Legislation & BS AU 145e
Our products and services comply with current DVLA legislation and British Standards.
Compliant by design
Sandhurst Autoprint's products and services all comply with current DVLA legislation and British Standards. The DVLA provide the licence plate number and set requirements on how the registration number must be displayed on the plate. The current British Standard sets the physical characteristics of a number plate, based on visibility, strength and reflectivity.
Motorists driving with illegal number plates could be fined up to £1,000 and face an M.O.T failure.
British Standard BS AU 145e
The new British Standard BS AU 145e came into effect from September 1st 2021, the first change in legislation since 2001. All number plates manufactured for the UK must meet the new requirements, providing clearer and more durable number plates that will be readable for longer.
The standard introduces two new tests: ANPR compatibility and abrasion resistance. We have completed these tests and are certified with the new British Standard.
- Only solid black characters are permitted
- Carbon, Hi-line and 3D fonts are no longer permitted
- All printed materials manufactured by number plate suppliers must have the new British Standard mark, BS AU 145e.
- All flags must be part of the reflective material
- Reflective materials must be plain with no watermarks
- Nothing can be printed within 10mm of the characters other than the registered company name and postcode.
- Registered name and postcode: minimum 7mm from characters, 3–10mm high
- Optional border up to 5mm wide, at least 10mm from characters
- The lip area can still be used to advertise and personalise
Why is the standard changing?
The Government want to ensure that number plates are manufactured to the latest technical standards which provide for better durability and compatibility with Automatic Number Plate Recognition or ANPR cameras, meaning number plates must be readable for longer.
The Government and the police depend on ANPR cameras to monitor road and motorists' safety. They also help to detect, deter and disrupt criminality. This has put pressure on number plates being manufactured to the highest quality so that they're readable and remain readable for longer.
The new standard introduces two new additional tests. The first requires manufacturers to test their plates with ANPR technology, and the second tests the plates for resistance to abrasion. We have completed these tests and are certified with the new British Standard, BS AU 145e.
Ready for 'e'
Your Sales & Support Manager will help you transition. Our PrintPlate® software is 'e' ready, and our acrylic plate construction has been independently certified as BS AU 145e compliant.
- RNPS: you must be registered with the DVLA's Register of Number Plate Suppliers to sell plates to the public
- Sandhurst Autoprint are proud members of the BNMA, representing 95% of the UK's major manufacturers and distributors
Questions about the standard?
Contact our sales team at sales@sandhurstautoprint.co.uk or on 01252 749808.