TikTok number plate hack could land drivers with £1,000 fine and points on licence
TikTok is full o f car hacks an d customisation tips but some of the latest number plate trends could end up costing drivers big time. From glitter finishes to tinted covers, thousands are jumping on the trend to personalise their plates.
But what many don't realise is that certain tweaks, especially ANPR blockers designed to hide your plate from cameras could land you a £1,000 fine and points on your licence. While a bit of sparkle might seem harmless at first glance, tampering with your plate in any way could be classed as illegal, depending on how it affects visibility and readability.
READ MORE: Drivers buying cars with low mileage hit with fresh warning over little-known issue
My Car Reg Check is urging motorists, especially younger drivers about the surge in non-complaint plates being promoted online. "We're seeing a wave of younger drivers replicating trends they see on TikTok and Instagram, without realising these modifications are illegal," said Sarah Jenkins at My Car Reg Check.
The DVLA has strict standards for a reason - illegible or altered plates can interfere with cameras used for law enforcement, tolls, and stolen vehicle recovery. "If your number plate doesn't meet UK legal requirements, it doesn't matter how many likes it gets online, you could lose your licence."
These 'aesthetic' hacks could result in:
£1,000 fines
MOT failures
Points on your licence
In some cases, vehicle seizure by police
Illegal trends you need to avoid
Ghost plates and ANPR blockers
These include ultra-reflective covers or sprays designed to obscure plates from cameras. Promoted as ways to avoid ULEZ or congestion charges, they're considered criminal offences under UK law.
Bubble and glitter text plates
Raised lettering, domed fonts, or decorative finishes may look good online but unless they follow DVLA standards, they are illegal for road use.
Deep 4D plates
While some 3D designs are legal, most 4D plates - particularly those with exaggerated depth or shadow effects fail to meet visibility and typeface rules.
Flip or retractable plates
Any plate that flips, folds away, or blurs under certain conditions is illegal. These modifications are sometimes sold online as 'show plates' but are not permitted on public roads.
How to know your plate complies with DVLA regulations
Use the correct Charles Wright font
Include the supplier's name and BS AU 145e code
Be black characters on a white (front) or yellow (rear) background
Be fully reflective, with no background patterns or tints
Have standard spacing and sizing
Not include any raised or stylised effects beyond approved designs
But beyond the visible, there are hidden dangers when ordering plates online Sarah explains - 'Drivers should be cautious when ordering online. If your plate is cloned, you could receive fines or enforcement notices for offences you didn't commit.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
4 hours ago
- Daily Record
DVLA shares vehicle tax message to drivers - everything you need to know
The DVLA holds more than 52 million driver records and 46 million vehicle records The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has delivered an important message to motorists throughout Great Britain. The Government body, which maintains over 46 million vehicle records, encouraged drivers to establish a vital notification system. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, it said: "Get vehicle tax reminders by email or text by setting up your Driver and vehicles account on It's free and easy to do." Vehicle tax is primarily calculated based on engine size or fuel type and CO2 emissions, depending on when the vehicle was first registered. According to the RAC, most drivers will fork out approximately £195 in car tax this year, though this can differ on an individual basis. "Cars first registered on or after 1 April 2017 are taxed against one of three VED bands - zero, standard or premium," RAC guidance states. "For cars registered between 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017, the rates are split into different CO2 bands – the lower the tailpipe emissions, the lower the vehicle tax. "In order to tax a vehicle, suitable car insurance cover must be in place, while the vehicle must also have a valid MOT if it is over three years old (four years in Northern Ireland). Both are checked electronically when you apply for car tax." You can discover more about the car tax you might owe at This will typically require using a reference number which can be located in a vehicle log book (V5C - which must be in your name) or the green 'new keeper' slip from a log book if you've recently purchased it. If you're missing these documents, you'll have to apply for a new logbook and you can sort out your vehicle tax at the same time. You might find the reference number you need in a recent vehicle tax reminder or 'last chance' warning letter from the DVLA, too. Motorists can also contact the DVLA via their 24-hour phone service on 0300 123 4321 or pop into a local Post Office that handles vehicle tax for further assistance. Besides this, the DVLA has also recently encouraged any motorist over 70 to ensure their driving licence is up-to-date. Taking to X, its spokespeople previously wrote: "Are you 70 or over and due to renew your driving licence? "Do it for free!...It's easy, quick and secure on Car users over this age must remember that their driving licences require renewal every three years, rather than the usual 10. The DVLA typically sends a reminder before your 70th birthday and each time your licence requires renewal. Although current rules state that older drivers are not required to retake their driving test at 70, they must submit a health declaration before obtaining a new licence. People with medical conditions or disabilities might need an evaluation of their driving ability. For licence renewal applications, people over 70 generally need to provide these details: National Insurance number (if you know it) A valid UK passport number (if you want to change the licence photo) An email address Addresses of where you've lived for the last three years
The Sun
10 hours ago
- The Sun
Labour's taken state spying of social media to whole new level – leaked emails read like their from dictatorship not UK
THE Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok has often aroused fears that personal data collected on its users could end up in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. What fewer people imagined was that our own Government would try to use TikTok in order to police speech in Britain. Yet that is exactly what has happened. 7 7 7 Leaked emails show that a shady branch of government known as the National Security Online Information Team has been leaning on TikTok to suppress content that is critical of official migration and criminal justice policy. On several occasions during the riots which followed the Southport murders a year ago, the unit approached TikTok requesting that it 'assess' some posts made by its users — effectively a crude instruction to suppress what they were saying. Legitimate debate Britain, like every other country, operates security services that spy on terrorists who are plotting atrocities as well as organisations involved in propagating serious public disorder. Were a government organisation to prevent a bomb attack which could have killed dozens of people, no one would be too bothered about how it had obtained the vital information. But the emails show activity which goes far beyond the demands of national security. In one case, officials drew TikTok's attention to a post that suggested a large number of migrants were 'undocumented fighting age males'. Another suggested that TikTok take a look at users who spread 'concerning narratives about the police and a two-tier system [of justice] '. I am sure the police and courts will defend themselves robustly against a charge of operating two-tier justice, but whether or not you think they are doing this, it is a perfectly legitimate area for public debate, just as is the question of whether ethnic minorities suffer disadvantage in the workplace, schools, hospitals and so on. Those who made online accusations of a disproportionate response by the police towards protesters, and who dubbed our Prime Minister 'two-tier Keir', had good reason for raising their concerns. Ten days before the Southport murders, the Harehills area of Leeds erupted into rioting after children from a Roma family were taken into care. Protesters descend on Canary Wharf migrant hotel as police surround building amid fears over 'summer of riots' Days later there was a machete fight on Southend seafront. Keir Starmer had little to say about those grim developments, yet went into overdrive when protesters took to the streets following the Southport riots. True, there were plenty of thugs among them, but to insinuate that all protesters were driven by nothing more than 'far-right hatred' was outrageous. I am not going to defend Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for 31 months for remarks she made in the wake of the Southport killings — her words read like a pretty clear incitement to violence even if she did not intend them to. But it is perfectly reasonable to question whether her punishment was consistent with the treatment handed out to extreme Islamist preachers and Irish Republican sympathisers. Take the Prevent programme, which was set up by the Blair government specifically to deal with the threat of Islamist terrorism in the wake of the 2005 Tube bombings. 7 7 7 Over time it seems to have become more concerned with the far right. Nineteen per cent of those reported to the programme in the year ending March 2024 were recorded as supporting a far right ideology, against only 13 per cent with Islamist ideology — in spite of the latter being responsible for far more terror attacks and killings than the former over the past two decades. For Government officials to try to stop us discussing these matters is something you might associate more with a dictatorship than with British democracy. We have a human rights lawyer as PM, but where is he when it comes to defending our long-held right to free expression? Labour, however, has taken state surveillance of social media to a new level To be fair to Starmer, it is not just his government that has been trying to silence its critics. The National Security Online Information Team was derived from a body set up during Covid to try to gag critics of vaccines and lockdown. The Online Safety Act, which places obligations on social media companies to police content — and which the Government has used to put pressure on TikTok and other companies — was the brainchild of the last Conservative government. Deep concerns Labour, however, has taken state surveillance of social media to a new level. Particularly disgraceful was Technology Secretary Peter Kyle's attempt this week to claim that Nigel Farage was on the side of Jimmy Savile for daring to criticise the Online Safety Act. To listen to Kyle you would think the act was about nothing other than age verification for users of online pornography (not that Savile used the internet to abuse his victims). There are many people, myself included, who support the age verification measures but who have deep concerns about the act's other provisions, in particular its demand that technologies companies act against anything that could fall under the vague definition of being 'harmful to children'. Even the day's news could be deemed harmful to children if it upsets their immature sensibilities. The trouble is that the Online Safety Act was pushed through on the back of emotional propaganda, with few people realising the dark and disturbing ways in which it could be used to silence any of us. We are belatedly realising that now. 7
Scottish Sun
12 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
PSG star Achraf Hakimi facing rape charge after ‘inviting woman he met on Instagram back to family home'
The Moroccan ace could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted 'RAPE' PROBE PSG star Achraf Hakimi facing rape charge after 'inviting woman he met on Instagram back to family home' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) PSG star Achraf Hakimi is reportedly facing trial for rape after allegedly inviting a woman over to his home near Paris. Prosecutors have signed a final indictment requesting the 26-year-old to be charged in criminal court. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Achraf Hakimi is reportedly facing trial for rape Credit: AFP 2 Hakimi has denied the allegations and claims it's a plot against him Credit: AFP If convicted, the Moroccan national faces up to 15 years in prison. The case stems from an alleged incident on February 25, 2023. According to Le Parisien, a 24-year-old woman told police she met Hakimi on Instagram in January of that year. After a month of exchanges, he reportedly ordered her an Uber to his home in Boulogne-Billancourt while his wife and children were away on holiday. Once inside, the woman claims Hakimi kissed her mouth and breasts through her clothes, despite her protests. She alleged he then assaulted her without consent. According to her account, she managed to push him away with her foot before fleeing and texting a friend to pick her up. She went to a police station the same day to 'make a statement of rape,' though she initially declined to file a formal complaint. Messages she later provided to investigators reportedly showed her distress following the encounter. Achraf Hakimi shows what he is made of at PSG training On March 3, 2023, Hakimi was charged with rape by an investigating judge and placed under judicial supervision after being held in custody. He has consistently denied the allegations. The footballer, currently holidaying in Puerto Rico with former teammate Kylian Mbappé, previously claimed the case was a plot against him. 'The truth is that when you are successful and things are going well, you become an easy target for certain people and that taught me that you can't trust many people around you,' Hakimi said this January in a interview. 'They wanted to blackmail me and that's why we filed a complaint and it's going well. The justice system handled things rather well.' His lawyer, Fanny Colin, slammed the prosecution's latest move. 'These requisitions are incomprehensible and senseless in light of the evidence in the case,' she told Le Parisien. 'It establishes the plaintiff's lies, particularly through the psychological assessments conducted on her. 'Achraf Hakimi and I remain as calm as when the proceedings began. 'If these requests were to be followed, we would obviously pursue all avenues of appeal.'
