Motorcycle Number Plate Laws: Sizes, Characters & More

Adding custom plates is an easy way to level up your motorcycle and stand out on the road.

However, to be road-legal, motorbike plates have to adhere to strict rules.

If your plates don’t comply, you face fines, failed inspections, and costly legal issues.

Regulations for motorbikes differ slightly to those for cars, so it’s vital you know what they are if you’re in the market for some custom plates.

We stock a huge range of road legal custom motorcycle plates. Build your own with our plate builder today and receive them in no time with our fast delivery service!

Motorcycle plate laws

DVLA regulations state that:

Plates must be manufactured from reflective material
The backplate must have a yellow background with black characters
Patterned backgrounds are not permitted
Number plates must show the supplier
All plates must be marked with a British Standard Number

These apply to both cars and motorbikes. Specific motorbike laws state:

Number plates must always be displayed at the back of the vehicle
Front number plates are optional, but if you choose one it must have a white background with black lettering
All motorcycles and tricycles must have a number plate lettering on two lines

Motorcycle number plate size laws

While there are no laws for the exact size of the outline of motorcycle plates, there are rules regarding spacing and character sizes that you must adhere to.

For motorbikes manufactured after 1st September 2001, these are:

Characters must be 64mm tall
Characters (except the number 1 or letter I) must be 44mm wide
The character stroke (the thickness of the black print) must be 10mm
The space between characters must be 10mm
The space between the age identifier and the random letters must be 30mm
The margins at the top, bottom and side of the plate must be 11mm
Vertical space between the age identifier and the random numbers must be 13mm

For motorbikes made before 1st September 2001, but after 1st January 1973, they are:

Characters must be 89mm tall
Characters (except the number 1 or letter I) must be 64mm wide
The character stroke (the thickness of the black print) must be 16mm
The space between characters must be 13mm
The space between the age identifier and the random letters must be 38mm
The margins at the top, bottom and side of the plate must be 13mm
The vertical space between the age identifier and the random numbers must be 19mm

And for classic rides manufactured before 1st January 1973, they are:

Characters must be 79mm tall
Characters (except the number 1 or letter I) must be 50mm wide
The character stroke (the thickness of the black print) must be 14mm
The space between characters must be 11mm
The space between the age identifier and the random letters must be 33mm
The margins at the top, bottom and side of the plate must be 11mm
Vertical space between the age identifier and the random numbers must be 19mm

What size are standard motorcycle plates?

The standard motorcycle number plate size is 9 x 7 inches (228mm x 178mm).

However, smaller motorcycle number plates are legal as long as they adhere to the minimum specifications regarding spacing and character size above.

Custom plates can be as short as these minimum specifications allow.

Get 100% road legal motorcycle plates from Number1Plates

Looking for custom plates that transform your motorbike?

Our plates are 100% road legal, MOT friendly, and meet all inspection standards.

We also guarantee:

Affordable prices
Quick delivery
Quality, long-lasting materials
Endless personalisation options

Choose from a range of unique borders, slogans, and design options to bring your vision to life.

Our custom plate builder makes designing your plates easy, but you can also contact us for unique requests.

FAQs

Why do motorcycles need number plates?

Motorcycle number plates are required for legal identification. They allow authorities to track vehicles, helping with law enforcement, registration, and tax purposes. Plates also ensure that motorcycles are insured, registered, and compliant with road safety regulations.

What are the laws for Northern Ireland plates?

Northern Irish plates have different characteristics from plates in the rest of the UK. For instance:

Dateless: NI plates have no year indicators, meaning they can be assigned to any vehicle regardless of age
Format: They’re formatted differently, with one to three letters followed by a number from 1 to 9999
Characters: NI plates always contain a ‘Z’ or an ‘I’, and sometimes both
Price: NI plates are often more affordable than regular plates

They’re popular for motorcyclists looking to disguise the age of their vehicle, and tend to have more character width at the bottom of the plate.

What’s the smallest number plate I can have for my motorbike?

Rules around sizes relate to characters and spacing rather than the actual plate.

As long as your reg meets these standards, your actual plate can be as small as this accommodates.

As a result, the less characters your plate has, the smaller your plate can be.

Are motorcycle number plates legal on cars?

Rules regarding character sizes and spacing differ between standard UK car and motorbike licence plates, so motorbike plates can not be displayed on a car.