Are you thinking of customising your vehicle with a personalised number plate? Perhaps you need more information on how a private plate works?
Well, you have come to the right place.
Custom number plates are a must-have accessory for car enthusiasts. So popular are custom number plates, that the private plate industry is currently worth a staggering £1.3 billion in the UK, an increase of 275% since 2018.
As an established provider of registration plates, we know that lots of people spend time Googling ‘can you create your own number plate DVLA?’
So, we will provide a summary of the important points you need to bear in mind when you are choosing a personalised number plate. Keep reading to find out the answers to commonly asked questions about this topic.
What is a personalised number plate?
A personalised (or private) number plate is a number plate that you can buy for a vehicle, which has your chosen letters and numbers on the registration. This could be your initials, name, your business, or a phrase that means something to you.
Personalised number plates can sell for hundreds and even thousands- one of the most expensive number plates ever bought is ‘VIP 1’, which was purchased by former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich for £285,000!
Can you create your own number plate DVLA?
Have you found yourself Googling ‘can you create your own number plate DVLA?’
Well, we are here to tell you that yes, you can create your own number plate, and be creative!
But if you are shopping for a number plate, you might find that the exact combination of letters and numbers you want has already been taken by someone else. So, you usually have to find the closest combination possible.
To create you own number plate, you can:
- Visit the DVLA website and use their search tool to find your personalised registration. Here, you can browse their selection of available number plates.
- Attend a DVLA auction, where you (and other bidders) can bid for certain number plates.
- Visit a dealer who sells private number plates.
- Read car magazines to see if anyone is advertising plates privately.
If you buy a number plate from a private seller, make sure that they have the right documentation, and check that the plate meets the legal requirements set out by UK law.
Criminals may forge their documentation and sell you an illegal number plate, so it is your responsibility to check that your number plate is legal for road use.
Why buy a personalised number plate?
A personalised number plate is a cool, unique way to upgrade your car.
Here are a few reasons why personalised number plates are a fun, useful customisation feature of any vehicle:
- Stylish appearance: personalised number plates are highly fashionable, as they are sleek, sophisticated and can be customised to your preferred colours and designs.
- Increased durability: 3D and 4D plates are built to last, so they won’t fall off or become damaged after pressure washes or due to adverse weather conditions.
- Highly visible numbers and letters: by law, your registration plate must be easy to read by police, vehicle inspectors and other road users, so a personalised number plate will be more eye-catching and bold than a normal plate, which thereby increases your safety on the road.
- Investment opportunity: private plates can sell for hundreds and even thousands, so there will always be an eager buyer who will want yours if you decide to sell it- which will give you a decent profit!
What is an illegal number plate?
An illegal number plate is one which is incorrectly displayed. It could contain the wrong spacings, font, colours, style, material, and so on.
If your vehicle is displaying illegal or incorrectly displayed number plates, you could be fined up to £1,000 and your vehicle will fail its MOT test.
If you are a first-time offender, police will issue you with a ‘vehicle defect rectification notice’, giving you 14 days to get the plate made legal and get the form stamped by an official supplier, which then gets handed in to your local police station.
It is important to keep your private plate clean: if it gets cloned by criminals, you could receive speeding tickets or parking fines that do not belong to you. If this happens, return the tickets and fines to the issuing authority, and explain what happened, providing any evidence to prove this.
You should also contact the DVLA and the police if your private plate gets cloned, so they can retain this information in their records and help you.
Will police stop me if I have a personalised number plate?
Police will only pull you over if your personalised number plate is illegal and doesn’t meet the requirements of the DVLA.
On your number plate, the acrylic characters must be displayed in black, on a white background for the front of the vehicle, and on a yellow background for the rear of the vehicle.
If your number plate is incorrectly displayed or dirty, you could be fined up to £1,000 and your vehicle may fail its MOT test.
Here at Bespoke Plates, our 4D 3mm plates are 100% road legal, so you won’t have to worry about running into legal trouble if you purchase a legal plate from us.
Will I fail my MOT if I have a personalised number plate?
Here at Bespoke Plates, our number plates are 100% legal and they comply with the British Standard for Number Plates.
As professional producers of bespoke solutions, we guarantee that every product is legal.
We don’t want you to worry about whether your number plate is illegal after you purchase it from us.
We offer installation on all of our plates, guaranteeing you will pass your MOT. Self-installation may result in you damaging the plate, or not securing it correctly, which is why we offer this service to you. The only exception to this is show plates.
If you buy personalised number plates from elsewhere, you must do your research and make sure that the products are legal for the road, as per UK law.
Where can I buy a personalised number plate?
We are a trusted supplier of number plates here at Bespoke Plates, offering options for your car, van, motorbike, or lorry. We also sell number plates for electric cars.
From 3D plates, 4D plates, standard number plates, and gel plates, our products are durable, weather-resistant, and eye-catching.
Customers are increasingly going for our 3D and 3D number plates, as these offer a sleek, three-dimensional appearance, which give any vehicle an instantly contemporary finish.
If you need a number plate which is road-safety complaint, then there’s no need to worry: at Bespoke Plates, all of our custom number plates are 100% legal for use on the road.
Looking for a decorative, promotional number plate instead? Well, our number plates are available in show form, so this is for you!
For each of our products, as a custom number plate maker, we have all bases covered as far as your customisation options are concerned. Our product pages, therefore, let you choose the style, tint, border, badges, and type of plate with choices for both legal and show plates.
Purchasing a Number Plate from Bespoke Plates
At Bespoke Plates, our process is very straightforward:
- Head to our website, and choose between 3D or 4D plates under the ‘build your plate’ tab
- Enter your registration for a preview of the plate
- Specify whether this will be a legal plate or a show plate
- Choose your style
- Select whether your plate will be for the front and back of your car or just one of them
- Select your size
- Select additional customizable options
- Have it delivered to your home
What documents do I need to purchase a number plate?
When purchasing a number plate, you must prove that you are the registered vehicle owner. Hence, you will have to provide us with either:
- the V5C logbook
- the V5CNI logbook
- V5C/2 or V5C/2NI new keeper slip
- the V778 certificate
You must also bring a document to confirm your name and identity. These could be your:
- driving license
- current passport
- National identity card
- utility bill/Council Tax bill from the last 6 months
- bank statement from the last 6 months
- bank card/ credit card
- financial statement from the last 6 months
For more advice about personalised number plates, click here to read our helpful articles on:
- Do Personalized Number Plates Affect Insurance?
- Can You Clone a Number Plate?
- Are 4D Gel Plates Legal?
- The Number 1 Plate Maker in the UK: Bespoke Plates
How do you install a personalised number plate?
If you have purchased a road-legal number plate, you can stick on your number plate yourself, using our fixing accessories here at Bespoke Plates.
Alternatively, our expert technicians can also install your plates for you, if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself. Get in contact with us and see how we can help you today.
As a legally recognised supplier and installer of custom plates and private plates, we can guarantee your plates will abide by the specifications of the law, and will advise you if your design falls outside of the specifications.
About Bespoke Plates
As one of the established number plate makers in the UK, we at Bespoke Plates have all the options you can ask for. From 3D plates, 4D plates, standard number plates, and gel plates, we offer outstanding craftsmanship with every plate we produce.
We are an approved license vendor, so we can guarantee that your modification abides by the DVLA rules, whilst offering same-day collections and a full fitting service.
So, what are you waiting for? Browse our options today to get the plate that speaks to you, and speak for you, with Bespoke Plates.
We hope to have provided valuable information, whilst also answering the question ‘can you create your own number plate DVLA?’
Want to read more about all things custom number plates? Check out our blog here.
To get in touch and discuss the full fitting service we offer with our plates, you can talk to one of our friendly team members by:
- Email – info@bespoke-plates.co.uk
- Phone – 0333 006 7878
- Visit in-store –36A Broughton Street, Manchester, England, M8 8NN.
