DVLA number plate warning - how to avoid £1,000 fines

If your plates are stolen, you must report them to the police and order replacement number plates, the DVLA says.

When arranging replacement plates for your vehicle, you will need an identity document, proof you can use the registration number, and a crime reference number from the police.

The DVLA has issued an alert on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying: “Be aware of stolen number plates. If you’ve lost yours, make sure you get one from a registered number plate supplier.”

DVLA £1,000 number plate fine

Even if your plates aren’t stolen, you must make sure they adhere to specifications in order to be road legal, with a warning that those that do not comply with rules could be hit with a £1,000 fine.

The DVLA warns: “Number plates (also known as licence plates) must show your registration number correctly. You cannot rearrange letters or numbers, or alter them so that they’re hard to read.

"You could be fined up to £1,000 and your vehicle will fail its MOT test if you drive with incorrectly displayed number plates."

Is your number plate legal?

These are the rules you should be aware of around licence plates from the DVLA.

The number plates on your vehicle must:

• be made from a reflective material
• display black characters on a white background (front plate)
• display black characters on a yellow background (rear plate)
• not have a background pattern
• be marked to show who supplied the number plate
• be marked with a British Standard number - this is ‘BS AU 145e’ for plates fitted after 1 September 2021

The characters must not be removable or reflective. If your number plates were fitted after 1 September 2021, they must also be a single shade of black.

Your number plates can also:

• have 3D (raised) characters
• display certain flags, symbols and identifiers
• display a green flash, if you have a zero-emission vehicle