Number Plates Birmingham

3D and 4D plates for Birmingham drivers that are actually road legal

Birmingham loves a raised plate. Search for 4D number plates in the city and you’ll find big custom shops, social media sellers and plenty of “show plates” that look great on Instagram but can’t legally go on a car that’s driven on the road.

We’re a DVLA-registered number plate supplier. We make 3D gel, 4D and bevelled plates in our own workshop near Heathrow and post them to Birmingham with free tracked delivery. Every set we make is road legal. Here’s how to check that any raised plate is, wherever you buy it.

Road legal or show plate? The 30-second check

Hold the plate up and look for these. A road-legal plate has all of them:

• BS AU 145e printed on the plate. It’s usually at the bottom right. Plates made since September 2021 must carry it.
• The supplier’s name and postcode. Ours say PlateBoss.co.uk and TW4 6BX. No name means nobody is answerable for the plate.
• One solid black colour for the characters. Raised 3D and 4D characters are fine, but two-tone effects, printed shadows and coloured edges are not.
• The standard font. Every character is in the same plain typeface, 79mm tall. Italic, script or “squared-off” letters aren’t allowed.
• The standard spacing. Characters are evenly spaced with one gap between the two groups. Nothing has been squeezed up to spell a word.
• A seller who asked for your documents. If nobody checked your ID and V5C, the plates weren’t made by a registered supplier, or they were sold as show plates.

Our guides go into more detail: are 4D plates legal? and show plates vs road-legal plates.

Why it matters more in Birmingham

Cameras read your plate every time you drive into town

Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone has covered the city centre inside the A4540 Middleway since 1 June 2021. Birmingham City Council enforces it with number plate recognition: 67 cameras log every vehicle entering the zone. Cars that don’t meet the emissions standard pay £8 a day, and unpaid charges turn into a £120 penalty (£60 if paid within 14 days).

Your plate is how the system knows who you are, so it pays to have one that’s made to the standard and reads cleanly. Separately from the zone, driving with plates that don’t meet the rules can mean a fine of up to £1,000 and an MOT fail.

Plates go missing more often here

Freedom of Information figures collected by the AA show West Midlands Police recorded more than 12,000 number plate thefts between January 2015 and September 2018, with 2,352 in the most recent year. Thieves typically put them on a car of the same make and colour. If yours disappear, report it to the police straight away and see our guide to stolen number plates.

What West Midlands customers order

Orders we’ve posted to Birmingham city centre, Walsall and Coventry over the past year have been almost all raised or EV styles: 4D 3mm, 4D gel, 3D gel and EV plates with the green flash.

Current starting prices for a pair: 3D gel and 4D 3mm from £49.99, 4D gel 3mm £64.99, bevelled £69.99, and EV plates from £34.99 for printed up to £69.99 for EV 4D gel. Every set comes with a 3-year warranty.

Getting them to Birmingham

Delivery works the same as anywhere in the UK. Tracked 48 is free and Tracked 24 costs £5. Once you’ve ordered, send us photo ID and your V5C (or another document from our valid documents list). Your plates are made and posted the weekday your documents arrive, as long as they reach us by 2pm.

B is for Birmingham

The first two letters on a current-style registration show the DVLA region where the car was first registered. Birmingham’s are BA to BY, so a B at the start usually means the car was first registered somewhere in the West Midlands.

Reviews

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Birmingham questions

Are 4D plates legal in Birmingham?

Yes, if they meet BS AU 145e. The law is the same across the UK. Raised characters are allowed as long as they’re one solid black, in the standard font and spacing, and the plate carries the supplier’s details.

Will the Clean Air Zone cameras read 3D or 4D plates?

Road-legal raised plates use exactly the same font, size and spacing as printed plates, which is what number plate recognition is built around. Show plates with stylised letters or changed spacing are a different matter, and they aren’t legal on the road anyway.

I bought plates locally. How do I know they’re legal?

Run through the 30-second check above. If the BS AU 145e mark or the supplier’s name and postcode are missing, they aren’t road legal.

Do you deliver to Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Coventry?

Yes, to every West Midlands address, with free Tracked 48 or Tracked 24 for £5.

Can I get green flash EV plates in 4D?

Yes. We make EV plates in printed, 3D gel, 4D and 4D gel. The printed green flash badge is included in the price.

I’ve just bought a car in Birmingham. Can you make plates before the V5C arrives?

Usually, yes. The new keeper slip (V5C/2) counts as proof, along with your photo ID. Check our valid documents list for other options.