I've been given a postcodeless number plate. Is this OK?
Discussion
I had my car repaired the other week, which involved, amongst other things, replacing the front number plate of my car. (It's a 51 plate.)
The old number plate had the postcode of the number plate supplier on it; the new number plate doesn't. Otherwise, it looks to tick all the boxes. I was assured by the repairer that it's ok to have no postcode, and that the little "BSAU145d" marker in the corner would suffice.
It looks like my car won't fail the MOT because of this, but there appears to be some general confusion though over whether this number plate would actually be legal. No definite non-MOT-related answers from any old threads that I could find.
Does anybody know where I can get the official guidelines for this kind of thing? I'd obviously be trying to get the repairer to give me a valid number plate if he's given me an illegal one...
(The DVLA website suggests that it's fine to have no postcode - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/PersonalisedR... - but the V796 leaflet - http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/forms/~/media/pdf/leafl... - says the BSAU145d standard mandates one. See, e.g., http://www.bnma.org/bsaua45d.htm. So I'm not sure how the registration plate can actually bear the mark if it doesn't actually follow the right rules.)
The old number plate had the postcode of the number plate supplier on it; the new number plate doesn't. Otherwise, it looks to tick all the boxes. I was assured by the repairer that it's ok to have no postcode, and that the little "BSAU145d" marker in the corner would suffice.
It looks like my car won't fail the MOT because of this, but there appears to be some general confusion though over whether this number plate would actually be legal. No definite non-MOT-related answers from any old threads that I could find.
Does anybody know where I can get the official guidelines for this kind of thing? I'd obviously be trying to get the repairer to give me a valid number plate if he's given me an illegal one...
(The DVLA website suggests that it's fine to have no postcode - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/PersonalisedR... - but the V796 leaflet - http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/forms/~/media/pdf/leafl... - says the BSAU145d standard mandates one. See, e.g., http://www.bnma.org/bsaua45d.htm. So I'm not sure how the registration plate can actually bear the mark if it doesn't actually follow the right rules.)
Thanks for the suggestion - your logic is sound 
Lack of joined-up thinking on my part there...
Hopefully I'll have no problems, as this is a reputable place, or so you'd hope: it's the official approved car doctor (and only for cars, their name implies) for a well-known nautically-themed car insurer. (Are we allowed to name names? I keep seeing people avoiding it, so I'm assuming not.)
No idea where they get the plates from of course, or whether they make them themselves... not least because there's no postcode on 'em...
Lack of joined-up thinking on my part there...Hopefully I'll have no problems, as this is a reputable place, or so you'd hope: it's the official approved car doctor (and only for cars, their name implies) for a well-known nautically-themed car insurer. (Are we allowed to name names? I keep seeing people avoiding it, so I'm assuming not.)
No idea where they get the plates from of course, or whether they make them themselves... not least because there's no postcode on 'em...
Nigel Worc's said:
If it's a legal font and spacing ..... who cares ?
Not me - but I don't think not caring will prevent a fine, if the registration plate turns out to be invalid and somebody decides to fine me because of it.I've downloaded a few more leaflets and I'm still none the wiser about whether a postcode is actually definitively required or not, or (if it is) whose problem it actually is in the first place. Think I might visit the DVLA tomorrow and ask them in person... I will post again for posterity, once I have got to the bottom of this surprisingly mysterious issue...
Bloody hell... I didn't expect this to start such a heated debate 
In the end I never got any official word one way or the other, because my main reason for doing that would have been to persuade a recalcitrant repairer to fix their work. As it was, there was no problem, and it was very unexciting. They gave me a new number plate, no questions asked. So I'd like to apologise to posterity, but for my money the road vehicles regulations are pretty convincing.
<-- this turned out to be unnecessary
The daft thing is, the writing is so tiny, and in so splindly a font, that you don't have to be that far away before it's hard to see whether it's even there. Still, I don't mind; as mcflurry, so do I not want my car advertising every last business it's ever patronised.
However, I can now sleep soundly at night, knowing if the Stasi come and cart me off to Guantanamo Bay, it won't be because of an illegal numberplate.
In the end I never got any official word one way or the other, because my main reason for doing that would have been to persuade a recalcitrant repairer to fix their work. As it was, there was no problem, and it was very unexciting. They gave me a new number plate, no questions asked. So I'd like to apologise to posterity, but for my money the road vehicles regulations are pretty convincing.
<-- this turned out to be unnecessaryThe daft thing is, the writing is so tiny, and in so splindly a font, that you don't have to be that far away before it's hard to see whether it's even there. Still, I don't mind; as mcflurry, so do I not want my car advertising every last business it's ever patronised.
However, I can now sleep soundly at night, knowing if the Stasi come and cart me off to Guantanamo Bay, it won't be because of an illegal numberplate.
Edited by to3m on Tuesday 30th August 16:05
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