Green Number Plates

As mentioned above, the green stripe on a number plate means that it is considered a zero-emission vehicle. This is a push from the UK Government to improve the poor air quality in cities and to support investment in clean industries for the future.

The green stripe is also referred to as a green number plate or a “flash”. This is the only difference between a standard number plate and a green number plate. It is designed to be easy to differentiate vehicles based solely on their environmental impact. The aim is to normalise owning and driving electric vehicles, and shift the market towards buying cars with fewer emissions.

UK green number plates provide a visual indication to local authorities and the public for the purposes of policies, incentives, local communication and awareness campaigns. Electric cars with green number plates remain optional and are not a mandatory practice, simply in the driver’s best interest.

Green number plates for electric cars (or some variation thereof) have already been adopted in Canada, Norway and China.

Which Cars are Eligible for a Green Number Plate?

Electric cars’ green number plates are only available to ultra-low emission vehicles. So, while hybrid cars do have fewer emissions than petrol or diesel cars, they are not considered zero-emission cars as their engines still produce exhaust gases into the atmosphere.

Green number plates in the UK are available to any eligible:

• Car
• Van
• Bus
• HGVs
• Taxi
• Motorcycle

The mass adoption of electric vehicles means those sold since the green stripe was implemented will be automatically issued upon purchasing a zero-emission vehicle.

If you bought your zero-emissions vehicle before the official implementation of green number plates, you can apply for one from TopReg. We can create and deliver a personalised or standard number plate to your door complete with its legitimate green stripe. They can be adorned along with a flag or national marking if you so choose too.

Just remember, cars eligible for green plates in the UK must be registered cars that produce zero tailpipe emissions. This includes battery-operated cars, also known as fully electric vehicles (EV).

For the use and eligibility of green number plates to retain credibility, they must be issued with the utmost validity. If petrol cars sport the green stripe, all credibility is quickly lost along with the hopes of an honest green future in the automotive industry.

What Will I Need to Get My Green Number Plate?

Bring along your vehicle logbook (V5C) as proof of ownership. Only once we have verified that the zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) is ticked in the P3 section of your V5C logbook, can we sell you your new green number plate.