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Quiz: Are your number plates legal?

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We confess that we do talk about the number plates rules pretty often. That's because people are being pulled over and penalised with depressing regularity. As a number plate specialist, it is surely part of our responsibility to ensure that our customers know the rules, and that they are able to enjoy their private plates confident in the knowledge that they are doing so legally.

We've prepared a quick multiple-choice quiz to test your knowledge of the plate regulations. Why not spare a few minutes to see what you know, what catches you out, and what might need checking on your own number plates?

The quiz

  1. What is the officially recommended method of affixing number plates to your car? (Select one)

    1. Bolts

    2. Blu Tack

    3. Security screws that are difficult to remove

    4. Magnets or magnetic tape

    5. Double-sided adhesive pads or tape

    6. Hot glue gun

    e

    The standard does not indicate a required fixing method, nor does it explicitly disallow alternatives to the recommended use of adhesive pads.

  2. What is the regulation typeface used to depict registration numbers on number plates? (Select one)

    1. Arial Bold

    2. Times New Roman

    3. Charles Wright

    4. Verdana

    5. John Osbourne

    c

    The others are common computer fonts, except for John Osbourne, which is the birth name of heavy metal/rock vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, and is included in the list for absolutely no good reason.

  3. Which of the following font styles is permitted on number plates? (Select all that apply)

    1. Plain black printed characters

    2. Carbon fibre effect, printed characters 

    3. Carbon fibre effect, raised/4D characters 

    4. Plain black raised/4D characters

    5. "Hi-line" effect characters

    6. Plain black printed characters in italic style

    a, d

    The regulations specify that characters must be plain black. Shading, tints or textures are not permitted on characters.

  4. What is the current British Standard setting out number plate specifications? (Select one)

    1. BS NP 145a

    2. BS AU 150c

    3. BS NP 145d

    4. BS AU 145e

    5. BS NP 162e

    6. BS AU 166c

    d

    BS AU 145e is the Standard for number plates fitted after 1st September 2001. The British Standard it superseded was, unsurprisingly, BS AU 145d.

    The other answer options were just made up and may, or may not, be actual British Standards. Feel free to look them up and see, if you're curious.

  5. In addition to the registration number, what additional features are permitted (but not required) on number plates? (Select all that apply)

    1. A coloured border

    2. A blue or green left-hand-side panel

    3. A sports team emblem

    4. A religious symbol

    5. A national flag/emblem

    6. A honeycomb pattern on the plate background

    a, b, e

    National flags of UK countries are the only emblem approved to appear on number plates. A black or coloured border and a blue side panel are also allowed. The option to have a green panel is only available for fully electric vehicles that produce zero tailpipe emissions.

  6. Which elements are required by the regulations to be on number plates?  (Select all that apply)

    1. A black border

    2. The postcode of the vehicle keeper's address, as shown on the V5C registration document, in small print at the bottom of the plate

    3. The identity and postcode of the plate supplier in small print at the bottom of the plate

    4. The national flag of the UK country where the vehicle is registered (England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland)

    5. The applicable British Standard number in small print at the bottom of the plate

    c, e

    Supplier and British Standard details must appear at the centre-bottom of the number plate, in characters not exceeding 10mm in height. Borders and flags are not a requirement.

  7. Which of the following is a breach of number plate regulations?  (Select all that apply)

    1. Affixing plates to the vehicle with Velcro

    2. Affixing number plates with screws or bolts that alter the appearance or visibility of the plates' characters

    3. Driving with dirty number plates that are difficult to read

    4. Driving with a removable cycle rack that obscures the number plate

    5. Driving with the vehicle's number plate clearly visible, but mounted upside down

    b, c, d, e

    While the regulations do recommend attaching plates with double-sided sticky pads or tape, they don't insist on any specific mounting method, nor do they prohibit specific mounting methods. The main consideration is that the method employed to affix plates must not alter the appearance, or compromise visibility.

  8. Which national flags or emblems are permitted on UK number plates? (Select all that apply)

    1. The European Union stars 

    2. Welsh flag

    3. The Cornish flag

    4. The English flag

    5. The Northern Irish flag

    6. The Scottish flag

    7. The Union Jack

    8. The Republic of Ireland flag

    9. None of the above. National flags breach the regulations

    b, d, f, g, h

    As the UK is not a member of the EU, UK number plates no longer use the EU stars symbol. The Cornish flag (Cross of St Piran) is not permitted as Cornwall is classified as a county, not a country. Northern Ireland has no single official flag that represents it alone as a country: the Union Jack is the only flag in official use to represent Northern Ireland as part of the UK. The Republic of Ireland is not a UK country and is not subject to UK regulations.

  9. Which of the following statements is true?  (Select all that apply)

    1. Number plates issued in Scotland may not be displayed on cars registered in England

    2. A car first registered in 2012 may not display a private registration number issued in 2002

    3. Number plates issued in the Republic of Ireland may not be assigned to cars registered in England, Scotland or Wales

    4. Number plates issued in Northern Ireland may not be displayed on cars registered in England, Scotland or Wales

    5. A car first registered in 1986 may not display a private registration number issued in 1996

    c, e

    As the Republic of Ireland is not a UK country, ROI number plates may not be transferred to, and displayed upon, UK vehicles. Northern Ireland is part of the UK and so plates issued there can be assigned to UK vehicles. Vehicles may not display number plates issued after the vehicle's date of first registration. In other words, you can't make a car look younger by assigning a newer number plate.

  10. Which of the following are amongst the maximum penalties may be applied for displaying number plates that don't comply with regulations, or for obscuring number plates? (Select all that apply)

    1. A fine of £250

    2. MOT failure

    3. Permanent loss of the registration number

    4. A community service order

    5. A fine of £1000

    6. Life imprisonment

    b, c, e

    Displaying number plates that don't comply with the regulations may be penalised by a fine up to £1000, MOT failure and withdrawal of the registration number by DVLA. Should DVLA withdraw your private number plate in this way, you would receive no payment or compensation for its loss. Breaches that may earn these penalties include non-regulation character fonts, misspacing of characters, non-regulation colours for characters or backgrounds, obscuring the clear visibility of plates to humans and cameras, and much more.

Know the rules

Our quiz may contain a few light-hearted answers but complying with the regulations is important: it can save you the expense and inconvenience of being pulled over because your plates aren't legal. The penalties can be pretty harsh.

There are a lot of details that aren't covered by the quiz, so for a more comprehensive and serious summary of the number plate regulations, please check out our full guide to number plates rules. We do our best to ensure that our guide is accurate and up to date.

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