Do you know the MOT Number Plate Rules?

Number plates must be checked on the vast majority of vehicles.

THE DVSA SAY THAT PLATES MUST NOT:

• be obscured, excessively damaged, deteriorated or delaminated
• have background overprinting
• have any feature or fixing that has the effect of changing the appearance or legibility of any of the characters
• have a honeycomb or similar effect background on vehicles first registered on or after 1 September 2001 – backlit registration plates may have a honeycomb type construction which shouldn’t be confused with a honeycomb effect background.

Any one of these could be classed as a Major Defect (an MOT failure).

MAJOR DEFECTS (PREVIOUSLY CALLED MOT FAILURES)

FIXING IS KEY

The rules say MOT stations should pay particular attention to the position of any fixing screws or bolts as well as any delamination of the number plate.

Either of these can prevent the identification of the vehicle by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras which ‘see’ any non-reflective material as being black.

OTHER LEGISLATION COVERS CHECKS ON SUPPLIER AND MANUFACTURING RULES

The MOT rules don’t require MOT stations to check:

• the supplier’s name
• postcode
• the British Standard number
• logos or emblems outside the minimum margin around the registration number.  This allows for lipped plates.

FIND OUT MORE

To see how Hills can help ensure your number plate is MOT ready, see our products here.

To view the full MOT inspection rules about number plates, visit:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles

or

https://www.gov.uk/transport/mots

For legal reasons, copy has been replicated from the BMNA.  Thanks to www.mot-testing.service.gov.uk and gov.uk MOT articles.