Will your bike plate pass its MOT?
A number plate is one of the easiest things to fail an MOT on, and one of the easiest to put right. Testers are not looking for anything obscure. They are checking that the plate is correct, secure, and readable.
What the tester checks
- The registration is correct and matches the vehicle record
- The characters are the right size, spacing and font
- The plate is on two lines, for a bike registered on or after 1 January 1973
- The characters are a single shade of black
- The plate is secure and not cracked, faded or discoloured
- The reflective surface is intact
- The plate carries the British Standard number and supplier details
The most common failures
Spacing. Altering the gaps to make the registration read as a word or a name is misrepresentation. It is a fail, and it carries a fine of up to £1,000 on top. This is the single most common plate-related failure.
Fixing bolts placed to change a character. A bolt positioned to turn an F into an E, or to close up a C, counts as misrepresentation just as much as changing the spacing does. Fit bolts through the character gaps or use sticky pads.
Fading. Yellow plates fade with UV exposure, and a bike plate sits out in the weather with nothing shielding it. A plate that has gone pale or patchy will fail on legibility even though nothing is broken.
Cracks and crazing. Vibration is harder on a bike plate than a car one. Check around the fixing points, which is where cracks usually start.
Non-compliant styling. Two-tone or coloured raised characters are not road legal under BS AU 145e, which requires a single shade of black. See our article on 4D and 3D plates for the detail.
A two-minute check before the test
- Wash the plate. Mud and road film obscure characters, and an obscured registration is an offence in its own right, not just an MOT issue.
- Stand back a few metres and read it. If you hesitate, so will the tester.
- Look for the BS AU 145e or 145d marking and the supplier name and postcode. No markings means no pass.
- Push gently at each corner. Any movement means the fixings need attention.
- Check the character gaps against the registration on your V5C. They should match exactly.
If it needs replacing
You will need to prove your identity and your entitlement to the registration. A V5C, new keeper slip, certificate of entitlement or retention document all work, along with an accepted form of ID. Any registered number plate supplier has to see those documents before making a plate, so it is worth having them to hand.
Our plates are made to BS AU 145e and carry the required markings, so a replacement ordered as a legal plate will satisfy a tester.