Hay all.
Ok I went to my local number plate maker getting them to show me what my personalised plate will look like. I mentioned about the characters on the front plate for imports can be 64mm in height.
Now the guy there does amazing jobs with plates and all graphics! But he disagreed and said it has to have the characters at 79mm in height. Jurgan told me they can be smaller and I read on some websites that the characters can be 64mm in height at the front.
So I e-mailed the DVLA with the question and yes they can be 64mm in height. I have pasted the reply I got for any of you that get told that a Jap imported car number plate has to have the characters 79mm in height by there local number plate maker.
The Reply:
Dear Mr Malcolm
Thank you for your email received on 11/12/09. Your email reference number is 186847.
The Road Vehicles ( Display of Registration Marks) (Amendment) regulations 2002 SI no. 2687 came into force in November 2002.
These amendment regulations introduce a new regulation 14A, making special provision in relation to the size and spacing of characters in the registration number of some imported vehicles. These regulations also include the display of motorcycle sizes number plates on imported vehicles. The provision only applies to vehicles imported into the UK which do not have European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval, and are so constructed, that the area available for the fixing of the registration plate precludes the display on the plate of a registration number in conformity with the requirements of regulation 14.
Also contained is an amendment to regulation 3, to prohibit the use of a number plate on which the background is patterned or textured, or gives that appearance.
Where a vehicle has been allocated a UK registration number, the number plate must comply with the specification and standards laid out in the Road Vehicles ( Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001, as amended. Certain imported vehicles may be permitted to display numberplates with smaller characters if the vehicle does not have European Community Vehicle Type Approval and the vehicle's construction/design cannot accommodate standard size numberplates.
The dimensions for the smaller sized plate are:
• each character in the registration number must be 64mm high
the width of each character of the number, other than the letter 'I' and the figure '1' must be 44mm
• the width of every part of the stroke forming a character in a number must be 10mm
the spacing between any two characters within a group must be 10mm
• the vertical spacing between groups of characters must be 5mm
• the width of a margin between the number and the top and lateral sides of the numberplate must be not less than 5mm
• the space between the bottom of the number/character and the bottom of the plate must not be less than 13mm, but within that space, the space between the bottom of the number and the top of the name and postcode of the person the plate was supplied must not be less than 5mm.
Do not reply to this email. If you wish to contact us again about this response then please use our Reply Form or copy and paste the following URL in to your browser:
https://emaildvla.direct.gov.uk/emaildvla/cegemail/directgov/en/reply_form_vehicles.html
When filling in the form the email reference number 186847 will be required.
Regards
G Parslow
Customer Enquiries Group
DVLA