Rental E-Bikes Are Getting Number Plates: Here's What It Means
One e-bike operator has decided to roll out number plates across its rentals. Find out what this means for the industry and what the law says in 2026.
Which e-bikes are getting number plates?
Forest, which runs a dockless e-bike hire scheme in Richmond upon Thames in west London, is fitting plates to around a third of its 1,500-bike fleet in the borough. Roughly 500 bikes already have them. The number plates are fairly simple. Every Forest bike already has a small five-digit number printed beneath the QR code to unlock it. The new plate shows that same code in a much larger, easier-to-read format.
Forest reportedly bid £3m for an exclusive deal with the council, which keeps rival operators like Lime out of Richmond. This makes it the only name on the borough's hire bikes. So, it's where residents look when things go wrong.
Why are rental e-bikes being fitted with plates?
Complaints about e-bikes being ridden through red lights, along pavements, and dumped on footpaths have been building for years. Earlier this year, a pedestrian told The Times about the serious facial and dental injuries she suffered after being knocked into a wall by a Forest e-bike rider.
A tiny number on a frame is easy to miss, especially when a bike is moving. A bigger plate gives witnesses, residents, and police a better chance of noting the code. Forest says that once a number is reported, it can see which bike was involved and who was riding it, so it can act faster. Riders who repeatedly misuse the bikes can be banned from hiring one again.
Is a bike ID plate the same as a DVLA number plate?
The short answer is no. A Forest plate is a fleet code and it links a bike to the operator's hire records.
A DVLA registration number links a vehicle to its registered keeper through a national record that police and other authorities can check. The physical plates are carefully regulated too. According toGOV.UK, number plates on road vehicles must:
Be made from reflective material
Show black characters on a white background at the front and a yellow background at the rear
Have no background pattern
Be marked to show who supplied them
Carry the British Standard number BS AU 145e if fitted after 1 September 2021.
Motorbikes have their own requirements as well. Any motorcycle registered on or after 1 September 2001 only needs a rear plate, with the registration shown over two lines. Zero-emission vehicles can also display a green flash on their plates.
Do e-bikes need to be registered in the UK?
For most riders, no. A road-legal e-bike is known as an electrically assisted pedal cycle (EAPC). To count as one, it needs pedals that can propel it, a motor with a maximum power output of 250 watts, and electric assistance that cuts out at 15.5mph. Riders must be at least 14.
When an e-bike meets those rules, it's treated like a normal pedal bike. You therefore don't need a licence, and the bike doesn't need to be registered, taxed, or insured.
Things change once a bike goes beyond those limits. It's then classed as a moped or motorcycle, which means it needs registering and taxing, it needs type approval, and the rider needs a driving licence and a crash helmet. Registration also means displaying a proper number plate.
Birmingham has seen what happens when riders ignore this. During amulti-agency operation in the city centre in summer 2025, officers seized 16 e-bikes that had been illegally modified to reach speeds of up to 40mph. Riders were fined and the council confirmed the bikes would be destroyed.
Will all e-bikes need number plates in future?
In June 2025, transport minister Lord Hendy told the House of Lords that the government had no plans to legislate for the registration or insurance of e-bikes or pedal bikes. The reason being that it would likely put many people off cycling.
However, he did confirm that registration and insurance would be considered for e-scooters in future legislation.
Where the law has moved is on penalties. TheCrime and Policing Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026 and introduced new offences for cyclists who kill or seriously injure someone through dangerous or careless riding. Causing death by dangerous cycling now carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, in line with the penalties drivers already face. The new offences apply in England, Wales, and Scotland.
That leaves plates on bikes in the hands of individual operators. If the Richmond scheme helps reduce incidents, other hire schemes around the country may well take a closer look.
Why a number plate was the obvious answer
When Forest needed a simple way to make its bikes identifiable, it turned to the same idea UK roads have relied on for more than a century. A number displayed front and centre is still one of the most effective ways to connect a vehicle with the person responsible for it.
For motorists and motorcyclists, that registration can also say something about you. Dateless registrations are especially popular because they can be assigned to a vehicle of any age.
Find a registration that suits your ride
Whether it's for your car, motorbike, or someone special, National Numbers has over 79 million number plate combinations to choose from. Backed by over 40 years of experience, explore our registration range online or call our friendly team on 01642 363738.