Replacement number plates

If a number plate is lost, stolen, cracked, faded or no longer legal, the law says its replacement must come from a registered number plate supplier. We make road-legal number plates to BS AU 145e for any registration mark you hold, and send them to your door.

By Steven T. Jackson OBE, founder of PrivatePlates.co.uk, who has bought, sold and valued private plates for 37 years, since 1989. Published 20 Oct. 2026.

Design your replacement number plates

When you need new number plates

• One has been lost or stolen. If it was stolen, tell the police, so they can try to trace whoever took it.
• One is cracked, faded, peeling or so worn that the characters are hard to read.
• One is loose and likely to fall off.
• They do not meet the rules: the wrong font, characters spaced to spell something, a patterned background, or no British Standard mark.
• You have put a different registration mark on the vehicle, such as a private plate.

Every one of those matters at the MOT. The MOT inspection manual treats a number plate that is missing, insecure, illegible, showing the wrong registration or not made to the rules as a major defect, which is a fail. On the road, GOV.UK says incorrectly displayed number plates can bring a fine of up to £1,000.

What a legal replacement must be

The rules are on GOV.UK under displaying number plates, which we read on 20 Oct. 2026. A number plate must:

• be made from a reflective material
• show black characters on white at the front and on yellow at the rear
• have no background pattern
• be marked BS AU 145e, the British Standard for number plates fitted after 1 Sept. 2021
• be marked to show who supplied it
• use characters that cannot be removed and are not reflective, in a single shade of black

Raised 3D characters are allowed, and so are the permitted flags and national identifiers and, for a zero-emission vehicle, the green flash. A motorcycle registered on or after 1 Sept. 2001 carries a number plate at the rear only. Our guide to what makes a number plate road legal gives the character sizes and spacing, and number plate sizes helps you measure before you order.

The documents you need

Before a registered supplier can make number plates, the law requires it to see proof of your name and address and proof that you are entitled to the registration mark. For an order with us that means:

• proof of entitlement, such as your V5C log book, the green new keeper slip or a V750 certificate
• photo ID, such as a photocard driving licence or a passport
• proof of address, if your photo ID does not show your current address

We ask for them after you order, and a clear photograph or photocopy of each is all we need. Your number plates are made as soon as the check is complete. If your V5C is missing, you can apply to the DVLA for a duplicate, or use one of the other documents. The full list is under the document check.

Ordering replacements from us

Type your registration mark into the designer, choose the size, the characters and any badge, and see the finished number plates drawn to scale before you pay. A front and rear pair in standard acrylic is £45.48, and a motorcycle number plate is £30.00, including VAT. Number plates are always sent by Royal Mail Special Delivery, tracked and signed for on arrival, and the postage is included in their price. Any paperwork you have bought goes inside the same packaging.

We make road-legal number plates only, never show plates, which cannot be used on a public road. Everything we offer, from sizes to finishes, is listed on buy number plates, and delivery says when they arrive.

Design your number plates

Thinking of a new registration mark instead

If the old number plates are coming off anyway, it is a natural moment to fit a private plate. Use the private plate finder to search by name, word, initials or number, and add the number plates to the same order. Our guide to how buying a private plate works explains each step.

Questions