Number plates for filming: dating, period plates and the rules

Number plates are one of the easiest ways to date a car on screen, and one of the easiest things to get wrong. An eagle-eyed viewer will spot a 2001-format plate in a 1990s flashback, or a car wearing a registration that wasn't issued until years after the story is set. This guide covers how UK plates date a car, which plate styles suit which periods, and what the DVLA rules mean for a production.

UK registrations have followed several formats, and each gives away a car's age.

• Dateless registrations were issued before February 1963 in mainland Great Britain. They carry no age identifier, which is why they often turn up on cars of any age.
• Suffix registrations (for example ABC 1A) were issued between February 1963 and July 1983. The final letter shows the year.
• Prefix registrations (for example A1 ABC) were issued between August 1983 and August 2001. The first letter shows the year.
• Current-style registrations (for example AB51 ABC) were introduced on 1 September 2001. The two numbers are an age identifier that changes on 1 March and 1 September each year. For example, "51" covers September 2001 to February 2002, and "02" covers March to August 2002.

For period work, the car's own registration usually tells the right story, because it was issued when the car was new. Problems tend to arise when a car wears a later "cherished" plate, or when a scene needs a fictional registration.

DVLA guidance says vehicles manufactured before 1 January 1973 may display traditional "black and white" plates, with white, silver or grey characters on a black plate. Since April 2020, vehicles manufactured before 1 January 1980 can also display them, provided the keeper has applied to DVLA and the vehicle is registered in the historic vehicles tax class. Those plates look right on many 1960s and 1970s cars, but bear in mind that many cars of the period wore reflective white and yellow plates when new. Check reference photos for your exact year and setting.

GOV.UK states that number plates must show the vehicle's registration number correctly. Characters can't be rearranged or altered so they're hard to read, and you could be fined up to £1,000, with the vehicle failing its MOT, if you drive with incorrectly displayed plates. Plates for road use must meet the legal specification, including the British Standard mark for plates fitted after 1 September 2021. They can only be made up by a registered number plate supplier, who must see proof that you're entitled to use the registration.

In practice, that means:

• On public roads, a picture car should carry its own legal plates. Don't drive a car on the road wearing a registration that isn't its own, or a "show plate" style that doesn't meet the rules.
• Screen-only plates belong on a closed set or private land. If a scene needs a fictional registration or a different-era plate, plan to fit it only for takes where the car is off the public road. Swap back before the car moves on the highway.
• Factor the swap into the schedule. Fitting and removing plates takes time. Whoever does it needs to know which shots use which plate, for continuity.

It's easy to focus on the hero car and forget the plates on every other vehicle in shot. A modern plate on a car parked in the background of a 1985 scene gives the game away just as surely. Walk the frame before each set-up, or ask the art department to check. Where a modern car can't be moved, many productions frame around it, dress over it or deal with the plate in post-production. Background vehicles cast for the period avoid most of these problems.

When dressing a whole street, include the plates in your brief for background vehicles for film.

If a story calls for a specific plate, for example one the audience has to read, think carefully before choosing a combination. A registration that belongs to a real vehicle could cause confusion for its keeper. Many productions treat on-screen registrations as a clearance item alongside phone numbers and addresses. Talk to your clearance or legal team about the approach for your production.

Stories set outside the UK raise a different question. A car standing in for a French, German or American vehicle may need foreign-style plates on screen. The same principle applies: on the public road, the car should carry its own legal UK registration, and screen plates belong on a closed set or private land. Left-hand-drive cars help sell a foreign setting. Our American cars page includes left-hand-drive vehicles for US-set stories, and the art department can supply period-correct foreign plates for screen use.

1. Start with the year of the story, then check that each car's plate was issued on or before that date.
2. Remember the real mix. In any year, most cars on the road were several years old, so a range of plate years looks natural.
3. Watch the details. The font, the plate colours, the supplier markings and any dealer stickers can all date a car.
4. Check the background, not just the hero car. Background vehicles are where period mistakes usually slip through.
5. Keep a plate log for continuity across shooting days.

For the wider picture on period accuracy, read our guide to period-correct cars for a 1960s, 70s or 80s drama, then browse 1970s cars, 1980s cars or period cars for film.

This article summarises public DVLA guidance for planning purposes and is not legal advice.