Fitting your new personalised number plates

Once you’ve chosen and ordered your new personalised number plates, they’ll be sent to you through the post and the final job is to fit them to your vehicle. Plates can be attached in various ways. The simplest way is to use strips of sponge backed sticky tape. Once you’ve removed the old plates, give the surface a thorough clean and make sure it’s completely dry as the tape won’t stick well to a wet surface. Cut the strips to size if they’re not already correct, then apply four strips equally spaced along the length of the plate. Remove the backing paper and firmly press it into place. Hold it in place, pressing hard for a minute or so to make sure it’s well stuck. It’s a good idea to then leave it for 24 hours to make sure it’s well attached, you don’t want your new plates to fall off while you’re driving about!

For a more secure fit you can use screws. You’ll need to measure and drill holes in your plates and then screw them to your vehicle with a screwdriver. You can then fit caps on top of the screw heads to give a tidy finish.

If you’re worried about number plate theft, then special anti-tamper screws are available. These are easy to screw in, but impossible to unscrew without breaking the plate. Remember though, if you’re planning on getting a new car soon, you won’t be able to move your plates from one vehicle to another with them breaking, so you’ll need to order a new set. Some local authorities give away free anti-tamper screws so it’s a good idea to check your local council or police website to see if they run such a scheme.

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