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Road Legal Shortened Number Plates
from £34.99
Shortened number plates are cut to the length of your registration rather than the full 520mm, with a 16mm margin between the characters and the edge on every side, so a short registration sits on a plate that fits it instead of a full-width plate with empty space at each end. We cut each pair to measure rather than picking from a fixed set of short number plates, unless you add a border, which is made to a set width. Any of our letter styles can go on them. Each plate is a reflective BS AU 145e plate made in County Durham by a DVLA-registered number plate supplier. Order before 2pm on a working day with your documents approved and we make them the same day.
How it is made
The registration is laid out in Charles Wright characters at the size and spacing the rules prescribe; those do not change on a short plate. We then cut the plate around the characters so that the margin on every side is 16mm, comfortably above the 11mm legal minimum, and apply the characters in the style you have chosen: printed, 3D gel, 4D 3mm, 4D 5mm, 4D gel, Outline, Hover, Shadow or Retro. If you add a border, small number plates are made to a set width rather than cut to the characters, so they will not be as short as a plain shortened plate. If you need a specific width to suit a recess or plinth, tell us in the special requests box when you order and we will cut to it, provided the margin stays legal.
Is it road legal?
Yes, when the finished plate meets BS AU 145e and the number plate regulations. The regulations fix the character size, spacing and margin, not the outside dimensions of a car plate; the standard covers the reflective plate itself, the single shade of black and the supplier mark. Every shortened plate we make meets both. Our guide to 3D and 4D number plate legality explains what the standard measures.
Other sizes
For a plate cut to the registration with angled ends, see hex plates. Full-size options are the standard 520mm × 111mm plate, the 4x4 square rear plate and the oversize rear plate.
Warranty
36 months against manufacturing defects, which covers the plate, the print and the bond between character and plate. It does not cover damage from fitting, impact or chemicals.
What to order
Pick a letter style in the plate builder and select shortened as the size; if you need a particular width, say so in the special requests box. Proof of registration is required first (valid documents); postage is under delivery options. If the existing screw holes on your car fall outside the shorter plate, fit it with sticky pads.
All our number plates are:
BS AU 145e compliant!
100% Road Legal
Adds next-level depth to your plates
Safe to pressure wash
Doesn't fade in the sun
Professionally laser cut
Industrial strength adhesive bonding
36 month warranty
There is no fixed smallest plate size for a car. The rules fix the size and spacing of the characters and a minimum 11mm margin around them, so the smallest legal plate is set by your registration, that margin and the supplier mark every plate must carry. We cut ours with a 16mm margin on every side, the same as the top and bottom margin, which is why a shorter registration gives you a shorter plate.
Yes. Shortened plates are cut as requested, so the front and rear are both sized to your registration and match each other. If your car needs a particular width at the front, tell us in the special requests box when you order.
They are made for it. Because the plate is cut around the characters, the fewer characters your registration has, the shorter the plate. If you are still choosing a registration, you can search our private plates.
Order before 2pm on a working day with your documents approved and we make them the same day. Delivery options and times are in our FAQ, and the documents we can accept are on our valid documents page.