520mm × 111mm, or about 20.5 × 4.4 inches. That is the standard oblong plate, front and rear, on almost every car and van in the country.
If you are replacing a plate on an ordinary car, that is the one you want, and you can stop reading here.
The sizes you can legally fit
| Plate | Size | Used on |
|---|---|---|
| Standard oblong | 520 × 111mm | Nearly every car and van, front and rear |
| Square / 4x4 | 279 × 203mm | Imports, 4x4s, cars with no room for a full-length plate |
| Motorcycle | 229 × 178mm | Rear only. Bikes from Sept 2001 need no front plate |
| Trailer / caravan | 520 × 111mm | Rear, matching the towing vehicle's registration |
The square and motorcycle formats exist for one reason: some vehicles have nowhere to put a 520mm plate. They are not a style choice, and fitting one to a car that could take a standard plate is not an advantage.
The measurements that actually matter
The plate's outer dimensions are the part people ask about, but they are not what gets a plate pulled up. The character measurements are fixed by law and they are where non-compliant plates fail.
| Measurement | Car plate | Motorcycle / two-line |
|---|---|---|
| Character height | 79mm | 64mm |
| Character width | 50mm (not 1 or I) | 44mm (not 1 or I) |
| Stroke width | 14mm | 10mm |
| Space between characters | 11mm | 10mm |
| Space between groups | 33mm | 30mm |
| Margin | 11mm minimum | 11mm minimum |
These are not adjustable. A plate that shrinks the characters or tightens the spacing to fit a smaller space, or to make the registration read as a word, is illegal regardless of how good it looks.
Source: GOV.UK, Displaying number plates. Worth checking yourself rather than taking any plate seller's word for it, ours included.
How to tell which size you need
Measure the plate already on the car. It is the most reliable method and takes ten seconds. If it comes out around 520mm long, you want the standard oblong.
Or measure the space. If the recess, bumper or plinth is less than 520mm wide, a standard plate will not sit flat and you are looking at the square format instead. Common on Japanese and American imports, and on some 4x4s with a spare wheel on the tailgate.
One thing not to do: buy a smaller plate because the standard one is a tight fit. A plate that overhangs slightly is legal. A plate with undersized characters is not.
Why "shortened" plates are not a solution
Shortened or small plates get sold as a tidier look for cars where the standard plate is a squeeze. They work by reducing character sizes or spacing below the legal minimums, which makes them an automatic MOT failure and a fine of up to £1,000.
The legal way to fit a registration into a smaller space is the square format, which keeps every character at full legal size and arranges them across two rows instead of one. Same characters, same measurements, different shape.
STANDARD OBLONG, 520 × 111MM
The size that fits almost every UK car and van. Road legal, made to BS AU 145e, UK delivery included. Type your registration and see it before you order.
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