Every six months, we see new registration plates hit the road, over this weekend, there will be plenty of excited new car owners who are ready to collect their 24-plate vehicle.

Whilst a brand-new registration plate is exciting, the 24 might not be enough for everyone, with some people looking to personalise their number plates. Each year, the DVLA will ban a series of number plates that can offend or may be inappropriate.

There is a total of 334 banned 24 number plates, ranging from childish registrations like F24 RTS and **24 RSE, to ones with a more political stance, for example, anything relating to the war in Ukraine with number plates such as NO24 RUS, WA24 RUS, WA24 UKR and FK24 RUS are all banned. For those unhappy with the ULEZ charges brought into place, they won't be able to show their displeasure via their number plate, as NO24 LEZ has also been banned.

Of course, on the list are several registration plates that allude to swear words, whilst others allude to crimes and violence, examples include, BB24 STD and MU24 DER.

Along with the list of banned registration plates, there are also several rules around how number plates should be displayed. Experts from Swansway Motor Group offer advice on the rules you need to follow to ensure your number plates stop you from getting any fines.

"Making sure your number plate is displayed correctly can help you to avoid a fine. It also stops your vehicle from failing its MOT before anyone's even taken a look under the bonnet."

To ensure your registration plate is compliant, take a look at these simple rules to follow:

· Be made from a reflective material.

· Display black characters on a white background (front plate).

· Display black characters on a yellow background (rear plate).

· No background pattern.

· Be marked to show who supplied the number plate.

· Be marked with a British Standard number – this is 'BS AU 145e' for plates fitted after 1st September 2021.

· The characters must not be removable or reflective and if fitted after the 1st September 2021 must be a single shade of black.

If you are looking to customise your number plate without changing the registration, you could look at the below which are all allowed:

· Have 3D (raised) characters.

· Display flags, symbols or identifiers.

o Flags can include the Union Jack, Cross of St George, Cross of St Andrew and the Red Dragon of Walkes.

o Identifies can include, UK/United Kingdom, GB/ Great Britain, CYM/Cymru, ENG/England, SCO/Scotland and Wales.

· Display a green flash, if you have a zero-emissions vehicle. Those who are looking to transfer a personalised plate to a new lease vehicle will be pleased to know that this is possible, it involves a little bit of paperwork as you'll have to submit a retention document and a certificate of entitlement, depending on your situation.