Number plate character size (imported vehicle)

[jt42cwrm]

Hi,

I recently bought some 13"x6" (33mmx152mm) pressed plates for an imported vehicle from Japan.The plates are advertised as 'Road Legal' and do in fact come with the sellers name, post code and 'BSAU145e' markings on.

The issue is, with my registration being 6-characters, and the plates having a black border, they're split over two rows.

The dimensions are as follows: -

Border width - 4mm
Character height - 55mm
Character width - 37mm
Stroke width - 8mm
Horizontal space between characters - 8mm
Vertical space between groups of characters - 10mm
Space between characters and border - 9mm (including bottom border)
Height of sellers name and 'BS' marking text - 3.5mm

The only spec that seem to be compliant, based on these regulations, is the space above the top characters and the gap between the rows of characters.

I emailed them to ask how they can claim they're road legal. They've offered a refund but but notably avoided answering my specific question about how the plates comply with UK legal requirements.

So, I'm wondering if anyone else has plates with characters this small, and whether they have any bother with the old bill? I really wanted some pressed plates, but I'm probably going to end up getting boring acrylic ones as I cannot find any pressed ones that are between 6" and 8", and I reckon 8" will be too tall for the plate recess on my yet to arrive car.

[liner33]

Yes character size if not legal its 64mm x 44mm as per your link , even with plates that size you may well get attention from the Police so worth having a print out of that legislation in your car

[MustangGT]

liner33 said:

Yes character size if not legal its 64mm x 44mm as per your link , even with plates that size you may well get attention from the Police so worth having a print out of that legislation in your car

How will that help, on the face of it the number plates do not conform.

OP - IIRC there may be an exemption for imported cars that do not have a VRN mounting that will not take a standard size UK plate. However, if the car is of a type that is sold in the UK this may not apply.

Can you not fit a standard plate and avoid all the hassle?

[liner33]

MustangGT said:

How will that help, on the face of it the number plates do not conform.

OP - IIRC there may be an exemption for imported cars that do not have a VRN mounting that will not take a standard size UK plate. However, if the car is of a type that is sold in the UK this may not apply.

Can you not fit a standard plate and avoid all the hassle?

That is the imported vehicles exemptions ! They are there for vehicles that cannot fit a standard plate

IF you have an imported vehicle and IF you have a plate fitted than complies with the regs for imported vehicles you may still get unwanted attention from the Police as the plate and the characters are not the same as standard UK plates , many officers are not aware of the exemption hence having a printout with help you inform them

[jt42cwrm]

MustangGT said:

Can you not fit a standard plate and avoid all the hassle?

Potentially, but will have to wait for the car to land.

The front of the car looks particularly tight based on the mock-ups I did. The rear has room at the bottom but would prefer not to overhang above the black plastic trim section of the bumper

[jt42cwrm]

liner33 said:

That is the imported vehicles exemptions ! They are there for vehicles that cannot fit a standard plate

IF you have an imported vehicle and IF you have a plate fitted than complies with the regs for imported vehicles you may still get unwanted attention from the Police as the plate and the characters are not the same as standard UK plates , many officers are not aware of the exemption hence having a printout with help you inform them

Done over 125k miles in daily driven Honda Fits (GD3/GD1) with small plate on rear (first car), then both front & rear (second car) since 2016, and haven't had any bother so far, but then again it doesn't attract much attention from anyone, let alone the plod

[Red Devil]

I have several JDM import cars which have recesses which won't accommodate a standard size UK plate.
It's really not difficult to source and fit plates which are fully compliant with paragraph 14A of the Regs.
Mine include 5, 6, and 7 characters.

[KTMsm]

None of my cars have the BS number

All the imports have import sized plates off eBay

I've never been stopped for plate size in 30 years and when I have been stopped for speeding, they've never been mentioned

I think you're worrying about nothing

[NDNDNDND]

I run a Camaro on conventional white/yellow plastic 12"x6" plates with import/motorbike sized letters.

It's a full seven-digit numberplate on two lines and fully compliant.

Not sure why they're struggling? Is it due to being a pressed metal plate with a border?

[jt42cwrm]

NDNDNDND said:

I run a Camaro on conventional white/yellow plastic 12"x6" plates with import/motorbike sized letters.

It's a full seven-digit numberplate on two lines and fully compliant.

Not sure why they're struggling? Is it due to being a pressed metal plate with a border?

It's a mixture of the border and bigger gaps between letters than the minimum.

[MustangGT]

NDNDNDND said:

I run a Camaro on conventional white/yellow plastic 12"x6" plates with import/motorbike sized letters.

It's a full seven-digit numberplate on two lines and fully compliant.

Not sure why they're struggling? Is it due to being a pressed metal plate with a border?

We have had the same on 4 Camaros and a Corvette. Never been stopped.