Overview

• Over 50,000 UK motorists have been affected by cloned plates since 2020, with 3,501 reports in the first half of 2025.
• Last year the DVLA launched investigations in only 136 of the 10,461 cloning cases reported, covering just 1.3% of incidents.
• Victims continue to face wrongful fines, police charges and insurance disputes while enforcement of supplier verification rules remains inconsistent.
• A private member’s bill introduced after a June parliamentary roundtable seeks to impose £1,000 fines and licence points for ghost plate offences.
• Experts warn that expanding ANPR networks fuel demand for illegal plates and advocate deploying digital vehicle identification systems.