4.9
Out of
5 Stars
-
Great service and plates arrived on time. Plates exactly as advertised. Would highly recommend.
-
Absolutely brilliant! Colourful, different, stands out with my personal plate & legal. The ordering service couldn’t have been easier.
-
I’ve ordered at least 4 times over the years from Car Plates Direct. I can not fault the easy of ordering, quality and turnaround time. Will always order only through them. Highly recommended company
-
Ordered a set of plates, came exactly how I ordered in good clean condition with the personalisation I ordered. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Car Plates Direct for a fast friendly service. Thank you
-
Exactly what I ordered. Good quality product, very professional and courteous service and a quick delivery. Highly recommended company.
HIGH QUALITY PLATES
4D Plates
3D Gel Plates
Standard Plates
Showroom Number Plates for Car Dealerships
Professional display plates that protect forecourt vehicles and project a polished brand image.
✓ Bulk Dealer Discounts
✓ Fast Turnaround
✓ Custom Branding
Forecourt Display
Cover vehicles on your forecourt with professional display plates — protect the real registration from opportunist cloners.
Photography Ready
Clean, sharp display plates look great in listing photos and social media posts without exposing live registrations.
Custom Branding
Add your dealership name, logo area, or “FOR SALE” text alongside the display registration for a fully branded look.
Bulk Orders
Competitive pricing on multi-plate orders — ideal for large forecourts refreshing their whole stock display.
Why Car Dealerships Use Showroom Display Plates
Every vehicle sitting on a forecourt or in a showroom carries a real, live registration that is legally attached to that vehicle’s history. Displaying that registration openly on an unsold car creates a risk: opportunists can photograph the plates and clone them onto other vehicles to avoid speeding fines, parking charges, or even to commit more serious offences. Showroom display plates — sometimes called forecourt plates or dealer display plates — let you present vehicles professionally without exposing the live registration. The genuine plates are stored safely; the display plates show a neutral or branded registration for presentation purposes only.
Beyond security, display plates offer a genuine marketing opportunity. A plate that reads “AB12 CPD” with your dealership name printed in the dealer strip gives every vehicle on your pitch a consistent, branded appearance. Combined with matching plates on the front and rear, the result is a professional forecourt that photographs well and reinforces your brand identity to walk-in customers. Many prestige and main-dealer showrooms also use display plates for indoor display vehicles, launch events, and motor shows where road use is not required.
It is important to understand that showroom display plates are entirely separate from trade plates (the red-on-white plates used by motor traders for road-testing and moving vehicles under the Motor Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations). Trade plates are DVLA-issued and subject to strict rules about who can use them and when. Display plates have no road-legal status whatsoever — they exist purely as a professional display and security tool within your premises.
What Can Be Printed on a Showroom Display Plate?
Because display plates are not road legal, they are not bound by the strict BS AU 145e standard in terms of font, spacing, or character size. This gives dealerships considerable creative freedom. Common formats include: a dummy registration in the standard UK format (often the vehicle’s actual registration partially obscured or replaced with a neutral sequence), “FOR SALE” or “2026” text where the registration would normally appear, the dealership’s name or web address in the dealer strip at the bottom, and even vehicle model or price information on custom-format boards.
Dealership Bulk Orders
Need 20, 50 or 200+ display plates? Call our trade team for volume pricing and fast turnaround.
How to Order Showroom Display Plates
Specify Your Requirements
Tell us the registration or display text, quantity, size, and whether you want dealer branding in the strip. Contact us directly for bulk orders.
Approve Your Design
We’ll confirm your plate specification before production. For branded plates, we can include your dealership name in the supplier strip area.
Fast Despatch
Display plates don’t require DVLA documentation checks, so we can turn these around quickly. Most orders despatched within 1–2 working days.
Showroom Plate FAQs
Are showroom display plates road legal?
No. Showroom display plates are produced for in-showroom and forecourt display only. They must not be fitted to a vehicle being driven on public roads. Using a non-compliant plate on a public road is an offence under the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001 and can result in a fine of up to £1,000.
What is the difference between a showroom plate and a trade plate?
Trade plates are official DVLA-issued red-on-white plates issued to licensed motor traders, allowing them to legally drive unregistered or sold vehicles on the road for specific purposes (e.g., delivery or test driving). Showroom display plates have no road-legal status at all — they are purely a display and branding tool for use on your premises. You cannot substitute a display plate for a trade plate.
Can I put my dealership name or logo on a display plate?
Yes — this is one of the key advantages of display plates over road-legal plates. We can print your dealership name, website, or other branding text in the dealer strip area or as part of the plate design. Road-legal plates are restricted in what can appear in the dealer strip, but display plates have no such restrictions.
Do I need to provide proof of entitlement to order display plates?
No. Because showroom display plates are not road legal and do not carry any live DVLA registration, there is no legal requirement to prove entitlement. However, we still recommend using a neutral or clearly non-standard registration on display plates to avoid any risk of inadvertent identity confusion.
What sizes are available for showroom display plates?
We can produce display plates in any standard UK size — the most common being the standard oblong 520×111mm. We can also produce short oblongs (460×111mm), 4×4 square plates (228×178mm), or entirely custom sizes for event display boards. Contact us to discuss your requirements.
Can I order matching front and rear display plates for the same vehicle?
Yes, and we recommend it for a professional appearance. A matched pair of white front and yellow rear display plates with the same registration gives each forecourt vehicle a consistent, polished look. Just specify front/rear when ordering and we’ll produce the correct background colours for each.
How quickly can you supply bulk display plates for a new forecourt?
For standard bulk orders we typically despatch within 1–3 working days, depending on quantity and any customisation required. For large orders with bespoke branding, lead times may be slightly longer. Please call our trade team on 0330 024 9273 to discuss your timescales and we’ll do everything we can to accommodate you.