A year after Britain left the EU, the Government changed the rules on British numberplates, unveiling a new design. Now, that design will change again in a few months.
Welsh and Scottish people could travel abroad with numberplates displaying the Welsh or Scottish flag, but only if they also placed a GB sticker on their vehicle.
They will still be able to use their nation’s identifier when the rule changes, but the GB sticker will no longer be valid.
All Britons will either need to buy the new numberplate featuring the letters UK or make sure they have a sticker displaying the same letters.
Therefore, people who ordered Mr Schapps’ new design earlier this year must now buy a UK sticker to put alongside it to make it legal.
The new rules on vehicle signs will come into place on September 28, marking the end of the summer holiday season.
However, the change has disappointed some numberplate suppliers.
One has told the AA it will need four to six months to update plates to the UK version, leading it to lose orders.
Meanwhile, Edmund King, President of the AA, said the GB sticker was part of “our motoring heritage”.
If Britons fail to display the letters UK somewhere on their vehicle when abroad after the end of September, they will be fined.
But the penalty will depend on the law of the country concerned.
The Government’s website does not yet include information on the new UK numberplates or stickers, but it does remind Britons what they must currently do if travelling abroad with a vehicle.
The website states: “If your number plate includes the GB identifier with the Union flag (also known as the Union Jack), you do not need a GB sticker.
“But you will need to display a GB sticker clearly on the rear of your vehicle if your number plate has any of the following: a Euro symbol, a national flag of England, Scotland or Wales, numbers and letters only – no flag or identifier.
“If you’re in Spain, Cyprus or Malta, you must display a GB sticker no matter what is on your number plate.”