Drivers are being warned to make some checks ahead of number plate changes from March 1.
The changes will impact the first two numbers on the licence plate, known as the age identifiers. As we enter a new six-month period, the numbers will switch from 72 to 23 followed by 73 in September.
The rest of the numbers and letters will be assigned as usual, with the first few letters indicating the region, while the end of the number plate is randomly generated and serves as the unique identifier for the car. There are several number plate rules to follow, including specific fonts, font sizes, colours, and placements.
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You could be fined up to £1,000 and your car will fail its MOT if you don’t display your number plate correctly. Drivers have been asked to make important checks regarding recent licence plate rule changes that they may have missed.
New number plates can now only display solid black lettering, as two-tone registration plates that used different shades to create a 3D-like effect have been banned. The rule change was introduced in in September 2021 to help Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras identify vehicle number plates on the roads.
This comes alongside another long-standing rule regarding 'incorrectly displayed' number plates, which includes obscuring or manipulating the digits. Even visible amounts of dirt can put you at risk of having an illegal plate and a potential fine of £1000 if the contents cannot be easily read. Other punishments include an on-the-spot fine of £100 if stopped with an unreadable or illegally altered plate by a police officer.
The DVLA website says: "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."
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