How can I put my new number plates on my car?

There are three ways to put new number plates on a car: double-sided sticky pads, screws with caps, or a plate holder that screws to the car and holds the plate in a frame. Sticky pads are the usual choice and suit most vehicles, as long as the mounting area is flat, painted and clean. Which one you should use depends less on the car than on the plates you have just bought.

Sticky pads: the safe choice for 3D gel and 4D plates

The pads go on the back of the plate and the plate presses onto the bodywork, so nothing is drilled and nothing passes through a character. That matters on raised characters: a 3D gel or 4D laser cut plate has its characters bonded to the face of the plate, and a hole through one weakens the character and lets water under the adhesive. Pads do need a flat, clean surface to hold, which is the one thing some plinths and recesses will not give you.

Screws: fine on printed plates, careful on raised characters

Screws are a secure fixing and the natural choice where the car already has mounting holes in the right place. On flat printed plates there is little to think about. On 3D gel or 4D plates, pick the drilling position so that the hole falls clear of every character. Drilling or screwing through a raised character risks damaging it, and water sitting in the hole can weaken the adhesive holding the character on. If there is no clear space between the characters, use pads instead.

Plate holders: when the car will not take pads

A number plate holder screws to the mounting holes already on the vehicle and the plate slides into the frame, so the plate itself is never drilled. Ours are made for the standard UK 520mm by 111mm plate. They are not the answer for a plate cut shorter than standard, because the frame leaves an empty gap at each end, and they are not made for square 4x4 rear plates or motorbike plates.

What to order alongside the plates

A fixing is a separate item, so add one to the order when you buy the plates. The sticky pads and screws fixing kit bundle holds both methods in one pack, which is worth having if you have not looked behind the old plates yet and do not know what the car is set up for. Whichever fixing you use, check the plates again after the first few drives, and after bad weather or rough roads.

Fitting them yourself, step by step

Getting the old pair off, clearing the residue away and fitting the new plates is a job in its own right, and we have written it up in full rather than repeat it here. Our number plate fitting guide covers removing plates that are stuck, screwed or held in a frame, preparing the surface so the adhesive holds, and fitting each of the three methods, along with the order of events when the registration itself is changing.

Would you rather we fitted them

If you are local to us in County Durham you do not have to do any of this yourself. Order online, choose local collection, and the plates can be made and fitted within the hour of ordering, during opening hours, with fitting available Monday to Friday. Fitting is charged separately from the plates and is paid either online at checkout or in store.