New number plate laws on pressed metal plates
Discussion
nordboy said:
Are pressed number plates legal for modern vehicles?
Guidelines for the display of number plates for vehicles registered from March 21st 2001 are detailed under British Standard BS AU 145d. As per these guidelines number plates must be made of reflective material (not retroactively made reflective by treatment). Aluminium, which traditionally makes up pressed number plates, does not meet this standard. In 2021, this changed to BS AU145e, with a more robust material introduced.
Another standard requires the material to be flexible, and must be able to spring back to its original shape if bent. Metal plates cannot do this.
These two requirements means that pressed metal number plates are effectively illegal for any modern vehicle.
I did some research and I'm not sure on metal plates but 3D/4D plates won't in fact be illegal. What the DVLA has said is that 2D printed plates with a two tone effect to make the characters look 3D when they're not is what's going to be illegal. It states on the gov website that 3D lettering is allowed as long as it is only one solid shade of black.Guidelines for the display of number plates for vehicles registered from March 21st 2001 are detailed under British Standard BS AU 145d. As per these guidelines number plates must be made of reflective material (not retroactively made reflective by treatment). Aluminium, which traditionally makes up pressed number plates, does not meet this standard. In 2021, this changed to BS AU145e, with a more robust material introduced.
Another standard requires the material to be flexible, and must be able to spring back to its original shape if bent. Metal plates cannot do this.
These two requirements means that pressed metal number plates are effectively illegal for any modern vehicle.
Muddle238 said:
I have not found anywhere (including the gov legislation) that permits 3D digits.
“Colourimetry. Plates must be of components that show the correct white for front plates, yellow for rear plates and black for printed digits.”
“Solid black digits. Two-tone/3D effect fonts of any kind are no longer allowed.”
“All digits must now be solid black according to the new rules. The means that 3D style digits including highline digits and others using two-tone effects are no longer allowed. Likewise, digits must not be removable.”
The third point there clearly shows they’re differentiating between digits that are physically 3D (think of those advertised as “4D”) and those that are just printed with shading to appear as if they’re 3D. Having made the differentiation, they still state that they are not allowed.
They also mention the black digits as “printed digits”, so unless some smart-arse starts doing 3D-printed plates, they fall foul of that.
Finally they mention that digits must not be removal - more so a thing with the “4D” trend, as those digits are physically stuck to a plate, but could be removed with enough force. Doesn’t impact a pressed metal plate obviously, but pressed metal is still 3D.
TLDR: 3D not allowed.
https://www.gov.uk/displaying-number-plates/rules-number-plates“Colourimetry. Plates must be of components that show the correct white for front plates, yellow for rear plates and black for printed digits.”
“Solid black digits. Two-tone/3D effect fonts of any kind are no longer allowed.”
“All digits must now be solid black according to the new rules. The means that 3D style digits including highline digits and others using two-tone effects are no longer allowed. Likewise, digits must not be removable.”
The third point there clearly shows they’re differentiating between digits that are physically 3D (think of those advertised as “4D”) and those that are just printed with shading to appear as if they’re 3D. Having made the differentiation, they still state that they are not allowed.
They also mention the black digits as “printed digits”, so unless some smart-arse starts doing 3D-printed plates, they fall foul of that.
Finally they mention that digits must not be removal - more so a thing with the “4D” trend, as those digits are physically stuck to a plate, but could be removed with enough force. Doesn’t impact a pressed metal plate obviously, but pressed metal is still 3D.
TLDR: 3D not allowed.
It says on the above link underneath the first section titled "Rules for Number Plates" that "Characters on a number plate can be 3D"
Muddle238 said:
I have not found anywhere (including the gov legislation) that permits 3D digits.
“Colourimetry. Plates must be of components that show the correct white for front plates, yellow for rear plates and black for printed digits.”
“Solid black digits. Two-tone/3D effect fonts of any kind are no longer allowed.”
“All digits must now be solid black according to the new rules. The means that 3D style digits including highline digits and others using two-tone effects are no longer allowed. Likewise, digits must not be removable.”
The third point there clearly shows they’re differentiating between digits that are physically 3D (think of those advertised as “4D”) and those that are just printed with shading to appear as if they’re 3D. Having made the differentiation, they still state that they are not allowed.
They also mention the black digits as “printed digits”, so unless some smart-arse starts doing 3D-printed plates, they fall foul of that.
Finally they mention that digits must not be removal - more so a thing with the “4D” trend, as those digits are physically stuck to a plate, but could be removed with enough force. Doesn’t impact a pressed metal plate obviously, but pressed metal is still 3D.
TLDR: 3D not allowed.
Oh yeah also I think by removable they mean they can't be removed and replaced with ease. You could easily peel the print off of a standard number plate to remove the letters and then replace it.“Colourimetry. Plates must be of components that show the correct white for front plates, yellow for rear plates and black for printed digits.”
“Solid black digits. Two-tone/3D effect fonts of any kind are no longer allowed.”
“All digits must now be solid black according to the new rules. The means that 3D style digits including highline digits and others using two-tone effects are no longer allowed. Likewise, digits must not be removable.”
The third point there clearly shows they’re differentiating between digits that are physically 3D (think of those advertised as “4D”) and those that are just printed with shading to appear as if they’re 3D. Having made the differentiation, they still state that they are not allowed.
They also mention the black digits as “printed digits”, so unless some smart-arse starts doing 3D-printed plates, they fall foul of that.
Finally they mention that digits must not be removal - more so a thing with the “4D” trend, as those digits are physically stuck to a plate, but could be removed with enough force. Doesn’t impact a pressed metal plate obviously, but pressed metal is still 3D.
TLDR: 3D not allowed.
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