Legislation

The supply of vehicle number plates, number plate components and manufacturing equipment is regulated by the DVLA. We require all of our prospective customers to be registered with the DVLA as a number plate supplier prior to the opening of a trade account. Once registered with the DVLA there are regulations that must be adhered to.

Number plates supplied by registered outlets must comply with BSAU 145e standards as set out by the British Standards Institution (BSI). In addition number plates must also comply with the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001.

The Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations

The Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations is a UK law first introduced in 2001, with several amendments since — most recently updated in conjunction with BSAU 145e implementation in 2021. It lays out legal requirements for how number plates must be made, displayed, and formatted on vehicles in the UK.

✅ Standard Typeface. Only the Charles Wright 2001 font is allowed. No italics, shadows, or alternative styles.

✅ Black Text Only. All characters must be solid black no 3D, colours, or outlines.

✅ Clean Backgrounds. Plates must be plain white (front) or yellow (rear), with no patterns, logos, or tints.

✅ Legal Markings Required. Every number plate must include:

• The supplier’s name & postcode as registered with the DVLA

• The number plate component manufacturer's name

• The BS AU 145e marking

✅ ANPR Compliance. Plates must be machine-readable by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems used by the police and toll operators.

The above are some of the key elements to the specification, there are other elements that are not listed above.

BSAU 145e

BSAU 145e is the latest British Standard specification that governs the manufacture, display, and durability of number plates in the UK. It came into full effect on 1st September 2021, replacing the previous standard BSAU 145d.

The key elements tested are Abrasion, Weathering, Thermal and Solvent Resistance.

Buying your number plate components from ourselves and using our software ensures your able to produce number plates that comply with BSAU 145e standards.

*NOTE - We do not sell our raised digits for road use as number plates with raised digits are not compliant.