4D license plates have recently been introduced into British vehicles. The main difference between 4D license plates and 3D license plates, which you may have seen in the past, is that 3D plates do not have high characters, but are two-colored. These two-tone digits will no longer be allowed on UK licence plates from September 2021 due to the DVLA`s stricter definitions of black and the need to have a clear distinction between numeric and retro-reflective NIR values. This is to help ANPR cameras record your Reg. This change is due to the switch to a new British standard (BS145e), which will also come into force from September 2021. As Sergeant Dan Pascoe of the Surrey Road Police Unit explained to us, while there is no law against a licence plate that has raised lettering in itself, the characters cannot stand out to the point where the recording is legible from an angle. Before deciding where to buy your license plates, make sure the company manufactures them to UK standards. All UK licence plates must be marked with a UK standard number (BS AU 145e for plates installed after September 2021). Despite the changes, there is no complete ban on 3D license plates. BUT, as of September 1, 2021, there are some differences between what is allowed and what is not based on physical disk codes. In early March, new licence plates were introduced on UK roads while the “22” mark appears on new cars registered after the first of the month.
The next question you might ask yourself is: Are 4D license plates legal in the UK and in the eyes of the DVLA? Read the brochure INF104: License Plates and License Plates – Measuring Height and Size, for more information. While 3D plates have slightly increased numbers and letters, the 4D alternative offers laser-cut acrylic numbers and letters connected to the plate. If you have a trailer, read inF291: License Plates and Trailer License Plates. Individual letters must be attached to the surface of the license plate and must not be removable. The lettering of the license plate must be printed in a single shade of black and must not be reflective. Indeed, under certain lighting conditions, the recording could be hidden. Again, drivers who show signs that are not in compliance with the law could face a fine of up to £1,000. The license plates of motorcycles and motorcycles must be on 2 lines. If you do not display a licence plate or a plate that does not meet the correct standard, you will be liable to a fine of up to £1,000.
There are quite strict rules for the appearance of license plates. You have to be white at the front of the car and yellow at the back, have a black font and you can`t have any patterns in the background. Although both are popular options, the license plate law was amended in late 2021 by introducing a new standard for their manufacture and establishing new rules for so-called 3D and 4D license plates, which created confusion. Given that our sister company Jepson and Co is the largest manufacturer of physical license plates in the country, you may not be surprised that to buy a set of legal 4D license plates on the street, you should visit them. How does negativity bias come into play here? First of all, the unscrupulous creation of a “press article” that definitely raises a negative point (3D / 4D will be illegal), without factual basis, will receive much more attention and clicks. It is particularly advantageous if the editor of said article does not produce 3D/4D plates, but only flat printed plates. Image source: Ross Hollis to perfectlyprintedplates.com Immediately after the changes in September 2021, additional requirements were added in March 2022. We understand that many people found this confusing and wondered if this was the right time to invest in 3D or 4D plates. The RULES and license plate regulations have changed over the past year – with a number of new technical standards in effect since September 2021. I saw that from September 2021 the letters can no longer be replaced.
How will it work with 3D/4D letters? ● The license plate material is reflective ● There is no background pattern ● The front panel letters are black on white ● The rear license plate letters are black on yellow ● License plate signs must have a certain size and height: ● All characters must be 79 mm in size ● They must be 55 mm wide, with the exception of the number 1 or the letter I ● The lines on these black characters must be 14 mm thick ● The distances between them must measure 11 mm. ● There are other rules regarding character spacing and margins that you can find in the DVLA INF104 brochure. If you have a license plate that follows 1. Created in September 2021, it displays the code BS145e and must comply with the new DVLA rules. These signs are new to UK roads, and many have questioned whether these 4D licence plates are legal in the eyes of the DVLA and UK law. If you`re wondering if 4D license plates are legal, we`ve covered you below with a quick and easy guide. If you drive a motorcycle or tricycle registered before September 1, 2001, you can also display a license plate at the front, but you are not obliged to do so. While it`s not technically illegal to have 4D license plates attached to your car, they can cause you a lot of unnecessary stress for a small styling upgrade. From 1. In September 2021, cars registered with 71 licence plates were the first to feature an updated design that now complies with the new UK standard for retro-reflective licence plates. At a glance, 3D license plates are very similar to the standard license plates seen on most cars on UK roads.
On closer inspection, however, these license plates differ due to the markedly beveled font used for the recording lettering itself. This gives the visual impression that the text is in 3D, when in reality the letters and numbers remain flush with the surface of the license plate. While 3D and 4D license plates have become a daily sight on UK roads, there is a lot of confusion as to their legality. Our guide aims to summarize what these license plates are and explain whether they are legal or not before deciding to display them on your car on a public road. The BSAU code on a license plate indicates the standard by which the license plate was manufactured: you often need to provide your V5C logbook and ID when you pick up your license plates. The new rules stipulate that all lettering on a license plate must have the same uniform shade of black. This effectively prohibits the use of shades that use different shades of black or color to give 2D characters a 3D look. In response to a government petition to end the ban on 3D/4D license plates [2], the Department of Transport clarified the position – as long as the 3D gel and 4D laser cut letters meet the requirements of the current BSAU 145d standard, they are legal and would not need to be changed after September. when the new standard comes into force.
