During the summer season, VRM Swansea’s Plates4Less team noticed an increase in inquiries about the legality of the GB/EU flag on number plates of British registered vehicles traveling to the continent. The popular GB/EU Number Plate flag is no longer being sold in the UK, and people who still display these number plates do not automatically qualify to drive in Europe unless they include an additional identifier.
Antony Clark, a number plate expert at Plates4Less, explained, “With people going on holiday and realising that the old GB/EU plate no longer qualifies them to drive abroad, we’ve seen a rise in existing customers asking us if it’s still legal to use their number plates in the UK or worrying that they might fail their MoT.”
According to Antony Clark, it is not necessary to change your number plate; you just need to remove the GB/EU flag if your vehicle is staying in the UK. He clarified, “While we are no longer allowed to supply new number plates with the GB/EU flag, it is still perfectly legal to drive with these number plates in the UK.”
Strict rules and regulations govern UK number plates to ensure their road legality, including the font, spacing, and material. An illegal number plate can result in fines of up to £1000 and potential MoT failure.
In the UK, you can still order legal number plates with a flag decoration on the left-hand side. Flags that are currently allowed include the Union Jack, the Cross of Saint George, the Cross of Saint Andrew, and the Red Dragon of Wales.
“The UK number plate flag now works like the EU flag used to—it removes the need for an additional black and white UK sticker unless you are driving to Spain, Cyprus, or Malta. Despite this, people are much less interested in getting a UK flag,” Antony explained. “Before Brexit, 21% of our customers ordered an EU flag. However, in 2023, only 5% of customers ordered the UK flag. It seems that some people preferred the EU flag, not just because it made it easier to drive outside of the UK but because they liked the design of it.”
Antony also noted that owners of private number plates often opt for flags to show their political allegiances, even if they have no plans to drive abroad. “Some clients proudly and consciously opt for the newer UK flag, but others request the old EU plates to show their love for the EU,” Antony continued. “We’ve got to tell them that we can’t legally supply those any longer for use on the roads.”
To determine the requirements for driving abroad, motorists should always check the specific regulations of the country they are traveling to.
