Fraudulent number plates have been steadily spreading across the UK, allowing criminals and dangerous drivers, including grooming gangs and drug mules, to act without fear of being caught.
These illegal plates, often known as "ghost plates", are now believed to be fitted to as many as one in 15 vehicles on UK roads. They are being sold openly by suppliers who are officially registered with the DVLA.
The growing crisis has led MPs to warn the country's vehicle registration system is "completely unfit for purpose" and urgently needs reform.
Birmingham has already declared a road safety emergency, with reckless driving spiralling out of control. Police warned they are increasingly powerless because vehicles using ghost plates simply disappear from camera networks.
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Dr Stuart Barnes, who tested the plates at Cranfield University, said the problem is being dangerously underestimated.
"A number plate is like the vehicle version of the passport, and it should be treated with the same level of importance and security as a passport would," he told the Daily Mail.
Ghost plates often use raised 3D or 4D lettering made from gels or plastics. These create shadows and distortions that confuse Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras.
More advanced versions can be even harder to detect. They are made with materials that turn transparent under infrared light, which is what cameras rely on at night or in poor weather.
There has been a surge in stolen number plates as well as ghost plates across the UK, sparking action
| PATests carried out showed just how serious the issue is. One set of plates became almost completely invisible under infrared conditions.
Dr Barnes explained: "When you look at them just as a human being, you would probably think it looks OK, but for cameras themselves, it's a real challenge."
Former Government surveillance camera commissioner Fraser Sampson compared the situation to selling fake money. "Imagine if we did that with currency and said, 'I promise I won't use this in a shop' — once they get into circulation, you can't control how they're used," he said.
At the heart of the problem is a Government scheme introduced in 2003, he explained. It allows anyone to become a registered number plate supplier by paying £40 and providing basic details. There are no criminal background checks.
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A Labour MP has called for drivers to face harsher punishments if they have 'ghost' plates | PAAs a result, there are now 34,455 registered suppliers, four times the number of petrol stations in the UK.
National Trading Standards has found some of these suppliers have convictions for fraud and dishonesty, yet they are trusted to collect customers' identity documents.
One official told MPs: "You are handing your identity to somebody who I wouldn't trust with a pencil." Rochdale Trading Standards went even further, revealing that DVLA-registered suppliers included "known criminals with horrific backgrounds linked to murder, firearms, drugs, robbery and violent assault".
Despite this, enforcement has been minimal, with only five or six DVLA staff responsible for monitoring thousands of suppliers, and just 23 per cent have been audited in the past five years.
More worryingly, Trading Standards has confirmed grooming gangs, drug traffickers and organised crime groups are using ghost plates to avoid police detection.
The Metropolitan Police warned MPs "the inability to track a vehicle using the ANPR network creates a critical vulnerability for national security," adding terrorist vehicles could pass through high-security areas undetected.
In London, the problem is widespread among private-hire vehicles. A 2023 inspection of 1,000 cars found 41 per cent were using ghost plates.
What a 'ghost' number plate looks like to an ANPR camera | WOLVERHAMPTON COUNCILOne trading standards officer asked: "Would you let your daughter, or anyone, go into a taxi that cannot be traced?" Transport for London is estimated to be losing £950 million a year in unpaid fines, while one driver alone owes Hackney Council £250,000.
A report published this month by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Transport Safety said the situation has "far exceeded the ability of the relevant bodies to manage or bring it under control".
Labour MP Sarah Coombes said: "The number plate system is just completely broken, completely messed up." MPs have now called for an outright ban on 3D and 4D plates, tougher penalties and a complete overhaul of the system.
A DVLA spokesman said a review is underway which "aims to ban production of plates that are specifically designed to evade ANPR cameras".
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