its lettering set down in law. Front plates are white, rear plates are yellow.

Within the UK itself, there are two systems: one for Great Britain, whose current format dates from 2001, and another for Northern Ireland, which is similar to the original 1904 system. Both systems are administered by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in Swansea. Until July 2014, Northern Ireland's system was administered by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) in Coleraine, which had the same status as the DVLA. Other schemes relating to the UK are also listed below. The international vehicle registration code for the United Kingdom is UK.[2] Prior to 28 September 2021, it was GB.[3] The specification of plates incorporating the UK code was created by the British Number Plate Manufacturers Association, and is seen as the default design by the Department for Transport.[4]

Number plates must be made of reflex-reflecting material, white at the front and yellow at the rear, with black characters. This was first required on all vehicles manufactured after 1 January 1973, having been optional before then. Subsequently, the requirement was modified by the Finance Act 2014, to allow any vehicles registered within the "historic vehicles" tax class to use the older style pre-1973 black number plates. This rule applied on a 40-year exemption basis, and until 2021 rolled forward automatically each year on 1 April to include vehicles manufactured before the first of January forty years prior.[5] A change was introduced on 1 January 2021 that will permit only vehicles dating prior to 1 January 1980 to use the old style pre-1973 black and silver number plates.[6]

The post-1973 type of reflecting plate were permitted as an option from 1968: many older vehicles may therefore carry the white/yellow reflective plates and, where they were first registered during or after 1968, they may have carried such plates since new. Many buses delivered to London Transport between 1973 and the mid-1980s continued to bear white-on-black plates.[7] This was also true of some other bus operators, though only on the rear end in most instances; Reading Transport was one other operator which persisted with black front plates into the 1980s.[8]

Characters on number plates purchased from 1 September 2001 do not use a specific named typeface, but must use what is known as the "prescribed font" within legislation set out in The Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001.[9] One such example of a typeface adhering to this prescribed font is Mandatory, a variation of the frequently used Charles Wright typeface. However, the wording in the legislation designates that slight variations in typeface are legal providing they are "substantially similar" to the prescribed font.[10]

Characters must also conform to set specifications as to width, height, stroke, spacing and margins. The physical characteristics of the number plates are set out in British Standard BS AU 145e (formerly BS AU 145d until 31 August 2021), which specifies visibility, strength, and reflectivity.[11]

Number plates with smaller characters meeting standards for motorcycles are only permitted on imported vehicles, and then only if they do not have European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval and their construction/design cannot accommodate standard size number plates, for example vehicles made for the US or Japanese market may only have a 305 mm 152 mm (12.0 in 6.0 in) area to affix a number plate in which a standard one line plate is too long (460 mm) to fit whilst a two line plates is too tall (199 mm).[12]

(b) any other relevant standard or specification recognised for use in an EEA State and which, when in use, offers a performance equivalent to that offered by a plate complying with the British Standard specification, and which, in either case, is marked with the number (or such other information as is necessary to permit identification) of that standard or specification.[15]

Older British plates had white, grey or silver characters on a black background. This style of plate was phased out in 1972 and, until 2012, legal to be carried only on vehicles first registered before 1 January 1973. A vehicle which was first registered on or after 1 January 1973 shall be treated as if it was first registered before that date if it was constructed before 1 January 1973.[9] However, the Finance Bill 2014 and subsequent Finance Acts extended the Historic Vehicle class cut-off year from 1973 to 1974 and subsequently, a rolling forty years. This had the effect of linking eligibility to display old-style plates with "Tax Exempt" vehicle status, provided that an application had been made to the DVLA to have the vehicle included in the historic vehicle class.[16] However, this exemption was rescinded in 2021, with a new qualifying date for vehicles constructed before 1 January 1980 registered in the historic vehicle class.[17]

Until 1975, motorcycles had to display a front plate, colloquially known as the "pedestrian slicer",[18] which was usually, but not always, a double-sided plate on top of the front mudguard, curved to follow the contour of the wheel and visible from the sides. Motorcycles registered after 1 September 2001 may only display a rear number plate, while motorcycles registered before that date can display a number plate at the front if desired.[19]

In addition to the above local memory tags, personalised registrations are also offered with arbitrary "local memory tags" prefixes, except for the letters I, Q and Z but including the letters J, T and U, which are unused as area codes.[30]

Only number plates with the distinguishing code "UK" on its own, or together with the Union flag are valid as a distinguishing sign when driving in countries party to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, as such number plate displays a distinguishing code for the country of registration incorporated into the vehicle registration plate, and is supplemented with a flag or emblem of the national state, and hence satisfies the requirements set out in the convention.[3] A UK" black on white sticker must be affixed at the rear of the vehicle when driving abroad if said vehicle has number plates with the national flag of England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland.[33]

From October 2021 if an owner of a vehicle wishes to avoid attaching a separate black on white "UK" sticker, it is necessary for the number plates to display "UK" on the left side together with, optionally, a Union flag (but not a national flag of England, Wales or Scotland). If the vehicle is driven in a country not a party to the Vienna Convention, a separate sign (black on white "UK" sticker) also has to be displayed at the rear of the vehicle.[34] Of the EU countries, a separate identifier is only needed when travelling in Cyprus, Malta, and Spain, as they are not party to the convention.[j]

Up until 28 September 2021 the distinguishing sign was GB. On 30 June 2021, the United Nations published a notification stating that the United Kingdom has given three months' notification that it intended to change its distinguishing sign from GB to UK.[3]

When the UK was a member state of the European Union, it was permissible (but never mandatory) to display number plates conforming to the common EU format introduced by Council Regulation (EC) No 2411/98, with a blue strip (in order to construct the background colour of the EU / Council flag) on the left side of the plate with the Flag of Europe (yellow or gold circle of stars) above the international vehicle registration code of the member state (GB).[35] This format cannot be issued after the transition period ended.[36]

EU member states that require foreign vehicles to display a distinguishing sign of the country of origin (e.g. "UK" for the United Kingdom) are obliged by Article 3 of EU Regulation No. 2411/98 to accept this standard design as a distinguishing sign when displayed on a vehicle registered in another member state, making a separate sign unnecessary for vehicles registered in the EU.

After Brexit, other EU countries are no longer required to accept GB "Europlates", as the regulation only requires member states to accept the standard design as a distinguishing sign when displayed on a vehicle registered in another member state. After this, GB Europlates must be replaced by a number plate that features the UK sign in order to be valid as a national identifier.[37][38]

The design has similarities with the FE-Schrift number-plate font which was introduced in Germany in 1994 and which has been mandatory there since 2000. However, the UK design remains more conventional in its character shapes.

For the 07 registration period a higher than usual number of Scottish 07 codes were retained as Select registrations for sale and an additional allocation of Tx letter pairs were released for use by the local offices in Scotland with the same allocation as the Sx letter pairs (for example Edinburgh with SK to SN allocated had TK to TN added)[e].[42]

From 8 December 2020, vehicles with a Zero Emission value are allowed to display a green band on the left hand side of the plate, where the country identifier would usually sit. This is optional, and may be blank, or combined with the existing national flag options.[43][44][45][46]

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