Plate Builder

Please refer to our delivery information page.

We use the Evri delivery network via HubEurope, enabled by daily flights out of the Channel Islands to the UK.

Orders placed by 3pm are dispatched on the same day for weekdays. Any orders placed after 3pm on a Friday until 3pm on a Monday will all be dispatched on the Monday (excluding bank holiday). Production continues throughout, however our postal partners don’t offer pick-ups during weekends and holidays.

We offer an ‘Express’ 1-2 working day delivery service (when ordered on a weekday), or an ‘Economy’ 2 working day service. Both methods are fully tracked. You will receive a tracking reference number for your order via email once your order has been received. Please contact us in the event that you haven’t received a tracking number, although please check your junk folder ahead of doing so.

Tracking information and the latest status for your order can be found here using your reference.

We also offer an additional super economy Royal Mail service which takes 3-5 working days and is un-tracked. We would only recommend using this service should cost be a significant factor and there is no concern over the delivery time. The tracker provided will only provide an update on the Royal Mail system upon a delivery attempt. Royal Mail tracking information can be found here.

Plates are placed in a specifically designed envelope / bubble lined package with a thin film separator between plates in order to offer protection.

Pressed plates have a dummy plastic plate included within the packaging in order to keep the stricture and integrity of the metal plates.

We endeavour to send out all orders placed on the day prior to 5pm, however due to the post pick up time variation, we can only aim to have all orders placed by 3pm sent out on the same day.

No documentation is required whatsoever.

Simply create your design / plate within the plate builder, add it to the cart and proceed through checkout. At no point is a copy of your identification or V5 documentation required. Your order will join the manufacturing queue as soon as it is received, there is no delay whilst we wait for documents as we do not require anything.

ABS and Acrylic are both types of plastic. Acrylic is more brittle than ABS, and ABS is a bit softer than acrylic. ABS is typically very dark and Acrylic is typically transparent. In the context of (our) number plates, ABS is a hard black backing, pre-layered with a reflective film overlaying the plate, where our printed media is front applied over the reflective. Therefore the printed film (and therefore registration/design) is exposed on the front of the plate. Acrylic plates use a 3 layer manufacturing process, where the printed film/media is applied to the back of the acrylic plate and a separate reflective layer then rolled on the back of the film. You are therefore viewing the printed film through the transparent acrylic plastic, meaning that the film isn’t exposed. Although no contact at all is generally desirable, it means that if the plate is scratched or damaged, the acrylic takes the brunt of it rather than the film. Both are BSAU (UK road) compliant, so ultimately it is down to individual preference as to weigh up the cost vs quality balance.

Due to our same day dispatch promise, it can be difficult to amend orders dependent on the time the order is received. We run an automated print process which means plate designs are printed upon an order being received, which can also complicate matters.

We do however endeavour to ensure that customers are left satisfied and therefore, we do all we can to ensure amendments can be made, if requested within a timely manner and the order hasn’t already been dispatched. Therefore, if any adjustments are required, please email through the required amendments as soon as possible and we will ensure to do what we can to incorporate them.

Yes! However, for show plates only as only certain images are permitted by UK road standards.

You can opt to send us your image(s) by email once your order is placed. Select the ‘design required’ option and include in the design notes that you will email through your image. Your own image can be added as a left and or right badge, as well as a background, effectively allowing any design you wish to appear on your plate.

The image will display as it is displayed in the file that is received and therefore the higher the quality and resolution that the image is, the better the final product will be.

A digital draft design of the plate(s) will be emailed through for approval or required adjustments. No plates will be made without prior approval of a design, so no need to worry that you aren’t getting exactly what you are looking for.

Let us know if you require any further clarity regarding custom images, we are more than happy to help.

All payments are currently processed via PayPal, whether by debit/credit card or PayPal account. The process occurs in the background so it won’t be immediately obvious to the website user.

PayPal are known for their customer protection and customer service. Their user agreement can be found here

Certainly! There are couple of ways to do this –

1. Select a set of plates and design them as you wish for one of them to be and ‘checkout’. At the checkout you have the ability to ‘edit’ a plate – select that option and update the individual front/rear design as necessary. Once you confirm the changes, you will have 2 plates in your cart with the differing designs.
2. Add & design the plates individually – select the front/rear plate option as necessary, design the plate and add it to your cart. You can then go back into the plate builder and select the other option before adding it to the cart to achieve the same outcome.

If you believe you have placed and finalised an order, but have not received a confirmation email, then please contact us, detailing your order for us to validate the order or investigate as necessary.

If you are dissatisfied at all, then please DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PUT THE PLATES ON YOUR VEHICLE. By doing this, you are accepting the plates as delivered.

Please ensure as to not dispose of the enclosed paperwork within the package. If you aren’t happy with your order or it wasn’t as expected, then please take a picture of your goods along with the attached paperwork and send it to admin@greatshowplates.com. This will be picked up by the customer service team who will review your query and get back to you.

If you are unsure at all about your order, then please contact us ahead of finalising it. We will walk you through the process to ensure that your requirements are met. Please note that orders with no design requirements follow an automated process, meaning that the plate will appear exactly as displayed within the builder as no human intervention is used. It is therefore very important that you enable the ‘design required’ option to ensure your order is pulled from the automated process should you want any design that isn’t possible via the plate builder.

You can fit plate(s) using either one of our fixing kits, or a set of sticky pads.

If using a fixing kit, you will need a drill & drill bit. Alternately, sticky pads allow a cleaner finish, although they are more messy to remove. One set of strips will fit a set of plates.

If using a fixing kit, take your existing plate and place it on top of the new one, ensuring the surface is flat and clean. Drilling through the FRONT of the new plate IF a ‘Standard’ plate, or the BACK of the plate IF ACRYLIC. The existing holes of the old plate should act as a template for where to drill the new holes. Line up the plate and drill directly through.

Fix the new plate to the vehicle using the screws from the kit provided. Place the appropriately coloured caps (dependent on the hole placement) over the screws.

You can fit plate(s) using either one of our fixing kits, or a set of sticky pads.

If using a fixing kit, you will need a drill & drill bit. Alternately, sticky pads allow a cleaner finish, although they are more messy to remove. One set of strips will fit a set of plates.

If using a fixing kit, take your existing plate and place it on top of the new one, ensuring the surface is flat and clean. Drilling through the FRONT of the new plate IF a ‘Standard’ plate, or the BACK of the plate IF ACRYLIC. The existing holes of the old plate should act as a template for where to drill the new holes. Line up the plate and drill directly through.

Fix the new plate to the vehicle using the relevant coloured screws from the kit provided.

Double sided sticky pads come in strips of 10. 5 pads is suggested for each plate so a strip is enough for a set, however depending on the mount and plate in question, more or even less may be suitable.

Remove your old plate(s), thoroughly clean the mount / bracket or area, ensuring it is dry ahead of fixing your new plate(s).

Peel each tab off individually, keeping the covering on one side and apply to the reverse side of your plates. Once the plate has the required amount of pads on the back, remove the other side of the covering to expose the adhesive. Place your plate in the plate bracket and apply pressure in the areas where the pads have been placed for 20-30 seconds.

A show plate is a plate where the design does not conform to road legal standards and therefore is not appropriate for fixing to a vehicle intended for road use.

The plate builder will not allow the design to go outside of the UK road compliant criteria if you have the ‘Road compliant plates’ option selected within the plate builder. Switching to the ‘show plate’ option will massively open up the design options available.

Show plates have multiple uses such as photo shoots, car dealership displays, race days, exhibits or door signs or decoration. We supply number plates to any imaginable requirements with differing fonts, badges, textures, slogans, colours etc. however, it is the ultimate responsibility of the customer to ensure the plates are used appropriately as some ‘show plate’ designs will not be legal for road use. The onus is on the customer to ensure that the design elements are met for the relevant standards should they wish to use them on the roads.

Yes! However, for show plates only as only certain images are permitted by UK road standards.

You can opt to send us your image(s) by email once your order is placed. Select the ‘design required’ option and include in the design notes that you will email through your image. Your own image can be added as a left and or right badge, as well as a background, effectively allowing any design you wish to appear on your plate.

The image will display as it is displayed in the file that is received and therefore the higher the quality and resolution that the image is, the better the final product will be.

A digital draft design of the plate(s) will be emailed through for approval or required adjustments. No plates will be made without prior approval of a design, so no need to worry that you aren’t getting exactly what you are looking for.

Let us know if you require any further clarity regarding custom images, we are more than happy to help.

Certainly! There are couple of ways to do this –

1. Select a set of plates and design them as you wish for one of them to be and ‘checkout’. At the checkout you have the ability to ‘edit’ a plate – select that option and update the individual front/rear design as necessary. Once you confirm the changes, you will have 2 plates in your cart with the differing designs.
2. Add & design the plates individually – select the front/rear plate option as necessary, design the plate and add it to your cart. You can then go back into the plate builder and select the other option before adding it to the cart to achieve the same outcome.

Due to our same day dispatch promise, it can be difficult to amend orders dependent on the time the order is received. We run an automated print process which means plate designs are printed upon an order being received, which can also complicate matters.

We do however endeavour to ensure that customers are left satisfied and therefore, we do all we can to ensure amendments can be made, if requested within a timely manner and the order hasn’t already been dispatched. Therefore, if any adjustments are required, please email through the required amendments as soon as possible and we will ensure to do what we can to incorporate them.

Full details of of number plate requirements for UK roads can be found on the government website as follows – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle-registration-numbers-and-number-plates.
Summarised, there should be a single space between character blocks i.e. XX23 XXX – X23 XXX – XXX 23X – 23 XX 23.
Character font should be black ‘standard’ (Charles Wright), ‘3D gel’ or ‘4D laser cut’. A left badge is permitted but should be a blue area identifier (e.g. GB Scotland, Wales, Ireland or IOM). A slogan is not allowed on legally designed plates, neither is a background image. BS (British standard) details should be displayed, including the makers details beneath the registration. Please refer to the generated image within the plate builder as our production system directly reflects what is displayed there. Please do contact us if it isn’t displaying what you are expecting and we can advise whether it is a bug in the system or whether a bespoke design is required.
The standard (non-show plate) option within the plate builder restricts the customisation options to those permitted by UK road standards. The ‘show plates’ option should be selected to allow further customisation options.

If you are at all unsure, then please email us as we are more than happy to help.

If you require road compliant plates, then unfortunately the only permittable options are those available when the ‘road compliant plates’ option is selected (click the ‘left badge’ field to see the options).

If you require something more bespoke, such as a different badge background colour, flag, stock image, text or otherwise, we offer the web’s most unique bespoke badge creation process through the show plate option. Once the ‘show plate’ option is enabled, select the left/right badge option within the builder and search our library of stock badges, try the ‘build custom badge’ option available. You are able to copy the badge you have created from one side to the other.

Should you want a completely custom badge (not available on plate builder), you can select the ‘design required’ option (only when the ‘show plate’ option is selected) and detail in the design notes that you wish to have a custom badge. Then email your badge file to us at the following address – admin@greatshowplates.com

Select any of the stock ‘electric vehicle’ (green backed) badge options from one of the available badge fields. The left badge ensures the plates, and therefore the vehicle, are officially recognised as an electric vehicle. The badges are available for both road compliant and show plates.

If you are unsure at all about your order, then please contact us ahead of finalising it. We will walk you through the process to ensure that your requirements are met. Please note that orders with no design requirements follow an automated process, meaning that the plate will appear exactly as displayed within the builder as no human intervention is used. It is therefore very important that you enable the ‘design required’ option to ensure your order is pulled from the automated process should you want any design that isn’t possible via the plate builder.

The road compliant tab of the plate builder restricts the customisation options to only those permitted within the legislation and will therefore include the required BS details. The show plate tab should be selected to allow further customisation or if you would like the BS details to be omitted, however the plate(s) would then be classified as show plates.
There is a specific field within the show plate tab that adds / removes the BS details. Please pay specific attention to this before completing your order, as if the BS details aren’t included within the design, they will not be included within the final design.

The BS details are the UK legal requirement details that are required to be included on British Standard (BS) compliant number plates. They include the small text in the bottom right (the related British standard legislation identifier, currently ‘BSAU 145e) and the plate maker details as the slogan (text beneath the registration, therefore ‘Plate Mate, JE2 3RD’ for us). Without them, the vehicle is at risk of failing the MOT.

Both bits of info need to be displayed in the same single, solid colour and must be a minimum 3mm in height

The ‘road complaint plates’ option within the plate builder restricts the customisation options to only those permitted within the legislation. The ‘Show plate’ option should be selected to allow further customisation.