Vehicle cloning reaches record high with 11,400 drivers disputing fines

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 20 Oct, 09:57 · Archive

More than 11,400 motorists contacted the DVLA last year after receiving fines for offences they did not commit, involving cloned number plates.

Vehicle cloning has reached its highest ever level, leaving innocent drivers facing fines for road incidents they never committed. More than 11,400 motorists contacted the DVLA last year after receiving penalty notices for offences they did not recognise. Most of those disputed penalties are believed to involve cloned plates, according to data obtained by the RAC.

Cloning happens when a registration plate is copied and placed on a similar vehicle to evade speed and enforcement cameras. Many victims only discover their registration has been stolen when an unexpected fine arrives in the post. Freedom of Information figures show disputes rose nine per cent from 10,460 in 2024, and have nearly doubled since 2018 when 5,912 cases were logged.

Plate suppliers must legally inspect a V5C logbook to prove ownership, but illegal operators continue to print plates without running these checks. RAC head of policy Simon Williams said the rise was 'alarming' and that cloning 'has become the menace of modern-day motoring, as it leaves innocent drivers having to fight to prove they were not driving their own vehicle at the time and place camera evidence shows'.

Williams added that if number plate suppliers were carrying out all the checks they are supposed to, 'it would be much harder for dodgy drivers to buy cloned plates in the first place'. He noted that once fraudsters have copied someone else's plate, it is 'extremely unlikely they will be caught by the police as they pick similar cars - in terms of make, model and colour - so as not to draw any attention to themselves'.

How it is being reported

• Vehicle cloning hits record high as 11,400 drivers dispute fines they did not incurVehicle cloning hits record high as more than 11,400 motorists contest fines for offences committed by fraudsters on cloned number plates.Cumberland News · 20 Oct, 09:33
• Vehicle cloning hits record high as 11,400 drivers dispute fines they did not incurVehicle cloning hits record high as more than 11,400 motorists contest fines for offences committed by fraudsters on cloned number plates.NW Evening Mail · 20 Oct, 09:33
• Vehicle cloning hits record high as 11,400 drivers dispute fines they did not incurVehicle cloning hits record high as more than 11,400 motorists contest fines for offences committed by fraudsters on cloned number plates.Westmorland Gazette · 20 Oct, 09:33
• Vehicle cloning hits record high as 11,400 drivers dispute fines they did not incurVehicle cloning hits record high as more than 11,400 motorists contest fines for offences committed by fraudsters on cloned number plates.Whitehaven News · 20 Oct, 09:33

In this story: DVLA · RAC · Simon Williams

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