For drivers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

stayroadlegal

Tax, MOT, licences, points, plates and parking: what the rules actually say, without the jargon.

5,523 answers so far, and more on the way.

The road-legal check

Six things that keep a car legal on a UK road. Miss one and the car, or the driver, isn’t road legal.

Taxed

Every vehicle used or kept on a public road must be taxed, even when the rate is £0, unless it has been declared SORN and kept off the road.

Car tax explained SORN
MOT’d

In Great Britain a car needs its first MOT by its third birthday and one every year after that; in Northern Ireland the first test comes at four years.

The MOT test When the first MOT is due
Insured

At least third-party cover for whoever is driving, and a car kept on the road has to stay insured even when nobody is using it.

Car insurance questions
Licensed

A full licence for that category of vehicle, or a provisional one with L plates and a qualified supervisor, showing your current address and an in-date photo.

Driving licences Licence categories
Legal plates

White at the front, yellow at the back, in the standard font and spacing, made by a registered supplier and kept clean enough to read.

Number plate rules
Roadworthy

An MOT pass is only a snapshot. Tyres, lights, brakes, mirrors and the windscreen have to be legal every time you drive.

MOT history and advisories Everyday driving laws

Find your way round the rules

Every topic on the site, under the road sign that fits it.

Points, fines and offences

631 answers

Speeding, penalty points, offence codes, drink driving, phones and bans.

Rules of the road

785 answers

Speed limits, the Highway Code, crossings, motorways, seat belts and everyday laws.

Parking, charges and tolls

583 answers

Council and private parking tickets, Blue Badges, the Congestion Charge, ULEZ and tolls.

Licences, tests and learners

1,283 answers

Provisional and full licences, categories, medical rules, the theory and practical tests.

Your car’s papers

1,360 answers

Car tax, SORN, the V5C logbook, MOT, insurance and history checks.

Number plates

337 answers

Private plates, plate years, legal fonts and what a registration tells you.

Driving abroad

120 answers

UK stickers, international driving permits and foreign licences.

What year is that plate?

Since September 2001 a new age identifier arrives twice a year. On 1 March it is the last two digits of the year; on 1 September it is that number plus 50.

Every plate year explained

76Sep 2026to Feb 2027On new cars now
26Mar 2026to Aug 2026
75Sep 2025to Feb 2026
25Mar 2025to Aug 2025
74Sep 2024to Feb 2025
24Mar 2024to Aug 2024
73Sep 2023to Feb 2024
23Mar 2023to Aug 2023

Wrong turns: rules people get wrong

Things every driver has heard down the pub, and what the law and the Highway Code actually say.

No entryYou have to carry your driving licence

Not in the UK. If the police stop you without it, they can ask you to show it at a police station within seven days.

Do you have to carry your licence?

No entryDriving in flip-flops or barefoot is illegal

No law bans either. The Highway Code says your footwear must let you work the controls properly, and losing control can still mean a careless driving charge.

Driving in flip-flops Driving barefoot

No entryFlashing your headlights means ‘go ahead’

The Highway Code says a flash only lets other road users know you are there. Never take it as an invitation.

Flashing headlights explained

No entryA phone is fine while you’re stopped at the lights

It isn’t. Holding a phone while driving is illegal even when you are stationary at lights or queuing in traffic. You have to be safely parked.

No entryThere’s a legal allowance of 10% plus 2 mph

That figure comes from police guidance on when to enforce, not from the law. Any speed over the limit is an offence.

Speeding fines Speed cameras

No entryYou still need a tax disc in the windscreen

Paper tax discs were scrapped in October 2014. Tax is held against the registration on DVLA’s records, and a car still has to be taxed when the rate is £0.

Car tax explained

From L plates to a full licence

1
Provisional licence
Apply from 15 years and 9 months. You can drive a car on the road from 17, with L plates and a supervising driver beside you.
Provisional licences
2
Theory test
Multiple-choice questions and hazard perception clips, passed at the same sitting. The pass lasts two years.
Theory test and hazard perception
3
Practical test
About 40 minutes on the road, with independent driving and the show me, tell me questions.
The driving test Show me, tell me
4
Your first two years
Six or more penalty points within two years of passing and the licence is revoked: back to a provisional and both tests again.
Learner and new drivers Penalty points