Motorbike Number Plates — UK Legal
Correctly sized, road-legal motorcycle number plates made to BS AU 145e. Standard, 3D gel and premium finishes available. MOT compliant and dispatched fast across the UK.
Purpose-Built for Motorcycles
Correct Motorcycle Sizing
We produce plates in the standard 9″×7″ and other legal motorcycle formats — not adapted car plates, but correctly specified bike plates.
MOT Compliant
All our motorcycle plates are manufactured to BS AU 145e and will pass an MOT inspection when correctly fitted to your bike.
Two-Line Display
UK law requires motorcycle registrations to be displayed over two lines. All our bike plates are laid out correctly — no single-line plates that could fail an MOT.
Fast Dispatch
Same-day dispatch on orders placed before 2pm on weekdays. Tracked delivery — your new plate arrives quickly.
Motorcycle Plate Sizes
The legal plate sizes for motorcycles differ from car plates. Here are the most common options.
9″ × 7″
The most common motorcycle plate size used in the UK. Oblong format, fits most modern bikes. Displays the registration over two lines with correct character sizing for bikes registered after September 2001.
7″ × 5.5″
A compact square plate format popular for smaller motorcycles and scooters where space behind the rear light unit is limited. Still fully compliant when character dimensions are correct.
8″ × 6″
An intermediate size that suits many cruiser and custom motorcycle fitments. Provides slightly more space between characters for a clean, readable display.
UK Motorcycle Number Plate Law — What Every Rider Needs to Know
Motorcycle number plate law in the UK is stricter in some respects than many riders realise. Motorcycles registered in the UK are only required to display a rear number plate — there is no legal requirement for a front plate on a motorbike. However, the rear plate must fully comply with BS AU 145e and the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001 or the rider risks a fine and a failed MOT.
The most important — and most commonly broken — rule is that motorcycle registration characters must be displayed over two separate lines, not on a single line. A single-line plate, even if it uses the correct font and dimensions, is not legal on a motorcycle and will fail an MOT. This two-line format requirement exists because motorcycle plates are physically smaller than car plates; displaying all characters on one line would require them to be either too small to read or too squashed together to meet spacing requirements.
The character dimensions on motorcycle plates are also different from car plates. For bikes first registered on or after 1 September 2001 (which use the current alphanumeric format, e.g. AB21 CDE), the characters must be 64mm tall, 44mm wide (except I and 1), with a 10mm stroke, 10mm spacing between characters, and 30mm between the age identifier group and the random letters. These are meaningfully different from the 79mm character height required on car plates.
Character Dimensions by Vehicle Age
| Vehicle Era | Char Height | Char Width | Stroke | Char Spacing | Group Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post-Sept 2001 (current format) | 64mm | 44mm | 10mm | 10mm | 30mm |
| 1973–2001 (prefix/suffix format) | 89mm | 64mm | 16mm | 13mm | 38mm |
| Pre-1973 (classic/vintage) | 79mm | 50mm | 14mm | 11mm | N/A |
Do Motorcycle Plates Need to be Yellow?
No. Motorcycles display a rear plate only, and the rear plate must have a yellow (amber) reflective background with black characters — the same as the rear plate on a car. There is no white front plate for motorcycles. The plate background must be retroreflective (i.e. it must reflect light back towards its source), which is why purely decorative or novelty plates do not meet the standard.
Can I Have 3D Gel or 4D Laser-Cut on My Motorcycle Plate?
Yes — as long as the plate is otherwise manufactured to BS AU 145e, raised-character styles are permitted on motorcycle plates. 3D gel characters (domed polyurethane resin, approx. 2mm depth) and 4D laser-cut acrylic characters (approx. 3–5mm depth) are both popular upgrades for motorcycle owners who want their bike to stand out. We offer both finishes on all our motorcycle plate sizes.
How to Order Your Motorcycle Plate
Select Motorcycle in the Builder
Choose “Motorcycle” as your vehicle type in our plate builder. The tool will automatically configure the correct two-line layout and character sizing for your bike’s registration format and the size you select.
Upload Your V5C
As a DVLA-registered supplier we must verify your entitlement. Upload a photo of your V5C (logbook) or new keeper supplement. We verify quickly during business hours — usually within minutes.
Receive & Fit Your Plate
Your motorcycle plate is dispatched via tracked courier and arrives next working day (for orders before 2pm). Fitting is straightforward — plates come with standard mounting holes, ready to fit to your bike’s existing bracket.