What is the text at the bottom of a number plate?

You might have noticed some text featuring at the bottom of most number plates and found yourself wondering what the purpose of it is. The text is typically separated into two areas, some in the centre and then another bit on the right hand side of the plate. There is some flexibility in the formatting of this text, for example the centre may have the text on two lines as opposed to one and the size of the text can vary.

The central text

In the centre of the number plate you will find the name or associated trademark of the company that produced the number plate, followed by the postcode of their premises which is recorded on the Register of Number Plate Suppliers. In the case of our number plates, this is “Utopia Plates DH1 2XJ” - all on one line in our current generation plates. We also use the smallest text font that is legally allowed, as we prefer a cleaner and less intrusive look to our plates.

The right aligned text

On the bottom right hand corner of a legal number plate, sits the information regarding the manufacturer of the number plate supplies used to create the plate, and also the BSAU number. The BSAU number denotes which number plate standard the plate has been manufactured to. The most current BSAU standard is BSAU 145d - this is what features on our number plates.

Do I have to have the text at the bottom of my plate?

If you want your number plates to be road legal, they must feature the above described information at the bottom of the plate. The reasoning is that when looking at a legal number plate, you should be able to see who made it, where they are based, who was their supplier and which British standard for number plates it was made to. This is information which can be important to the DVLA or the Police. Some people choose to have blank number plates, but this is not legal for road use - they’re for show use only.