The Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001

Lighting of rear registration plates

9.—(1) This regulation applies to vehicles other than—

(a) works trucks,

(b) road rollers,

(c) agricultural machines, and

(d) vehicles first registered before the relevant date.

(2) Where the vehicle is being used on a road between sunset and sunrise the registration plate fixed on the rear of—

(a) the vehicle, or

(b) where the vehicle is towing a trailer, the trailer or,

(c) where the vehicle is towing more than one trailer, the rearmost trailer,

must be lit in accordance with this regulation.

(3) Where a vehicle (or, in a case where the plate is required to be fixed on a trailer, that trailer) has been constructed so as to satisfy the requirements of the relevant type-approval directive, whether or not it is required by law to satisfy them, that plate may be lit by a lamp which complies with those requirements but if it is not so lit it must be lit in the manner required by paragraph (5).

(4) Except as provided in paragraph (3) that plate must be lit in the manner required by paragraph (5).

(5) This paragraph requires the plate to be lit so that it is easily distinguishable from every part of a relevant area having a diagonal length—

(a) in the case of a plate displaying a mark having characters with a width of 44 millimetres, of 15 metres, and

(b) in any other case, of 18 metres.