Legal requirements for Irish number plates
Irish number plate regulations are set under the Road Traffic (Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations and enforced by the RSA. A plate that fails to meet these requirements will fail the NCT and may result in prosecution.
Required plate specifications
| Requirement | Specification | Our plates |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Rigid reflective acrylic | ✅ 4mm acrylic |
| Background colour | White (front & rear) | ✅ White |
| Character colour | Black | ✅ Black |
| Font | Standard Irish plate font (similar to Charles Wright) | ✅ Correct font |
| Euroband | Mandatory. Blue band with IRL and 12 gold stars, left side | ✅ Included free |
| Car plate size | 520×110mm (standard) or 340×220mm (square) | ✅ Both sizes available |
| Motorcycle size | 340×220mm (rear only) | ✅ 340×220mm |
| Yellow rear plate | Not permitted in Ireland | ✅ White rear only |
What the NCT tester checks
- Plate is securely fixed and not damaged or obscured
- Characters are correctly formed, spaced and sized
- Euroband is present and correctly positioned
- Registration matches vehicle records
- Plate background is reflective white (front and rear)
- No yellow rear plates (illegal in Ireland unlike the UK)
- No decorative borders or non-standard fonts
Our guarantee: All plates supplied by IrishPlatesOnline comply with current RSA requirements. If a plate we supply causes an NCT failure due to our manufacturing error, we will replace it free of charge.