Help Centre

Yes. Anyone selling number plates to the public in Great Britain must be on the DVLA's Register of Number Plate Suppliers (RNPS). Your main place of business is registered using form V940 and any additional outlets using V940/1, with a one-off fee per site. The DVLA publishes the current fee and the application form at gov.uk. Selling without being registered is an offence.

For every plate you supply you must record the registration mark, the date of sale, and the name and address of the purchaser, along with the documents you checked to prove identity and entitlement to the registration. Records must be kept for at least three years and be available for inspection. Our Print Plate software retains this history in the cloud for a minimum of three years as standard.

You need proof of the customer's identity and proof of their entitlement to the registration mark. The DVLA sets out the accepted documents in INF195/2, which you can download from our DVLA forms page.

The offences carry different penalties. Supplying plates without being registered can bring a fine of up to £5,000. Failing to keep the required records can bring a fine of up to £1,000, and supplying plates that do not meet the British Standard up to £2,500. A supplier can also be suspended from the register, which is the penalty that ends the business line. Separately, a motorist driving with a non-compliant plate can be fined up to £1,000 and will fail the MOT. In practice the reputational cost to a trade business is the bigger risk.

Yes. Every premises that supplies plates must be registered: the main place of business on form V940 and each additional branch on V940/1. If you are running several sites, our dealer groups page covers how ordering, branding and oversight work across a group.

Start with our become a plate supplier guide. It covers RNPS registration, your legal obligations, and the two practical routes to getting started: buying a system and producing in house, or buying finished plates ready made with no equipment.

No. Sandhurst Autoprint supplies the motor trade. If you are a motorist, our guides explain what a legal plate looks like and what to ask for from a registered supplier.

Yes, and opening one is straightforward. Accounts give you pricing negotiated to your volume rather than a public list price, a named support manager, and access to the Trade Portal when it launches.

An increasing number of motorists use number plates that are difficult to read. The introduction of cameras for enforcement purposes means that it is more important than ever for number plates to be legible. The regulations ensure that there is clarity of numbers and letters through the use of a standardised mandatory font.

You now have the option of either displaying the standard plates or an old style number plate.

No. Only cars registered with the DVLA as a classic car pre 1980 can fit a Black & Silver plate.

No. On cars registered after January 2021, plates can no longer display the euro stars symbol.

From September 28th 2021, cars travelling abroad must display plates with a Union Jack flag and the initials UK, otherwise an oval sticker with the initials UK must be used.

The Government announced on 28 December 2001 the intention to permit the display of national flags and symbols on vehicle number plates. This permits the voluntary display of the Union flag, Scottish Saltire, Cross of St George and Red Dragon. Football team crests etc. are not allowed.

If the number plate is damaged in such a way that it makes the registration mark difficult to read it does need to be replaced.

No, you only need to replace the damaged number plate.

BS AU 145e requires registration characters to be a single solid black with no shading, tinting or two-tone effect, which rules out carbon effect and 3D effect printed digits outright. Raised or layered characters, often sold as 3D or 4D, must still meet the full standard including the ANPR compatibility and abrasion tests, and responsibility for that sits with the supplier who makes the plate. Sandhurst Autoprint does not supply raised digit, gel or 4D products. Our range is built around constructions we have had independently certified to BS AU 145e.

No, number plates must meet the British Standard requirements and we are not aware of any self-adhesive number plates that are able to meet these requirements.

Registration marks are needed so that a vehicle can be easily identified. Number plates must be easy to read for many reasons but it is most important for the police. The police often rely on witnesses to remember the number plate if they are to solve a crime.

These are a very useful consumer protection aid. A 'Q' number is a clear indicator to a prospective purchaser that the age or identity of a vehicle is unknown. The vehicle may be rebuilt from parts, some or all of which may not be new.

The DVLA offers prefix and new style personalised registrations for sale through their website: gov.uk/buy-a-personalised-registration-number

To transfer a registration number from one vehicle to another you will need to complete form V317 that is available from a DVLA Local Office.

To place a vehicle registration number on hold you will need to complete form V778/1 that is available from a DVLA Local Office.

A consultation exercise in 1997 invited the public and interested organisations to give their views. The system provides local memory tags and age identifiers that are easy to remember.

An extensive public consultation exercise took place in 1999 before the allocation of the local memory tags. They have been allocated so that, where possible, there is some regional significance.

No, registration marks cannot be transferred onto any vehicle if it may appear to make the vehicle look younger. No vehicle first registered before 1 September 2001 will be able to have a new style mark.