What happens if my number plate is cracked, dirty or unreadable in Northern Ireland?

DfI tells examiners to reject plates that are faded, dirty, delaminated, deteriorated or obscured to the point they are likely to be misread or not easily legible from the required viewing distance.

A small cosmetic crack is different from damage that cuts through characters, loosens the plate or alters reflectivity. Keep both front and rear plates clean, securely fixed and unobstructed by towbars, bike racks or covers.

If replacement is needed, use a registered supplier and take documents proving your identity and right to use the registration.

“Road legal” advertising is not a substitute for the regulations or NI inspection manual. Styling terms such as 3D, 4D, gel, smoked or shortened describe products, not legal exemptions. The decisive questions are whether the plate uses the required material, colours, font, character construction, spacing and margins, and whether the true registration remains immediately legible. The point to carry into the next step is that replace it if damage, dirt or deterioration makes the registration hard to read; an obscured or illegible plate can be an MOT major defect and can lead to enforcement. If the facts fall outside the ordinary case, use the named official authority rather than relying on a generic motoring forum answer.

A cracked, dirty or unreadable number plate in Northern Ireland should be cleaned or replaced before it becomes an enforcement or MOT issue.