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Call Us: 0800 689 4795Number Plates in Washington
The A1(M) runs along the western edge of Washington, and our workshop sits beside Junction 62 at Dragonville Industrial Park in Durham, so the road you want is the one you are already on. There is no appointment system: come in between 9:00am and 4:30pm, Monday to Saturday, and your plates are made while you wait.
Collect the same hour, or wait a few days for the post
Order online, pick local collection at the checkout, and your plates can be made and fitted within the hour of you placing the order, during opening hours, with fitting available Monday to Friday. Choosing delivery instead means posting your documents to us and waiting a few days for the plates to arrive, so anyone who can reach Junction 62 is better off collecting.
Bring two documents with you
The law says we have to see who you are and that the registration is yours to use, so bring something that proves your name and address and something that proves entitlement to the registration. A driving licence and a V5C logbook cover both. The proof of address has to be in your name; the entitlement document can be in the name of whoever the plates are for.
Staff record the documents, hand them straight back, and a pair of plates takes around ten minutes from that point. Most people wait in the car.
Fitting
Fitting costs £9.99 a plate, or £19.98 for the pair, Monday to Friday, and no appointment is needed for that either. Sticky pads are what we recommend, because nothing gets drilled; screws, plate holders and velcro are all there if you would rather. Plates bought elsewhere are fine to fit as long as they are road legal, and our fitting guide covers doing it yourself.
Letter styles
Everything is made to the British Standard, BS AU 145e, and nothing we make is a show plate or a tinted plate. The nine letter styles, from the flattest to the deepest:
Legal flags go on any of them: the Union Flag, St George's Cross, the Scottish Saltire, the Welsh Dragon and the Green Flash EV identifier. All of them are road legal, and 4D laser cut and 3D gel are the two people ask about most.
Shapes for every vehicle
Standard UK plates, shortened, hex, square 4x4, oversize for Land Rovers and Bentleys, trailer plates, motorbike plates and Japanese import sizes are all held in stock.
Private registrations
Washington is a car-making town, and plenty of the people who come in want the registration to match the car. There are over 74 million DVLA registrations to search, plus 60,000+ pre-owned registrations, in dateless, prefix, suffix and current style formats.
What makes a plate road legal
Every plate leaving the workshop carries our supplier name, postcode and BS AU number, because the law requires it, and the characters are Charles Wright on a reflective BS AU 145e plate. Anything outside that is a show plate, and we do not make show plates or tinted ones.
Getting the registration onto the car
Assignment is a DVLA step rather than a plate step. Their online service runs from 7am to 7pm daily and asks for the vehicle V5C along with the V750 Certificate of Entitlement or V778 Retention Document, with the vehicle taxed and MOT'd. The Done-For-You Paperwork Service is there if you would rather hand it over: send a photograph of the V5C and our admin team deals with the DVLA.
Replacing a lost or damaged plate
A cracked, faded or stolen plate can be replaced the same day, and the document requirement is the same as for a brand new set. Our guide to replacement number plates covers what to do first.
What it costs
A pair of printed plates starts at £29.99, with the raised styles costing more, and fitting adds £9.99 a plate. A private registration is a separate purchase that starts at £250 including the £80 DVLA fee, and the pricing guide breaks the tiers down.
Washington number plate FAQs
Which junction do I want? Junction 62 of the A1(M), then Dragonville Industrial Park. Free parking is right outside the unit.
Can I get plates the same day? Yes. Walk in during opening hours, or order online and choose collection, and they are made while you wait.
Do you fit them on Saturdays? Plates are made Monday to Saturday, but fitting runs Monday to Friday.
What if my documents are in a different name? The proof of address must be yours. The entitlement document can be in someone else's name, which is how gifts work.
What if I have lost my V5C? The DVLA can issue a replacement, and we cannot make plates without proof of entitlement, so it is worth sorting that first.
How much are the plates themselves? From £29.99 for a printed pair, more for the raised styles.
Areas we cover
Washington is one of eight towns with its own page. If another is closer to you:
Finding us from Washington
Unit 1, Dragonville Industrial Park, Dragon Lane, Durham, DH1 2XJ. Leave the A1(M) at Junction 62 and the unit is signposted from there, with free parking outside.
Open 9:00am to 4:30pm, Monday to Saturday. Fitting is Monday to Friday.