Cloned number plate complaints on UK roads hit record high, data shows
More than 11,400 drivers told the DVLA last year they had been fined for offences they did not commit, as the RAC calls for an overhaul of the number plate system.
At a glance
- More than 11,400 drivers contacted the DVLA last year over fines for offences they said they did not commit.
- Complaints were 9% higher than in 2024 and almost double the 2018 figure, RAC analysis of FOI data shows.
- The government has funded a new roads policing team and a coordination centre to tackle illegal plates.
More than 11,400 drivers contacted the DVLA last year after being fined for offences they said they did not recognise or accept responsibility for, official data shows, the highest number on record.
Most of the complaints are believed to involve "cloning", in which a number plate is copied fraudulently onto a similar vehicle so that enforcement cameras record the wrong keeper.
The figure was 9% higher than in 2024 and almost double the number recorded in 2018, according to the RAC motoring organisation, which analysed data obtained under freedom of information requests.
Concerns over illegal plates
Drivers are expected to show number plate suppliers their V5C vehicle logbook and proof of identity. But an investigation last year found more than 130 official suppliers in the UK willing to sell cloned plates, which allow drivers to dodge police and congestion charges.
Cloning leaves innocent owners struggling to prove they were not responsible when enforcement camera images apparently show their vehicle committing an offence.
A parallel concern is the use of "ghost" plates, designed to be unreadable by the UK's 18,000 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, which enforce measures such as speed limits and lane closures on smart motorways.
RAC calls for overhaul
The RAC said the UK needed to overhaul an outdated and poorly regulated number plate system. Simon Williams, its head of policy, said: "If number plate suppliers were carrying out all the checks they're supposed to, it would be much harder for dodgy drivers to buy cloned plates in the first place."
He added that more needed to be done to catch drivers with ghost plates, including equipping more police officers with handheld devices that can detect unreadable plates, updating ANPR cameras and setting higher security standards for plates and for those who produce them.
Government response
The government said last month that there would be a new nationwide crackdown on illegal number plates, with funding from the Department for Transport for a new roads policing team. A new National Roads Policing Coordination Centre would share intelligence and trial technology such as specialised goggles to detect plates designed to be unreadable by cameras.
Drivers using an incorrectly displayed number plate can be fined up to £1,000.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "We're cracking down on illegal number plates with significant investment in a new roads policing team and innovative tech to stamp out the scourge of cloned numberplates." The spokesperson said illegal plates help facilitate crime, and that the department is supporting police working with the DVLA to make it easier to report these crimes and support victims through a new digital tool.
Source: The Guardian.
Questions and answers
- What is number plate cloning?
- Cloning is when a number plate is copied fraudulently onto a similar vehicle so that enforcement camera offences are wrongly attributed to an innocent keeper, who is then sent the fine.
- What is the fine for an illegal number plate in the UK?
- Drivers using an incorrectly displayed number plate can be fined up to £1,000, the Department for Transport has said.
- What is being done about cloned and ghost number plates?
- The government announced a nationwide crackdown, funding a new roads policing team and a National Roads Policing Coordination Centre, while the DfT says a new digital tool will make the crimes easier to report.
