Drivers could be hit with fines of up to £1,000 for failing to keep their car clean, a car expert has warned.

According to the law, number plates must be fully on show and easy to read at all times. This is because they are used to identify the vehicle by officers of the law and by technology such as automatic number plate recognition.

This means that motorists are not allowed to rearrange letters, alter them or change their spacing.

Anyone who fails to adhere to these rules could face a fine of up to £1,000 and risk their vehicle failing its MOT test.

The Government guidance states: “Number plates (also known as licence plates) must show your registration number correctly. You cannot rearrange letters or numbers, or alter them so that they’re hard to read.

“You could be fined up to £1,000 and your vehicle will fail its MOT test if you drive with incorrectly displayed number plates.”

Jon Kirkbright, sales director at Platehunter, specialises in buying and selling private number plates. He is urging motorists to ensure their number plates are not too dirty to read or that they are not marked in any way.

The expert said: “Keeping your car clean is important in many ways – you wouldn’t drive around with a dirty windscreen or wing mirror so ensure the same rule applies to your number plate.

“The law states that number plates must be clearly visible at all times. Drivers are not allowed to rearrange the characters or change the spacing to make it look like other words.

“But it is just as important that the plate is readable at all times. If your number plate is covered in mud or dirt, this may not be possible and you will run the risk of being hit with a huge fine.”

The current vehicle registration number format was introduced in 2001. It consists of:

2 letters (these refer to the region in the country where your vehicle was first registered)
2 numbers (these tell you when it was issued)
3 letters chosen at random

However, this format does not always apply to private registration plates which can have as little as 1 character.

Platehunter has been trading for 11 years and has over 56 million personalised number plates for sale. The car expert says that Platehunter prides itself on being an affordable number plate supplier, with plates for sale starting from just £39 plus VAT and transfer fee.

Drivers who are on the hunt for a registration plate are being encouraged to browse the Platehunter site.

Jon added: “If they can’t find what they are looking for on our site, customers should reach out to us to let us know what their specifications are.

“As long as it is legal and has never been released before, we are also able to request any number plate from the DVLA to go to auction.”