New Regulations on personal plates to be introduced 2026

[Mike Rowland - Essex AO]

8 hours ago, tex said:

Having worked at a car manufacturing plant for 30yrs inspecting just about everything to do with new cars and what is allowed etc.. The book of regulations is staggering, I mean staggering. Spacing for any letters and characters has ALWAYS been subject to tolerances and never altered. What did alter was lazy police enforcement. Anyone who changes the font has to be pretty vain. If you're moving characters to read a word that STILL doesn't read the proper original word.. Hmmmm

And yet DVLA sells personal plates that actively encourage a little spacing adjustment... Is displaying a personal plate vain, or just individual choice, just like choosing the car you drive?

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

Yep, what's more memorable, should there be an incident K3V AB ? or MW 15 BWC?

 

 

[Captain Colonial]

My good lady wife Lady Colonial destroyed our next door neighbour once over his personalised plate.  He was one of those people who was always trying to outdo everyone else with the latest gadgets or fashion - ostentatious to the extreme.  We were out in front of our home one Saturday when he and his wife (think Harry Enfield’s “considerably richer than you” couple) rolled up in his Mercedes with a personalised number plate (sadly, W@NK8R wasn’t permitted by the DVLA).

 

Him to Lady Colonial: “See my new number plate?  See how they’re my initials?”

 

Her, thoroughly unimpressed by it but especially by him, ice hanging off her words: “I see it.”

 

At this point, I’m wise enough to see the warning signs and to just stand back and enjoy the show…

 

Him: “Isn’t that great?  I love mine!  You should get one too!”

 

Her: “Why?”

 

Him, somewhat flummoxed: “Why?”

 

”Yes - why?”

 

I could tell she was leading him into a trap, which was great because for once, it wasn’t me.  Protip: Only marry a doctor of psychology if you’re smart enough to think before you say something stupid that gets analysed afterwards.

 

Him: “Because they’re great!”

 

”Why?”

 

”Well…. for one, because it makes it easier to find your car in a car park.”

 

Oh Lord, here we go…

 

Her, logic mode in full power: “Do you normally park in car parks full of silver Mercedes, making it difficult to easily identify which car is yours?”

 

”No, but…”

 

”Or is it that your memory is failing due to your advancing age, and you can’t recall registration numbers but you can remember your own initials?”  Ouch!

 

”Well no of course not, it’s just that…”

 

”Do others call you by your initials to save time?  Do they call you “GRS”?  Because if they do, that would make it easier for them to find you on the road.”

 

”No…”

 

”Then why do you think I should have one?  Because I don’t have any of those issues and if you don’t either, I fail to see the point.”

 

”Because they’re great!”

 

Her, looking thoughtful: “Hmmm - I see.  Fascinating.  I must go inside to study this in my books.”  She then turned and went into the house, leaving him befuddled and me fighting not to smirk.

 

Him, to me: “What did she mean by that?”

 

Me: “I’m not qualified to answer that question, but if you pay her £90 an hour, she can help you answer it yourself.”