Spacing is the most common reason a number plate is illegal. It’s tempting to close a gap or nudge a group so a private registration spells a name – but the spacing on a UK plate is fixed by law, and getting it wrong can cost you a fine of up to £1,000, an MOT failure and even the registration itself.
In this guide
The legal measurements
On a car plate, the regulations set out the following gaps:
| Gap | Car | Motorcycle (2001 on) |
|---|---|---|
| Between characters in a group | 11mm | 10mm |
| Between the two groups | 33mm | 30mm |
| Margin around the registration | 11mm minimum | 11mm minimum |
| Between the two lines | 19mm | 13mm |
Every character except 1 and I is 50mm wide on a car plate (44mm on a bike). Those two characters are just the 14mm stroke wide, so a registration containing a 1 is physically shorter – which is why the gap can look slightly different, even though it’s still correct.
The correct split for each format
Where the gap goes depends on the format of the registration, not on what you’d like it to spell.
| Format | Era | Example | How it’s split |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 2001 onwards | AB12CDE | AB12 CDE – after the age identifier |
| Prefix | 1983 to 2001 | A123BCD | A123 BCD – before the last three letters |
| Suffix | 1963 to 1983 | ABC123D | ABC 123D – after the first three letters |
| Dateless | Pre-1963 / NI | ABC1234 | ABC 1234 – between letters and numbers |
| Dateless (reversed) | Pre-1963 | 1234ABC | 1234 ABC – between numbers and letters |
If you type your registration into our plate builder in road-legal mode, it recognises the format and applies the correct gap automatically – you can’t accidentally mis-space a plate.
What illegal spacing looks like
Here’s a correctly spaced current-style plate:
And here’s the same registration with the gap closed so it reads as a name. It looks neat – but it’s illegal, and this is exactly the kind of plate police stop:
Other tricks that make spacing illegal include:
- using screw heads or caps to fill a gap or turn a character into another (an “I” into a “T”, say)
- moving characters closer together so the plate fits a short recess
- adding extra spaces so letters form a word
- altering character shapes – a 5 made to look like an S, or a 1 like an I
The penalties
The headline fine for an incorrectly displayed plate is up to £1,000. The car will also fail its MOT. For private registrations there’s an extra risk: the DVLA can withdraw the registration without compensation if it’s displayed misleadingly – and private plates can be worth far more than the fine.
“My spacing is different because I have a short plate”
Shorter plates can be legal, but only if the character size and the spacing stay the same – the plate is trimmed, not the gaps. Read are short and hex plates legal? for the details, or pick a “cut to fit” size in the builder and we’ll calculate the smallest legal plate for your registration.
How to check your own plates
- Measure the gap between the two groups – it should be roughly the width of two-thirds of a character (33mm).
- Check the split matches the format table above.
- Look for screws, caps or stickers in the gaps.
- Make sure every character is the same height and shape.
If your current plates fail any of these, replace them before an MOT or a roadside stop finds them.
Correct spacing, automatically
Our builder recognises your registration format and spaces it exactly as the law requires.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the spacing on my private number plate?
No. Private registrations must be spaced in the same way as any other registration of that format. Mis-spacing a private plate can lead to the DVLA withdrawing it.
Is it legal to have no space on a number plate?
Only on registrations that have no natural split are the characters shown as a single group – for example some short dateless numbers. Standard formats must show the gap.
Why does a plate with a 1 look differently spaced?
The 1 and the I are only 14mm wide instead of 50mm, so the registration is shorter overall. The gaps between characters are still 11mm.
Do show plates have to follow the spacing rules?
No – show plates can be spaced however you like, but they must not be used on public roads.
