The new British Standard has now been confirmed as going live from January 2021. It becomes mandatory from 1st September 2021.

The new British Standard rules go even further to ensure public safety and security through ANPR camera readings and harder, more resilient plates.

Dank Number Plates are fully DVLA Registered and compliant with the new BSAU 145e regulations.

We've outlined the new rules below for your understanding:

Solid Black Digits: Two-tone effect fonts of any kind are no longer allowed. This includes Carbon Fibre & Glitter This is for ANPR cameras. 

Suppliers Details: The centre-bottom of the plate must include the supplier’s business name and postcode.

New BSAU145e Marking: All plates show the manufacturer name and BS AU 145e in the bottom right corner of the plate.

Spacing & Boarders: Correct spacing is essential for ANPR readability. Boarders are still legal.

Impact: Stone chips and minor parking collisions are unfortunately part of driving. The impact test ensures the plate’s longevity.

Bending: The components that make up a plate can separate from each other when the plate is bent. This is sometimes called plate delamination. The bend test prevents delamination on BNMA member supplied plates.

Thermal Change: The UK’s changeable temperature necessitates this test. The plate’s shape and size must remain the same when subjected to heat and cold.

Abrasion: Plates stay clear and easy-to-read if they pass the abrasion test. This protects against repeated exposure to dirt, road grime and jet-washing.

Resistance: Being removed from a vehicle. Provided adhesive pads are placed correctly along the plate, it will take over 160 hours of consistent pressure to detach a plate that passes the E standard.

Weathering: The weathering test under BS AU 145d remains the same under BS AU 145e. It’s a key and extensive test and replicates 2,275 hours of UV exposure; 2½ times more than some other European number plate test schedules.

Dirt: As a subset of the weathering test, plates must be able to resist simulated dirt.

Colourimetry: Plates must be made of components that show the correct white for front plates, yellow for rear plates and black for printed digits.

Retroreflection: To keep them distinct on a plate, the black digits and yellow or white background have very different retro reflectivity rules. The black digits cannot exceed 0.5 retroreflective units (cd/lx) whereas the white or yellow background can’t exceed 150 retroreflective units.

Near Infrared Contrast: ANPR cameras read plates by looking at the contrast between the digit and the plate background. This contrast is read in the near infrared (NIR) spectrum, similar to infrared or ultraviolet. The new rules make sure all plates can be read in NIR. The NIR test is repeated at various points during the accreditation process.