Tallguy wrote:
Believe it or not there is a British Standard for number plates:
The British Standard sets out the physical characteristics of the number plate. This includes visibility, strength and reflectivity. The British Standard also requires each number plate to be permanently and legibly marked with the following information:
n the British Standard number (currently BS AU 145d);
n the name, trade mark or other means of identification of the manufacturer or component supplier; and
n the name and postcode of the supplying outlet.
I've known a car fail an MOT for a delaminated number plate that was no longer readable. In theory the car should fail the MOT if the plates don't comply. If you use incorrect spacing on your plate to make up a funny word etc then it's an automatic MOT fail and if stopped by the Police they can issue you with a defect notice. Judging by the number of plates I see with incorrect spacing the Police don't seem to do this much - I suppose they don't get make much money from it.
As I said it is different pre & post 2001