Road Legal Number Plates

BSAU 145e is a British Standard for vehicle number plates. It sets out the requirements for the design, construction, and performance of number plates used on vehicles on UK roads. The standard specifies the dimensions, visibility, reflectivity, and character font and spacing of number plates, as well as the materials that can be used. The purpose of BSAU 145e is to ensure that number plates are easily readable and visible in a range of lighting and weather conditions, thereby enhancing road safety. The standard is periodically reviewed and updated to reflect changes in technology and industry best practices.

If you're curious about the font used on old-style number plates in the UK, it's worth knowing that it has since been updated. The newer version, sometimes referred to as "Charles Wright New," is now mandatory on all private registration plates as of September 1st, 2001. This updated font replaced the previous version that was commonly used on older number plates. So, if you're ever in the market for a private registration plate, you'll want to make sure that it features the new font in order to comply with the regulations.

You can download the Charles Write font below.

The current font, called Charles Wright, was introduced in 2001 and is available in two versions, Charles Wright 2001 Mandatory and Charles Wright 2001 Regular. The font is based on a design by Charles Wright from way back in 1935, but with tweaks to character shapes and width to make it more legible. If you're looking for a font for free, you can download the K-Type font here. It's important to note that both the free and commercial fonts are not officially sanctioned by the government. But hey, they might come in handy for your own creative projects!

If you're interested in the standards for vehicle number plates in the UK, you might like to know that the previous standard was BSAU145d. However, as of the start of 2021, the new standard BSAU145e became legal, and it became mandatory from September 1st of that same year.

It's worth noting that the previous standard, BSAU145d, was actually established as a statutory instrument or law by the British Parliament back in 2001. So, now you know a little bit about the legal requirements for number plates in the UK!

In the UK, the legal number plate spacing requirements are set out in the British Standard BSAU 145e. According to this standard, number plates must have a character width of 57mm, a character height of 79mm, and a stroke width of 14mm. The space between characters must be 11mm, and the space between groups of characters must be 33mm. The space between the age identifier and the random letters must be 33mm.

The size and spacing of number plates are important to ensure that they are easily readable and visible, which is essential for maintaining road safety. It is important to note that any modification or alteration to the number plate that affects its legibility or conformity to the legal requirements is illegal and may result in penalties.

While it may seem harsh, the police are actually required to seize any evidence of an offence committed, including the whole car if necessary, in order to demonstrate the offence in court. This is because a conviction is more likely if the car is seized. However, this can be pretty costly, as there is a release fee of £200 and a daily storage fee of £20.

Also, the DVLA have recently confirmed a new £1000 fine for dirty or illegal number plates. But don't worry, if you're not a repeat offender, the police will usually just take pictures of the illegal plate and issue you with a vehicle defect rectification notice. This gives you 14 days to fix the issue and get the necessary stamp to confirm the work has been done. Then, you just need to present the form at a local police station within the 14-day period to close the matter.

It's worth noting that having an illegal, damaged, or dirty number plate could also cause your car to fail its annual MOT, which means you'll need to change it eventually. Plus, legitimate registration plates are often cloned by criminals looking to commit crimes in your name, which can lead to a lot of headache and hassle trying to clear your name. So, keeping your plates clean and legal is important not only to avoid penalties, but also to protect yourself from identity fraud.

According to the UK government's guidelines on number plates, there is no specific mention of dirty number plates being illegal. However, it is required that number plates be clear and legible at all times, so if dirt or grime obscures the characters or makes them difficult to read, it could be considered a violation as driving with a number plate that cannot be easily read is against the law in the UK.

According to the Highway Code, it's the driver's responsibility to keep their vehicle's lights, indicators, reflectors and number plates clean and clear as part of regular maintenance. With the rise of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology being used on UK roads and in private areas like car parks, maintaining legible number plates has become even more crucial.

In addition, if a number plate is deemed to be in a condition that could cause danger to the driver or other road users, it could be considered a road safety violation. So while dirty number plates are not explicitly illegal in the UK, it's important to keep them clean and clear for safety reasons and to avoid any potential issues with law enforcement.

In the UK, 3D and 4D number plates are legal as long as they meet the requirements set out by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for number plate design.

These requirements include specifications for character size, font style, spacing, and margins, among other things.

3D and 4D number plates must also be made from the same reflective material as standard number plates to ensure they are easily visible to law enforcement and other drivers.

It's worth noting that some designs marketed as 3D or 4D may not be legal if they do not meet these requirements, so it's important to purchase number plates from Vivid Plates as we adhere to DVLA guidelines.