Are Import Shape Number Plates Legal in the UK?

Import shape number plates are legal in the UK, but only on a narrow class of vehicle. Regulation 14A of the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001 allows the smaller mark on a vehicle that was imported into the United Kingdom, does not have European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval, and is built so that the space available for the plate will not take a standard-size registration mark. If your vehicle can take a standard 520mm by 111mm plate, an import shape plate with smaller characters is not legal on it.

What an import shape number plate is

An import shape number plate measures 330mm by 178mm. Set against the standard UK car plate at 520mm by 111mm it is shorter and much taller, which is the shape of recess found on cars built for the Japanese home market. We make that size as Japanese import size number plates, with the registration laid out in 64mm characters over two lines. Our guide to number plate law covers the rules that apply to every plate, whatever its shape.

The rule that makes them legal: regulation 14A

Regulation 14A of the 2001 number plate regulations is headed "Size and spacing of characters: special cases". It "applies in relation to any vehicle imported into the United Kingdom which - (a) does not have European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval; and (b) is so constructed that the area available for the fixing of the registration plate precludes the display on the plate of a registration mark in conformity with the requirements of regulation 14". Both conditions have to be met. Regulation 14 is the ordinary rule, and it sets each character at 79 millimetres high.

The size and spacing an import shape plate has to use

Where regulation 14A applies it sets the mark out in full. Each character must be 64 millimetres high. The width of each character other than the letter "I" and the figure "1" must be 44 millimetres, and the width of every part of the stroke forming a character must be 10 millimetres. The spacing between any two characters within a group must be 10 millimetres and the vertical spacing between groups of characters must be 5 millimetres. The margin between the mark and the top and lateral sides of the plate must be not less than 5 millimetres. The space between the bottom of the mark and the bottom of the plate must be not less than 13 millimetres, and within that, not less than 5 millimetres must sit between the bottom of the mark and the top of the name and postcode of the supplier.

Everything else on the plate stays standard

Regulation 14A changes the character size and spacing and nothing else. The rules for number plates on GOV.UK still apply in full: a plate must be made from a reflective material, display black characters on a white background at the front and a yellow background at the rear, carry no background pattern, be marked to show who supplied it, and be marked with the British Standard number, which is BS AU 145e for plates fitted after 1 September 2021. Our guide to what makes a plate road-legal goes through the standard in detail, and the supplier details at the bottom of the plate are explained separately.

Getting an import shape plate made

GOV.UK is plain about who may make one: "You can only get a number plate made up from a registered number plate supplier." Importing a car to the UK is one of the reasons it gives for needing plates made in the first place. A registered supplier has to see original documents that prove your name and address and show you are allowed to use the registration number. Our list of accepted documents sets out what we can take and how to get it to us.

What happens if the plate is wrong

GOV.UK states: "You could be fined up to £1,000 and your vehicle will fail its MOT test if you drive with incorrectly displayed number plates." That is the risk of an import shape plate on a vehicle that does not meet the regulation 14A test. The characters are below the size regulation 14 requires, so the plate is incorrectly displayed even though it looks the part. If you are not certain your vehicle qualifies, ask us before you order rather than after the plate is made.