Number plate failures are annoying precisely because they've got nothing to do with how the car drives. But a plate has to be legible, correctly formatted, securely fitted and lit at the rear, and a surprising number aren't.
Number plate failures are annoying precisely because they've got nothing to do with how the car drives. But a plate has to be legible, correctly formatted, securely fitted and lit at the rear, and a surprising number aren't.
The usual culprits are faded or peeling plates on older cars, novelty spacing that makes the registration read as something else, and non-standard fonts fitted at some point in the car's past.
The VIN check is separate: the tester has to be able to find and read the vehicle identification number, and it has to match the record.
Registration plate insecure, illegible or incorrectly formatted
The plate can't be read properly, isn't the correct format, or isn't securely attached. Faded, cracked or peeling plates are the most common version; novelty spacing and non-standard fonts are the next.
Full explanation of Registration plate insecure, illegible or incorrectly formatted
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