House number buying guide
Updated: 22 October 2026
You are about to order a house number, and amazon.co.uk has mixed two jobs into one search. A plaque can carry a number and a street name. A stick-on digit carries one character. This house number buying guide is the order of checks before you pay: the job, the size and contrast a driver can read, whether the sign itself is lit, the face material, and the on-screen preview. Prices in this set run from £3.49 to £16.99. The twelve-row table sits on the [house number comparison](/hub/garden-decor/house-number). This page does not crown a winner.
You are about to order a house number, and amazon.co.uk has mixed two jobs into one search. A plaque can carry a number and a street name. A stick-on digit carries one character.
You are about to order a house number, and amazon.co.uk has mixed two jobs into one search. A plaque can carry a number and a street name. A stick-on digit carries one character. This house number buying guide is the order of checks before you pay: the job, the size and contrast a driver can read, whether the sign itself is lit, the face material, and the on-screen preview. Prices in this set run from £3.49 to £16.99. The twelve-row table sits on the house number comparison. This page does not crown a winner.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Job | Light | Size | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  K Smart Sign Modern glass-effect acrylic house plaque | Number and street | Unlit | 200 × 130 mm | 9.6 | about £7.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Vicloon Vicloon self-adhesive silver digit 2 | One character | Unlit | About 76 mm long | 9.4 | about £3.49 | View offer |
 K Smart Sign K Smart Sign Exalted solar plaque, matt black | Number after dark | Solar head | 280 × 160 mm | 8.4 | about £12.99 | View offer |
On this page
Plaque or digits
If the driver needs the number and the street, you want a plaque with two text lines. Most custom boards here are about 200 mm by 130 mm. Laser-cut boards are 300 mm by 160 mm, and the solar boards are quoted at 280 mm by 160 mm. If you only need a 2 on a flat door, a mailbox, or a locker, a Vicloon digit at £3.49 is the smaller job. The silver listing is one piece. The black listing's piece count is 2. Neither is customisable, and neither prints a street name. Which front each row suits is on the best house number plaque page. A house name does not replace the official number.
Size and contrast
DfT Circular 3/93 recommends numerals of 62.5 mm, a contrasting colour, and a position facing the road. That figure is recommended practice, not a UK-wide offence for a shorter digit. The Vicloon digits are about 76 mm long on the bullet, though the item-dimensions line prints 7 cm by 5 cm. The plaques do not state the height of the printed numeral, so a 200 mm board can still carry a small number. Dark type on a dark face fails even when the millimetres are right. UK reviews describe white that arrived blue-grey, pale grey on anthracite, and a marble-effect backing that was too dark to read.
Light and consent in England
In England, a small unlit house name or number is unlikely to need advertisement consent. Class 2A covers an identification sign up to 0.3 square metres, with no illumination. Every plaque measured in this set is under that area. A porch light that already exists leaves the sign unlit. A solar head on the plaque is illumination, so that plaque is outside Class 2A. The Planning Portal says anything illuminated, or bigger than 0.3 square metres, may need consent. Scotland's comparable class caps the area at 0.2 square metres. The two Exalted LED plaques are the only lit rows, both at £12.99. Their winter limit is on the solar house number light page.
Material and the preview
Acrylic and composite boards are the light modern faces, mostly at £7.99 or £8.99. Slate is the heavier traditional face, the EDSG board at £13.99 and 410 g. None of those materials has a weathering test in this set. The material fork is on the slate or acrylic house number page. The Exalted composite listing states that all writing is aligned from the right, not centred. On the Perspex plaque, do not peel the film on the acrylic. Only the film on the steel back-plate comes off. Personalised plaques can lose the usual 14-day cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
Common questions
Do I need a plaque or separate digits?
You need a plaque when the reader must see a number and a street. The custom boards in this set take two text inputs and sit mostly at £7.99 to £9.99. You need separate digits when one character on a door, a mailbox, or a locker is the whole job. The Vicloon rows are £3.49, not customisable, and about 76 mm long. A digit will not carry a street name.
How tall should the numerals be in the UK?
Circular 3/93 recommends 62.5 mm, with contrast, facing the road. It is recommended practice, not a British Standard and not a UK-wide offence for a shorter digit. The stick-on digits here are about 76 mm on the bullet. The plaques do not state the height of the printed character, so a 200 mm board can still carry a small number.
Does a house number need planning consent in England?
A small unlit house name or number is unlikely to need advertisement consent. Class 2A allows an identification sign up to 0.3 square metres without illumination, and every plaque measured here is under that area. A bigger sign, or any illuminated sign, may need consent. Scotland's similar class uses 0.2 square metres, so do not quote the English area there. Listed-building consent is separate from Class 2A.
Can the sign itself be lit?
Not if you want to stay inside England's Class 2A. That class does not allow illumination. A porch light or a reflective digit leaves the sign unlit. A solar head on the plaque is a lit advertisement, even when the board is under 0.3 square metres. The only lit plaques in this set are the two Exalted LED colourways at £12.99, and the seller does not guarantee solar performance from October to February.
What should I check on a custom preview before I pay?
Check alignment, colour, and which film you are allowed to peel. The floating composite states that writing is aligned from the right, not centred. Some glass-effect reviews describe print that arrived blue-grey rather than white. The Perspex listing tells you to leave the film on the acrylic. Personalised goods can lose the 14-day cancellation right, so the preview is the moment to stop.
Does a house name replace the official number?
No. A house name is an extra line, not a substitute for the number the council holds. If you want both, use a plaque with two text inputs and put the number where a driver can see it.
Related pages
Sources
Advertisement consent, numeral size and numbering powers are from the UK sources below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts are the twelve listings in this comparison. This is not a laboratory test.
- Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007, Schedule 3, Class 2A (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Planning Portal, adverts and signs (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, advertisements (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Department for Transport Circular 3/93, Appendix C (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847, section 64 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (Scotland) Regulations 1984, Schedule 4 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulation 28 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved 22 October 2026)