Trailer and caravan number plates: the UK rules

Towing is one of the few situations where a vehicle's registration legitimately appears on something other than that vehicle. The principle is simple: whatever you are towing, the plate on the back of it must be the towing vehicle's registration, made to the same standard as the plate on the car. Here is how that works in practice, and where the exceptions are.

What plate a trailer or caravan must show

GOV.UK's rules for number plates put it in one sentence: your trailer must display the same number plate as the vehicle you're towing it with. That applies to caravans, box trailers, boat and bike trailers, horseboxes and car transporters alike. Because it is a rear plate, it follows the rear-plate rules:

• black characters on a yellow reflective background;
• the standard character font and size, laid out to the DVLA spacing for the registration;
• marked with the British Standard — BS AU 145e for plates fitted after 1 September 2021 — and with the supplier’s details;
• no background pattern, and characters that are not removable or reflective.

The rear plate on the trailer is what other drivers and cameras see, so it is treated exactly like the plate on the car. A cheap, unmarked or hand-lettered plate on a caravan carries the same risk as one on the car itself: GOV.UK states that driving with incorrectly displayed number plates can lead to a fine of up to £1,000.

Ordering a plate that matches your car

In our plate builder, choose rear only, type the towing vehicle's registration and pick the size that fits the trailer's plate holder. The plate is made as a road-legal rear plate, in whichever finish you like — a flat Standard 2D plate is the usual choice for a trailer, but a 3D gel or 4D plate is equally legal if you want it to match a car that already has one. See UK plate sizes explained if you are not sure which size your holder takes; many caravans use the standard 520 × 111mm plate, while some trailers have a shorter or squarer recess.

Because the plate carries the car's registration, the documents are the car's documents. After paying you upload:

• Proof of identity — driving licence or passport;
• Proof of entitlement — the towing vehicle’s V5C, its V5C/2 new keeper slip, or a V750 or V778 if it is on a private registration.

We check both before the plate is made. If you tow more than one trailer, each needs its own plate showing the car's registration; a plate can be moved between trailers, but it is often simpler to fit one to each. Two rear plates for the same registration can be ordered as separate lines in one basket.

Lighting, position and visibility

The plate must be readable from behind at night, which in practice means it should sit where the trailer's number plate lamp illuminates it, upright and unobscured by the tow hitch, a bike rack or a lighting board strap. Most caravans and larger trailers have a moulded recess and lamp for this; on a small trailer with a lighting board, the plate usually mounts on the board itself. Our fitting guide covers screws and adhesive pads; screws are the safer choice on a lighting board that is stored and handled between trips.

Changing car, or a private registration

Because the trailer plate is the car's registration, it changes whenever the car does. Buying a different tow car means a new trailer plate. Assigning a private registration to the car means a new trailer plate too — see how to put a private plate on your car. If the trailer is towed by more than one vehicle in the household, the plate has to be swapped to match whichever car is towing that day.

Caravans, motorhomes and campervans

A towed caravan follows the trailer rule above: it carries the car's registration on a yellow rear plate. A motorhome or campervan is different — it is a vehicle in its own right, registered with DVLA under its own number, so it needs a white front plate and a yellow rear plate of its own like any other vehicle. If the motorhome tows a trailer, that trailer shows the motorhome's registration. Motorhomes and larger vans often have a taller or squarer rear plate recess; our oversize and import rear sizes cover the common ones.

A quick checklist before you tow

• The plate on the trailer shows the registration of the car towing it today.
• It is yellow, reflective, marked BS AU 145e with the supplier’s details, and undamaged.
• It is upright at the rear, lit by the number plate lamp, and not hidden by the hitch, a bike rack or a strap.
• If you are towing abroad with a trailer over 750kg, the trailer is registered and its own plate is fitted as well.

Towing abroad: the separate trailer registration plate

This is where people get confused, because the word “registration” means something different. For most countries in Europe, GOV.UK guidance (INF291) says you must register a trailer over 750kg with DVLA before towing it there. A registered trailer gets its own registration number — one letter followed by seven numbers, set out over two lines — and its own plate, which must be displayed on the rear of the trailer as well as the plate showing the towing vehicle's registration, fixed as far apart as is reasonably possible. The scheme does not apply to trailers that are only used in the UK.

That trailer registration plate is a different format from a car plate: the guidance specifies solid black characters on a white background, at the smaller character height used on motorcycle plates. We do not make that format through the online builder, which is set up for vehicle registrations; a plate carrying the towing car's registration — the one every UK trailer needs — is what you can order here. If you plan to tow abroad, GOV.UK also recommends displaying a UK sticker on the trailer.

Common questions