what is dvla assignment fee

DVLA Personalised Number Plate Fees Explained

There are fees payable to DVLA to perform certain tasks relating to personalised number plate ownership. Here is a brief summary of the various types of fees and what they cover.

Put a registration mark on retention; £80 (used to cost £105 – reduced 9th March 2015)

This is simply when you wish to separate your private number plate from a vehicle and keep it on a retention document (V778), rather than transfer it to another vehicle. You can apply online to take a registration number off a vehicle , or if you prefer the paper route, complete form V317 – Application to transfer or retain a vehicle registration number. Read more about how to retain a private number plate .

Transfer a personalised registration; £80

This is when you want to move a personalised registration between vehicles, typically from your old car to your new car. The DVLA form to complete is the V317 – Application to transfer or retain a vehicle registration number. It may be quicker & easier to complete your plate transfer as a two-step process online; first retaining and then assigning your private number plate to your new vehicle .

Extend a retention document (V778) or certificate of entitlement (V750); free (used to cost £25, fee abolished on 9th March 2015)

If you already have a Retention Document or Certificate of Entitlement it may be valid for one, two or three years. All V778 documents/V750 certificates issued from 9th March 2015 are valid for 10 years. During the 28 days before your document/certificate is due to expire you can apply to extend it – no fee payable. After 10 years you can apply to extend again for another 10 years, free of charge. This article explains the difference between a V750 and a V778 .

Add or change a Nominee; free (used to cost £25)

When you are ready to assign or transfer a registration number to a car, the name on the V750/V778 DVLA Document (either Purchaser/Grantee or Nominee) must match the name of the registered keeper of the vehicle. This only applies if you are buying a brand new (unregisterred) vehicle, or submitting an application to assign a registration by post. If the names do not match you need to add a nominee; either via your DVLA online account, or by completing the relevant section of your DVLA Certificate. If you use the DVLA online service to put a cherished plate on a vehicle , the nominee is completely irrelevant; the names do not need to match.  For example; A private plate held on a retention document with the grantee ‘Andrea Brown’ can be put on a vehicle showing the registered keeper ‘Simon Smith’. At the moment this relaxed rule only applies if you complete the assignment online. Grantee and Nominee explained .

If you have any further questions please visit the number plates & vehicle registration section of the GOV.UK website , or alternatively call the DVLA vehicle registration enquiries helpline on 0300 790 6802.

Blog DVLA digital services

https://dvladigital.blog.gov.uk/2015/03/09/it-now-costs-less-to-retain-your-personalised-registration/

It now costs less to retain your personalised registration

From today (9 March 2015), the law has changed to reduce the fee to retain a personalised registration from £105 to £80. This will apply to both paper and online transactions.

This change sees the removal of the £25 fee currently in place to renew the retention of a vehicle registration number on an annual basis. The renewal period is also extended to 10 years. There is another added benefit, the fee is being removed to add or change nominee details.

Customers will see a significant reduction in turnaround times following the introduction of this service. DVLA systems will be updated in real time and the service will provide instant confirmation that the application has been successful.

So what happens next? The vehicle registration certificate (V5C) with the replacement registration number and retention certificate is issued by post to the registered keeper on DVLA’s records. There will no longer be a replacement MOT certificate issued to the keeper as the original remains valid.

Today also sees DVLA launching its online Take a Registration Number off a Vehicle service which allows keepers and the motor trade to apply to retain a number online. The service will be launched as private beta and rolled out to the trade only for a 2 week period. The service is scheduled to be available on GOV.UK as public beta on 23 March 2015.

The service is now available and can be found on GOV.UK

Once the online service is available to all, the next online service to be launched will be ‘Assign a personalised registration number’. Any registration number on retention (V778 certificate) or bought from DVLA (V750 certificate) can be assigned via the online service.

I’ll provide more detail on this service over the coming weeks...

Sharing and comments

Share this page, 58 comments.

Comment by Julie posted on 09 March 2015

What about cherished TRANSFERS - are there any further developments here?

Comment by Jason Llewelyn posted on 10 March 2015

Hi Julie, following the introduction of this service into public beta we will be releasing the next online service which will allow customers to assign a number to a vehicle. This will allow customers to complete the full cherished transfer process. Thanks

Comment by David Stephenson posted on 09 March 2015

At last, well done and thanks

Comment by Rod Lomax posted on 10 March 2015

This new service looks to be great and is something members of the Registration Numbers Club have been advocating for some time. It should make our lives much easier. Look forward to the next stage when the full cherished transfer can take place on-line. Rod Loma, Publicity Officer, Registration Numbers Club http://www.The RNC.co.uk

Comment by Andrew Robertson posted on 11 March 2015

I have had my reg no. On retention for 3 years and it's due to expire on 27/3/15. The assignment fee has already been advanced but I just want to carry on keeping it on retention. Do I send the retention document back as normal with the £25?

Comment by Jason Llewelyn posted on 12 March 2015

Hi Andrew, as the expiry of entitlement for your retention expires on 27/3/15 then you will not be required to pay the £25 to extend. Any number which is on retention and due to expire on 9/3/15 or later will no longer be required to pay the £25 fee. Thanks

Comment by nino posted on 11 March 2015

thanks for the article

Comment by Nick posted on 12 March 2015

I have just about to send my retention certificate in to get the nominee changed and the registration put onto a vehicle, do I need to send any fee?

Hi Nick, From 9 March there is no longer a fee to change the nominee details. You should send the retention certificate back with the change of nominee details without the fee. Thanks

Thanks for the help.

Comment by Jonathan posted on 12 March 2015

I presume the £80 retention fee also includes assignment when I come to put the number back on a car?

Comment by Jason Llewelyn posted on 13 March 2015

Hi Jonathan, yes the initial fee of £80 includes the assignment fee to assign the number on to another vehicle. Thanks

Comment by Bob posted on 16 March 2015

Hi - I renewed a retention in early Feb and paid £50 for two years. Can I claim a refund please?

Comment by Jason Llewelyn posted on 16 March 2015

Hi Bob, unfortunately you cannot apply for a refund as the legislative change only came into force on 9 March 2015, for certificates that expired on or after 9 March. Thanks

Comment by T Townsend posted on 16 March 2015

I need to take a registration off a car I am selling this week. Can the dealer now do this instantly online without having to wait for the docs to come back in the post? What is the link to get to the relevant page as all the info on the website that I can see appears to be out of date?

Hi, the service will be available to the public and all the motor trade by 24 march 2015. It's currently available to a select few from the motor trade as we test our services in a private beta phase. Anyone in the motor trade looking to join the private beta phase should contact us at [email protected] Thanks

Comment by Alberto Franchitti posted on 17 March 2015

Hi,i have three retention documents coming up for renewal in april and may do i still have to send them in for a new document,The retention document renewal i received on monday is valid till 2025 can you advise. Many thanks

Comment by Jason Llewelyn posted on 18 March 2015

Hi Alberto, Yes the retention documents still needs to be returned for renewal as previously. They will then be renewed for 10 years with no fee applicable. Thanks

Comment by Jay posted on 18 March 2015

Hi, Is this service definitely going live for the public and motor trade by the 24th? I am buying a car from a dealership, and they can't sell it to me until the cherished plate has been taken off. Will this online service allow them to instantly remove the cherished plate from the car? And will a standard reg be applied instantly as well?

Comment by Jason Llewelyn posted on 19 March 2015

Yes, the new service to retain a private registration mark will be available to all by 24 march 2015. This service will allow the motor trade to instantly retain the number from your old vehicle and a replacement registration mark will be allocated to the vehicle as part of the online service.

Comment by Mr y ravat posted on 18 March 2015

Hi I would like to know own if after 10 years the registration is not assigned to a vehicle will the registration be lost or will I still be able to retain it

You will be sent a renewal reminder to renew the retention period before the 10 years has expired and you will be able to renew for another ten years with no fee applicable.

Comment by Kim Beresford posted on 19 March 2015

Will the online retention service be available on the 23rd (as originally intended) or the 24th of this month to the public?

Comment by Jason Llewelyn posted on 23 March 2015

Hi Yes, the service will be available from 23 March 2015.

Comment by Bill F posted on 19 March 2015

Can you advise how will payment be collected for the £80? If it is to be a 'card payment' system, can Motor Dealers set up an Account - or pay using bank details?

Payment can only be made by credit or debit card.

Comment by Chris posted on 19 March 2015

My registration is on a V750 certificate at the moment and I need to add a nominee to the certificate. Do I still need to pay £25 to do this?

Comment by Jason Llewelyn posted on 20 March 2015

Hi, no you should return the V750 certificate with the requested nominee's details. No fee is applicable. Thanks

Comment by Emma Robo posted on 19 March 2015

Hi, I am due to sell my car asap to a dealer as part exchange for a newer car. I want to retain my current reg plate on the car I am selling, would it quicker to wait for the online portal to open than to send paper copies to you?

Also, how quickly does this take effect if I complete the application online on 24 March? Once I complete the process online do I have to wait for new plates and paperwork to arrive before I can part exchange or can I take the plates off and sign over to dealers without plates?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm so confused and I need to sell my car asap. Thank you very much!

Hi, the application will be completed quicker via the online service. Once the application is complete you will be instantly provided with the replacement registration number (on screen) which has been allocated to the vehicle.

The vehicle cannot be driven on the public road with no number plates and you should await the delivery of the new V5C (which can be sued to make up the number plates) with the replacement registration number and ensure the correct number plates are attached to the vehicle before passing it on.

The V5C certificate will be received 3-5 working days after the successful online application and should be handed to the dealer.

Comment by Emma Robo posted on 20 March 2015

Thank you very much for your reply!

Comment by Geoff Hancocks posted on 21 March 2015

Hi Jason, I have a number plate which is presently on retention, but it expires this May after 3 years. I don't want to allocate it to a vehicle just yet, so would like to extend the retention up to the new 10 year period. Is this possible online ?? If so, how do I go about it ?? I have the V778 retention document in my name. Thanks in anticipation

Hi, There is no facility currently available to renew a V778 retention certificate online however, this is being looked at as part of the future developments for the online service. To renew your retention you should apply in the normal way and return the document to DVLA by post. Thank

Comment by Geoff Hancocks posted on 23 March 2015

Thanks Jason, much appreciated.

Comment by Graham Witt posted on 21 March 2015

Hi – I renewed a retention in Feb and paid £75 for three years and I noted I can't claim a refund. Please can you advise why I was not advised of the law changes in the renewal letter as i would have only paid for one year?

Comment by Jason Llewelyn posted on 24 March 2015

Hi, Prior to the legal changes on the 9 March, customers continued to have the facility to retain their Certificates for either 1,2 or 3 years and pay the appropriate fee of £25 for each year. While the Agency were in the process of reviewing the fee structure prior to the 9 March, no confirmation of the changes could be communicated prior to the law being formally updated. Thanks

Comment by Nikki posted on 22 March 2015

Hi, we are due to part exchange our car in this week at a dealers which has a private plate we would like to change to our new car. Should we wait for them to do it in the dealership or start the process now with the paper copies. Any advice o the process would be great as I have never done this before.

Thank you in advance.

Hi, You can apply to retain the registration number online now using the new service. The V5C with the replacement registration mark and the retention certificate will be issued to you within 3-5 days.

This would allow the dealer to take the part exchanged vehicle and have the correct V5C for it as well as applying to assign the personalised registration number to your new car. Thanks

Comment by D J Lewis posted on 23 March 2015

I had posted an enquiry, which was 'awaiting moderation', but now seems to have disappeared??

Has the new facility to retain/transfer a number plate 'gone live' as your blog suggested, as I cannot find it yet....?

Hi, the service is now available and can be found on GOV.UK

Comment by Edawrd King posted on 23 March 2015

Does this mean we can now transfer out private plate to our next purchase as long as to got all the paper to do so .

Once the online application is successful, you can use the retention certificate which will be issued by post to assign the personalised registration to a new vehicle.

Thank you Jason got all the paper work will set the ball rolling .

Comment by Jessica posted on 23 March 2015

Are these changes now available to the public today? If so, what is the web address?

What do you do with the old logbook? Do we just destroy it or do we need to return it to the DVLA?

Comment by Melissa posted on 23 March 2015

Hi when is the online service going to be live? I would like to have my current number plate retained. Thanks.

Comment by Lee posted on 23 March 2015

I have applied to change the nominee on my retention certificate and I sent the documents off about a week a go with the £25. Does this mean they will not cash my check and return the documents with the change applied?

Yes, we will return the fee (cheque unbanked) and update the documents as normal.

Comment by Jay posted on 23 March 2015

Hi, After using the online service, do I have to wait for the new V5 to arrive by post before I can get a plate for the new dated registration made and put on my car? Or can I get the new plate printed as soon as the online process is complete (but before the new V5 arrives)?

Yes, you have to wait for the delivery of the V5C which will allow you to get the plates made up. The V5C should take between 3-5 working days to arrive.

Comment by zac posted on 23 March 2015

Hi Jason - my v778 is due to expire in may and I intend to renew for ten years. Reading through the comments it seems this renewal is not possible online so I will have to send by post. The question is how much fees are due for the ten years? Is it just £80. Many thanks

Hi Zac, there are no fees to extend the retention period to ten years if a number is already on retention. You will need to send back the V778 to renew in May. Thanks

Comment by Phil D posted on 23 March 2015

I have a plate in the format :

AA 9999 (an old registration) on a 2004 car.

Can I use the online service to retain this.?

The web site guidance says it has to be registered after 1998, does this refer to the age of the plate or age of the donor vehicle?

Hi, yes the service can be used for any vehicle which was registered after 1998. Thanks

Comment by Dawn posted on 24 March 2015

Was eagerly awaiting this new way of putting number plate on retention, to sell the car privately whilst awaiting our new car on order. Was so easy to do, got retention certificate number within seconds. I already had the original plates for the vehicle (kept them when we purchased the vehicle). When should i put them on and inform my insurance company of the reg change? Now or wait for new V5C & V778? Also should i just destroy my old V5C with the private number plate or give a copy of the new owner, as the MOT certificate is marked with my private plate, I believe I wont be issued with a new MOT certificate will I ? Thanks

Hi, thanks for your feedback and I am glad you found the service easy to use.

Once you receive confirmation that the registration number has changed, you can instantly change the number plates of the vehicle and inform your insurance company as the service updates DVLA records in real time. The old V5C can be destroyed on receipt of the new one and replacement MOT's are no longer issued as a result of a retention as the old MOT remains legally valid.

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HOW TO ASSIGN A PRIVATE NUMBER PLATE TO A VEHICLE

Published by Number Plate Clinic

May 20, 2021

After purchasing a car, the next port of call will be how to transfer a personalized number to it. Getting a private number plate might be one of the things you have admired about cars for a long time and now that your car purchase has been sorted, you won’t have to go through a tedious process to get it done. It is a straightforward process that can be completed via post or online.

You can purchase a new number plate for your car from a private company or an individual, so long as you meet all requirements. That is, as long as you have the correct documentation, even without bringing them along with you, you will get a private number plate for your vehicle.

The documents that come along with a successful number plate purchase include your retention document (V778), your Certificate of Entitlement (V750), and an online reference number. All of this will prove that you own the number plate.

How to apply to assign a private number plate

The vehicle to assign a number plate must be registered to you. That’s when you can begin the process of transferring the number plate to you which can be done via post or online. Most number plate companies will make a number plate transfer for you free of charge especially when you are available in person. But if you purchase online intending to keep or assign, you can request the V750 or V778 certificate for easy registration which can be completed at home.

The fastest way to assign a number to your vehicle or transfer a registered plate to another car in this era is to go online. You can complete the process in less than ten minutes whether your plate is registered to another vehicle or held on a Certificate of Entitlement (V750) or Retention Document (V778).

Often, you are not required to pay any fees but your documentation must be in order including a valid V778 document, or a V750 certificate that hasn’t expired. And if you have just purchased your vehicle and are not the registered keeper, make sure you have the complete up-to-date V5C logbook.

You will be notified with a number plate authorization certificate (eV958) via email by the DVLA once the application has been accepted. You can then proceed to fit your plates into your vehicle as soon as possible. If you haven’t got a number plate yet, you can do so after you’ve received your new logbook (V5C), number plate authorization certificate (eV958) or use your V750/V778 certificate at a DVLA approved number plate supplier. In the case of insurance, notify your insurance company immediately about the change to avoid a mix-up.

How to assign a private number plate by post?

Not everyone has access to or can use the internet, it might even boil down to preferences, either way, and you can present your paperwork to the DVLA by post. It is worth noting that this can take more time to process. Sometimes, it might be requested that you deliver by post due to incomplete information or error during registration.

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Of course, every car gets its own registration plates when it is manufactured, but these plates typically have little to no meaning to the vehicle’s owner and have no monetary worth. This is one of the many reasons why people come to us on a daily basis in search of customised registrations and why so many individuals have personalised automobile number plates. There’s something for everyone in our database, with over 50,000,000 distinct private plates to pick from; if you’ve come to our website today searching for private plates for sale, we’re certain you’ll be able to discover the right private reg for you.

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How long does it take to assign a private number plate?

After registering to assign a private number plate to your vehicle, the V5C logbook you will receive can take up to six weeks before arrival. However, you can start using your number plate on arrival; you don’t have to wait another set of weeks before using it.

How to transfer a registration number from one car to another and how much it costs

You will have to pass through two stages of processing if your private plate is in situ on another vehicle. To remove the existing personalized number plate, you simply have to put it on retention. Furthermore, to still have ownership of the plate, you need to fill out a V317 form (section B) after removal. This is to allow you to choose from the array of options presented to you on what to do with it and to also notify the authorities.

You get to pay a one-off fee of £80 for transfer from one vehicle to the other. If you apply online, it can be done immediately if there’s no inspection needed. After application, use the reference number you’ll get to proceed. And if you are removing the number plate via post, it can take up to two weeks to get it done.

The documents to be posted to the DVLA must include, V317 “transfer or retain a vehicle registration number” form, your vehicle’s logbook (V5C) or the new keeper’s supplement with a completed V62 “application for a vehicle registration certificate V5C” and an £80 fee. Once done, you can go one to assign your car the personalized number plate of your choice. In any case, efficiency is all that matters.

What happens if you want to give a personalized number plate as a gift?

Gifting a personalized number plate is not as stressful as envisaged. The process is meant to complement your gesture and that’s what it does. It’s a similar process to buying your personalized number plate. If you are buying by yourself, you don’t need any vehicle documents. All you need to do is to transfer registration which can be done by the receiver in his leisure time.

After choosing your perfect reg plate, you will be issued a certificate with it. The certificate will be in your name as the “purchaser” and the gift receivers name as the “nominee”.

The plate delivery can be done on request to either you or the gift receiver’s address. However, you can delay sending it for a year free of charge. It will be kept tidily for you. But after a year, the DVLA will charge you as high as £25 for renewal.

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Assigning a number plate to your car can be a bit confusing, but don’t worry! we will provides you with all the information you need to get it done right.

If you’re looking to assign a number plate to your car, it’s important to understand the process and requirements. Our guide will walk you through the steps, including how to choose a personalized plate, what documents you’ll need, and how to complete the registration process.

Complete the Necessary Paperwork and Pay the Fees. Once you have chosen your desired number plate and checked its availability, it’s time to complete the necessary paperwork and pay the fees. You will need to fill out a V317 form, which can be obtained from the DVLA website or your local post office. This form will require you to provide your personal details, vehicle information, and the details of the number plate you wish to assign. You will also need to pay a fee, which varies depending on the type of plate you choose.

Once you have completed the form and paid the fee, you can submit it to the DVLA for processing. It’s important to note that if you are assigning a number plate to a new vehicle, you will need to provide proof of ownership and registration for that vehicle. If you are assigning a number plate to an existing vehicle, you will need to provide the vehicle’s registration certificate (V5C) and a valid MOT certificate.

Once the DVLA has processed your application, they will send you a new registration certificate with your assigned number plate. It’s important to keep this certificate safe, as it serves as proof of ownership for your number plate. With these steps completed, you can now proudly display your personalised number plate on your vehicle.

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DVLA V778 Retention Form Explained (With Simple Instructions)

If your private registration isn’t attached to a vehicle – and you don’t have the correct documentation – you could lose the right to the number. That’s your personal number (and investment!) down the drain…

Thankfully, the process of filling out retention documentation couldn’t be any simpler. In this blog post, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the DVLA V778 retention form: what it is, why it’s needed, how to apply for the form and answers to frequently asked questions.

By the end, you’ll know exactly what you need to do to apply for the V788 form, so you can keep your number and enjoy the benefits of your private number plate .

What is the DVLA V778 Retention Document?

The DVLA V778 retention document means you can keep your personalised private number plate, even if it isn’t attached to a vehicle. Once you remove it from your vehicle, you’ll need to fill in the form and you’ll receive the document from the DVLA . This is useful for people who want to change their number plate, but don’t want to sell their old one either. 

Why You’ll Need It

If you don’t have the correct documentation when your registration isn’t attached to a vehicle, then you may lose the right to the number. You don’t want to spend money on a personalised plate, only to not be able to use it again!

What is the Difference Between a V750 and V778?

A V750 is for new registrations. For example, in cases where the number has never been used on a vehicle before. A V778 is for when a number has previously been registered to a vehicle, but it isn’t any more and you still want the rights to the number. 

What Does the V778 Document Look Like?

It’s a green A4 piece of paper. It includes information such as the:

• Vehicle registration number
• Expiry date
• Reference number

There are also spaces for you to contact the DVLA to add a nominee, extend the retention period or change your address. 

Who Can Apply for the Document?

You can only apply for a V778 if you’re the registered owner or keeper of the vehicle. You can, however, transfer ownership to another vehicle if you decide to sell the number plate (more on that later). 

How to Apply for a DVLA V778 Retention Document

There are two ways to apply for a V778:

Apply Online

Simply visit the DVLA’s retention page and follow the instructions. Have your documentation and card details ready to pay the fee. 

Apply Via Post

Alternatively, you can fill everything out on paper and send it to the address listed on the form. 

Essential Information You Need to Know

• A personalised registration number can either be attached to a vehicle or on retention – otherwise, you may lose the rights to it. 
• If your number is on retention, you can transfer it to a new vehicle before it expires. Alternatively, you can leave it on retention for as long as you want – as long as you renew it 28 days before the expiry date. 
• The vehicle must be in the name of the Grantee or Nominee. Also, only the Grantee can assign a Nominee. 

Key Terminology

• Grantee: the person who has the rights to the registration number.
• Nominee: the registration can be transferred to a nominee if the Grantee wishes.
• Registration number: the number that appears on your number plate.
• Expiry date: the date at which you will no longer have the rights to the registration, unless you apply for renewal. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a v778 last for.

10 years. If your registration is on retention, you must renew the form 28 days before the expiry date. 

How Do I Transfer a Number Plate From a V778 Retention Certificate to a New Car?

• Have your V778 and V5C registration documentation filled out and ready.
• Go to the DVLA ‘Assign a private number to a vehicle’ page and follow the instructions.
• You’ll be notified if your application has been successful almost instantly. If not, there will be instructions to follow.
• Once accepted, swap your number plates over.
• Tell your insurance company that you’ve swapped number plates.
• Finally, you’ll receive the V5C documentation from the DVLA. 

Can You Put Any Plate on Retention?

They have to meet certain requirements. For example, they can’t start with “Q” or “NIQ”.

Is There Any Eligibility Criteria for My Vehicle?

• It needs to be operable with an MOT.
• A SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) must’ve been issued without a break from tax expiry within the last five years.
• It needs to be registered in the UK and be on the DVLA database.
• Your V5C can’t include a note saying the number is “non-transferable”.
• The V778 form has to be in the name of the owner of the vehicle. 

How Much is the Retention Fee From the DVLA?

£80. The fee stays the same whether you’re completing the application process online or via post. If you want to change or add a nominee, this comes at no extra cost. 

What Happens if You Don’t Put Your Number Plate on Retention?

If your number isn’t attached to vehicle or on retention, it will cease to exist. You won’t be able to assign it to a vehicle in the future, either. Not only that, you won’t be able to sell it on and it will lose all monetary value. 

How Long Does it Take to Get a Retention Certificate From the DVLA?

It can take up to six weeks to receive your V778 certificate. The DVLA have to check whether the vehicle is insured and taxed before they send it to you. 

How Do I Change Ownership on a Retention Certificate?

You can change ownership by assigning it to someone else’s vehicle. Once it’s assigned to their vehicle, they’re the owner of the number plate. You can do this easily by selling your number plate with Absolute Reg . We’ll give you an accurate valuation and help you find potential buyers in no time. 

What Do I Do If My V778 or V750 Document is Lost or Stolen?

You can apply for a replacement V778 or V750 document if it’s lost or has been stolen. It can take 3-4 weeks to receive the documentation. You can apply for this by visiting the DVLA ‘Renew or replace your private number’ page , or by posting a letter to the following address: 

DVLA Personalised Registrations ,  Swansea,  SA99 1DS

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With a private number plate, you can personalise your vehicle, protect against theft and even make a profit. Upgrade your car or motorbike and create a more luxury driving experience. 

Use our search function to order your dream number plate today. 

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How to buy or sell a private number plate: Complete guide

Learn how to buy or sell a private number plate in the UK, with our useful guide.

Why do people buy private number plates?

People usually buy private (or personalised) number plates to cosmetically enhance their vehicle, or as a gift to someone for their vehicle.

How to buy a private number plate 

Purchasing, assigning and fitting a private number plate is a relatively straightforward process. Here we show you how.

How to sell a private number plate

Perhaps you’re wondering, how do I sell my number plate?

We’ll also cover how to sell your number plate here so read on to find out more…

The key steps in the process of buying a private (personalised) number plate are:

• Buy your new number plates

Assign the number plates at gov.uk

Get the number plates manufactured.

• Tell your insurer you have bought a new private number plate

Update any relevant automatic payment accounts

• Fit the new number plates

Where can I find private number plates for sale?

Once you’ve decided that you want to buy a private number plate, then begins the search for your new number plates.

There are 3 main options as to where you can buy number plates:

Buying number plates from the DVLA website

The cheapest option is to use the  DVLA plate website .

Not many people are aware that it is possible to buy number plates from the DVLA.

This government website also holds auctions around 5 times a year so you have the chance to buy especially sought-after number plates.

How much does it cost to buy number pates from the DVLA?

The total cost for buying number plates from the DVLA website starts at £250.

How can I find out what registrations the DVLA will be selling?

You can see a  list of the new registrations coming up for auction on the DVLA website .

Buying private number plates from a private firm

There are a large number of firms from which you can buy private number plates, you’ll find many of these dealers online.

What is the downside of buying private number plates from a private firm?

Bear in mind, buying your new number plates from a private firm may be more expensive than buying number plates via the DVLA website.

What is the positive of buying private number plates from a private firm?

Buying number plates from a private firm is likely to offer a wider choice than buying from the DVLA.

This means that there is more chance that you will be able to purchase a private number plate along the lines of what you seek.

Buy number plates privately 

You can buy a number plate from a private seller in the same way you would from a private firm.

What is the positive of buying number plates privately?

Buying privately often means a better deal for both buyer and seller, as you can deal directly and negotiate on price, and cut out the fees of the middlemen- the private dealers.

What are the negatives of buying number plates privately?

Buying a number plate privately can pose a little more risk, as unfortunately, there are scammers out there.

Advice of buying a number plate privately

If the registration number is still currently assigned to the seller’s car, to ensure the relevant paperwork for the transfer of the registration is completed as quickly as possible, to make sure you don’t get left empty-handed after handing over any money.

Number plate transfer fee

You should note, when  buying number plates, the cost will include an £80 transfer fee.

Buy the personalised number plates

Before you pay for your new number plates, note that some number plates cannot be fitted to older cars.

This is because you cannot use a personalised number plate to make a vehicle look newer than it is.

Next, pay for your plates using a debit or credit card.

If buying private number plates from the DVLA, having bought your private number plates, you should get an email order confirmation. This can also be done by post.

V750 and V778 certificates

If buying brand new plates from the DVLA or a private firm, you will receive a V750 Certificate of Entitlement, which proves you own the number plate.

If buying a pre-used registration, you will receive a V778 certificate.

What’s the difference between the V750 and V778 certificate?

When you buy a private plate you will get either a V750 or a V778 certificate. Both documents are essentially the same thing – a certificate proving who owns the registration number – but a V750 is pink and a V778 is green.

The pink V750 is for a registration that has never been allocated to a vehicle before,  the green V778 is for a reg  that has already been on a vehicle.

If the vehicle is registered to you, once you have the V750 Certificate of Entitlement or V778 Certificate, you can  visit gov.uk  to assign the number plate online.

This can be done immediately assuming your vehicle does not need an inspection.

How to assign the number plates at gov.uk?

Simply follow the instructions on visit gov.uk .

You'll need to enter:

• your new number plates
• your old number plates
• your logbook reference number
• your V750 / V778 reference number.

You should then get an email confirmation stating the change has gone through.

The vehicle that you wish to assign the registration to, must have been taxed for the last 5 years with no gaps or have been declared SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification)

Once the online application has been completed, you should then get an email confirmation stating the change has gone through.

Can I assign my number plates by post?

Yes, you can also apply to assign the registration with the DVLA by post.

If the vehicle is:

• a used vehicle you just bought - wait for DVLA to send you  a new V5C in your name before you apply online or by post
• brand new - give the dealer your V750 or V778 document and ask them to apply
• registered to someone else and you want the private number to be transferred to them - apply online or by post

How much does it cost to assign number plates with the DVLA?

It’s free to apply online or by post.

What happens once I have assigned my number plates with the DVLA?

After you've assigned the number plates you'll receive a new log book (V5C). You'll need to show this to the number plate supplier in the next step.

That's right, even though you just bought your number plate - the DVLA doesn't send you an actual set of number plates. You’ll need to get these manufactured. You could go with a straightforward number plate or an embossed/3D number plate. Search online for manufacturers that can meet your needs.

What are the rules on getting number plates manufactured?

Number plates must be manufactured to the British Standard and must be fully reflective.

You must use a registered UK number plate supplier.

What documentation will I need to get number plates manufactured?

The manufacturer will need to see an original document showing your name and address, such as a driving licence or bank statement from the last 6 months.

They will also need to see a document showing you’re allowed to use the registration number.

The most common are:

• vehicle registration certificate (V5C or V5CNI)
• green ‘new keeper’ slip from the V5C or V5CNI
• certificate of entitlement (V750 or V750NI) to the number
• retention document (V778)
• a renewal reminder for vehicle tax or SORN (V11 or V11NI)
• temporary registration certificate (V379 or V379NI)

How to upgrade your number plates with flags, symbols and identifiers

When ordering your new number plates online, you can choose to have a flag or national identifier added. These are:

• Union flag (aka Union Jack)
• Cross of St George
• Cross of St Andrew - (aka the Saltire)
• Red Dragon of Wales

The letters, or national identifiers, you can add are:

• GREAT BRITAIN, Great Britain or GB
• UNITED KINGDOM, United Kingdom or UK
• CYMRU, Cymru, CWM or Cwm
• ENGLAND, England, ENG, Eng
• SCOTLAND, Scotland, SCO or Sco
• WALES or Wales

What are the rules on adding flags, symbols or identifiers to your number plate?

Any national identifiers that you add to your registration must be placed on the left-hand side of the number plate.

The supplier's website should make it easy and clear as to how your number plate must be laid out by law.

Note that to drive your car in some countries (Spain, Cyprus or Malta) you must have a UK sticker (formerly a GB sticker), no matter what you add to your number plate.

Find out more about driving in Europe

Tell your insurer you have changed your number plates

Inform your insurance company of the change in number plates.

You can normally tell your insurer that you have changed number plates online for a small fee.

Update any relevant automatic payment accounts with your new number plate details, such as:

• the Congestion Charge
• the Low Emission Zone Charge
• the Ultra Low Emission Zone Charge
• the Dart Charge
• charges for driving in Clean Air Zones

If you don’t you may receive a penalty charge.

Update your registration details with your breakdown provider

You’ll also need to inform your roadside breakdown cover provider that you have changed your number plates to ensure your vehicle will be recognised on your policy in the event of a breakdown.

If you are a current Start Rescue customer, you can update your vehicle details here:

Customer lounge

Don’t currently have breakdown cover?

You can get affordable and reliable cover from Start Rescue in three simple steps, just by clicking on the link below:

Buy breakdown cover

Fit your new number plates

Once you've received your new number plates, you can fit them yourself, or get your local garage to do it.

The process for selling a private number plate:

The  key steps in the process of selling a private number plate are:

• Advertise and sell your number plates
• Receive payment
• Add number plates to a retention certificate with the DVLA
• Send the Certificate Number to the new owner for assigning
• Don’t forget about the £80 fee for deregistering the plates - and make sure your sale price covers it

Does the DVLA buy number plates?

If you are looking to sell a personalised number plate, the DVLA will not buy your private number plate.

It only holds and sells number plates that have never been issued to a vehicle before.

So, how to sell a private number plate?

Best place to sell a private number plate: Where can I sell my private number plate?

You can sell your number plate either using a number plate dealer - who will charge you commission - or you can sell privately.

Selling your private number plate is possible on eBay, Gumtree, or one of the many other classified ad sites.

You can also choose to sell your plates on a dedicated number plate selling website. Search online to find these.

How do I value my number plate?

Wondering how much is my number plate worth?

If you’re looking to sell your number plate, you no doubt want to know how much it is actually worth before selling it.

It's possible to get a valuation on your number plates, but how useful or accurate these number plate valuations are is open to debate.

In short a number plate is worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it. And this all depends on how desirable it is to other people.

When looking to see how much your number plate is worth, look to find similar number plates as a benchmark for working out the number plate value.

What are the most popular number plates?

Generally speaking, number plates which feature names or words tend to be sought after so are more likely to attract a higher price tag.

Similarly, number plates with dates and initials are popular

Discover the world's most costly number plates

How to transfer the number plates to the new owner

Once you have sold your number plate, assign the number plate to the new owner online.

It's better to do this with the buyer present in person if possible - especially if the plates have achieved a high price.

The buyer will probably want to see a photo of your logbook (V5C) before proceeding with payment.

When providing these documents, make sure you conceal the certificate number/reference number. This is because with these numbers someone to instantly transfer your number plate to their car.

Also conceal the VIN number because they can apply for a new logbook with this. Scamming is rare but it does happen.

How to put a personalised number plate on retention

What is retention.

You may hear the term “on retention” a lot when you’re buying or selling a private number plate.

Retention is referring to a plate that currently isn’t allocated to a vehicle, but it is owned by someone.

Add number plates to retention certificate with DVLA

Once you've received payment, use the DVLA number plate website to de-register the plates from your vehicle and add them on to a retention certificate .

DVLA number plate retention costs £80 including the Assignment Fee.

You can use the V317 application form to apply for your number plate retention by post.

Send Certificate Number to the new owner

You should then send the new owner the Certificate Number with which they can assign the registration to their vehicle instantly online, through the DVLA website.

How do you add a new number plate to your car once you have sold your private number plate?

If the plate has been through the transfer procedure and is now on a vehicle, the new owner to who you have sold the number plate won’t hold a V778 until they apply to the DVLA and pay to have the registration number put on retention.

Once this has happened, your car that had the private number will either be issued with its original number, if it had one and if it’s still available, or a brand-new number appropriate to its date of registration. 

Don’t forget to tell your insurer (and your breakdown provider ) that you have changed your number plates.

Selling car with private number plate: Can you sell a car with a private number plate?

Yes, you can indeed sell a car with a private number plate.

Selling on your vehicle complete with private plate sometimes even adds to the car’s value, especially if you have a sought after personalised number plates, such as one with a name, dates, initials or words.

Can I keep my private number plate if I sell my car?

Yes. If you sell your car, it is possible to retain the registration plate and attach it to another car, hold on to it or even sell it on individually.

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DVLA Auction Fees Calculator

Wondering what that number plate will actually cost at a DVLA auction?

Use our free DVLA Auction Calculators below to calculate the final cost of any number plate sold in a DVLA auction , or work out the highest bid you should place based on your maximum budget.

Calculate the total auction price including fees

What will it cost? Using this calculator, enter a final sale price (hammer price) of a number plate to find out exactly what fees and VAT will be applied on top.

It will reveal the total cost and a breakdown of all added fees.

Enter the price at which the auction is won, referred to as the Hammer Price.

Calculate a maximum bid price based on your budget

What can you afford? Assuming you have a fixed auction budget, this calculator will show you the maximum price you should bid for a number plate.

This will ensure that fees and VAT do not take you over budget.

Enter the maximum price you are willing to spend.

What are the DVLA auction fees?

For every number plate sold in a DVLA auction, there are four additional fees that are added to the sale (hammer) price.

• VAT on the hammer price (20%)
• Buyer’s Premium (7% – although previously 8%)
• VAT on Buyer’s Premium (20%)
• £80 Assignment Fee

This means winning a DVLA auction can have significant extra costs that not all potential buyers may be aware of.

Although the DVLA make it abundantly clear what these additional fees are whilst you are bidding on a number plate auction lot, it can be hard to work out what costs you may incur beforehand when budgeting for a number plate.

We’ve built this free calculator to clearly show how much each of these additional fees will cost you, including a grand total number plate cost.

You can then set a suitable bidding budget and be sure that you will not be met with any unexpected costs.

What is the buyer’s premium?

A buyer’s premium is a fee charged by most auction houses for hosting and facilitating an auction. It’s almost always charged as a fixed percentage of the selling price of an item.

All DVLA auctions are run by BCA Ltd, who specialise in vehicle auctions across the country.

What is the assignment fee?

The assignment fee is a fixed £80 cost for all number plates won at auction, no matter the hammer price or final selling price

It is the fee charged by the DVLA to put your new number plate on to your vehicle. It is essentially an admin fee to transfer the registration of your vehicle from your old registration to your newly purchased registration.

Are there any other fees?

There are no further fees, however the only other outstanding costs you may face would be for purchasing and fitting a set of physical number plates for your vehicle. These are not included in the DVLA price.

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Private (personalised) number plates

If the person with the right to use the private number dies.

If someone has died and left you a personalised number in their will, or you’re in charge of the will (an ‘executor’), you can:

• keep the private number
• transfer it to another vehicle
• put it in someone else’s name
• give up the right to use the number (you can apply for a refund)

To do this, you’ll need to send a form to DVLA , along with documents that prove you have the right to use the number.

Prove you’ve got the right to use the number

You must send DVLA the death certificate when you send in your form. The death certificate can be an original or a certified copy .

You must also send at least one of the following:

• a certified copy of probate
• a copy of the will
• a letter from the solicitor confirming who the executors are or next of kin is

Keep or transfer the number, or give it to someone else

Which form you send depends on whether the number is already on (‘assigned to’) a vehicle.

If the number is already assigned to a vehicle

• the V317 form (if you have an old blue form, fill in section 2)
• section 2 if you have a new style log book (with multi-coloured numbered blocks on the front cover) or section 6 if you have the older style log book

Make sure you include:

• a covering letter signed by all the executors confirming that they agree with the application
• the details of the person you want to transfer the number to, for example an executor or next of kin

It costs £80.

DVLA Personalised Registrations Swansea SA99 1DS

If the number has not been assigned to a vehicle

Send the documents that prove you’ve got the right to use the number and either the:

• V778 retention document
• V750 certificate of entitlement form

The executors must sign the V778 or V750 before you send it.

You must also send a covering letter signed by all the executors saying if you want to:

• keep the number
• give the number to someone else

If you do not have the V778 or V750

Send DVLA :

• the documents that prove you have the right to use the number
• a covering letter signed by all the executors confirming that you do not have the forms, and explaining what you want to do with the number

Give up your right to use the private number

You might be able to get a refund of the £80 assignment fee if:

• a private number was not assigned to a vehicle after the fee was paid
• you have the latest V778 or V750 document - if you’ve lost it and it’s still valid you can get a replacement from DVLA

Check the V778 or V750 document to find out if a fee was paid.

If the document was issued before 9 March 2015, you can only get a refund once it expires. You cannot get a replacement document if it’s expired.

• the V778 or V750 document - tick the ‘Refund of the assignment fee’ section and get all the executors to sign it
• name and address details of the person the refund is to be issued to
• a covering letter signed by the all the executors confirming that you do not have the forms, and explaining what you want to do with the number

Part of Get a private (personalised) number plate: step by step

Step 1 : buy a private number.

• Find out how you can buy a number

Step 2 : Assign your private number to a vehicle

• Apply to assign a private number to a vehicle

or Keep your private number

You do not have to assign your number to a vehicle.

You must renew your right to use the number every 10 years.

• Check how to renew your number

Step 3 : Get a new number plate made

If you assign your private number to a vehicle you must get a number plate made up from a registered supplier.

• Check the rules for number plates
• Check what documents you need to get a number plate made
• Find your nearest number plate supplier

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A list of the most Frequently Asked Questions. For further help please email [email protected]

What registrations can I  use on my vehicle  ?

You must not make your vehicle appear younger than it is. For example, a vehicleregistered in 2000 (W Reg) could not have an Y (2001) Registration Plate fitted. It is however permissible to use an older registration number.

What does the word “Nominee” mean?

The Nominee is the name which is added to a retention certificate when purchasing a personal number plate. The nominee name must match exactly the name that appears in the V5 log book of the vehicle you are assigning your registration number to If you are buying a plate to be fitted to a company vehicle which is registered in a company’s name, please supply the name of the company as the Nominee.

What does “on retention” mean?’

If you purchase a vehicle registration number from UK Private Plates we can supply a certificate of entitlement or transfer the number onto your vehicle for you. If you request the registration on retention it will be supplied on either a:

• A Certificate of Entitlement Unissued registration plates are supplied with a certificate of entitlement, or V750.. This shows the purchasers details and their selected registration number.
• Retention Certificate  The retention certificate, or V778, is a document which is issued by the DVLA when a registration number is taken off a vehicle but which is being kept by the owner or ” held on retention”, pending future re-assignment to a-n-other vehicle. A retention certificate is  similar to a certificate of entitlement and is used in  the same way.

All UKPrivateplates prices exclude the DVLA assignment fee and the VAT if applicable. We do include a new set of DVLA standard number plates with your order so that you can get that number on as soon as possible.

How do I change my current registration for my new one  ?

You  will need to apply by post or online through the DVLA.

 If you apply online you will need the vehicle Log Book (V5C) and the Certificate of Entitlement or Retention Certificate.

If you are applying by post, send all of the following documents to DVLA:

the completed V750 or V778 – the address is on the form and the vehicle’s log book (V5C) or green ‘new keeper’ slip with a completed V62  ‘application for a vehicle registration certificate V5C’

If you’re assigning the number to someone else’s vehicle, add them as a ‘nominee’ – complete section 2 of the V750 or V778..

You must also advise your insurance company of the change of registration number details.

What  does dateless registration mean  ?

Dateless registrations simply means that it is not an age related number since it does not contain a year and can comprise of any numbers of digits of a given limit. A dateless registration can be applied to a vehicle of any age.

What  does suffix registration mean  ?

A Suffix registration number is an older registration number whereby the age related component is depicted at the end of the number e.g. OKW 451X (1981)

What  does prefix registration mean  ?

A Prefix registration number contains the a letter at the beginning of the registration number which depicts the year of the vehicle e.g. A125 XDT (1983)

For how long can my number be held on retention  ?

Your personalised number can be held on retention for up to 10 years on a V778 certificate which you must renew before it expires. A fee is charged by the DVLA for this process. This can be done either by post or online through the DVLA website. www.gov.uk-personalised-vehicle-registrations

Can I keep my personal number plate if I sell my car?

Simply complete DVLA form V778/1  to put your personal number plate onto a retention certificate. You may then transfer the number to a new vehicle at a later date. Remember that you will need to renew the retention certificate every 10 years.

W ho are the  DVLA?

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is the goverment office who overseas and maintains the issue, sale,, retention and transfe of registrations within the UK as well as being responsible for a host of other driving related services.

They can be contacted via:

By post at:

DVLA, Vehicle Customer Services,

or by phone on:

03007906802

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• Ask the experts
• What does the dvla do

What does the DVLA do?

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is the government agency that all car owners need to know about

What is the DVLA and what does it do?

The DVLA is the government agency responsible for keeping tabs on all the driving licences in Great Britain, as well as all the vehicles on our roads. 

So, if you have to apply for or renew a driving licence, pay your car tax , sort out a log book when buying or selling a car, or want to buy a personalised number plate , you’ll need to deal with the DVLA.

How to register your car

All vehicles have to be registered for use on UK roads. If it’s a brand new car, the dealer you buy it from will probably register it for you.

If they do, you’ll get a V5C registration certificate (which is commonly known as the log book) from the DVLA within six weeks. If you don’t receive one within this time, contact the agency.

In the unlikely event that the dealer won’t do it, you can register the vehicle yourself.

This is also the case if you build a car from a kit, import a car yourself or rebuild a car.

In this case, you’ll need to obtain a V55/44 or V55/5 form from the DVLA (you can find more details on the government website ).

What every car owner needs to know about their new used car

What is a V5C log book?

The V5C is one of the most important documents for all car owners. Often referred to as a log book (because that’s what it used to be, a small book: now all the information is contained on one piece of paper), it contains all the essential information about a car and who owns it.

When you receive the V5C after buying a car, you probably won’t need to contact the DVLA to change any of its details.

However, if there are any mistakes, or if you change your name or address, make certain modifications to the vehicle, or sell the vehicle, you will need to contact them.

What you need to do when buying a car

If you’re buying a new used car , you need to check the V5C, to make sure the details on it (the VIN, or chassis number, for example) match the car you’re buying.

But you also need to check that the form is itself genuine: hold it up to the light and check for watermarked lines of large text from top to bottom, repeating the letters DVL.

If everything’s in order, the seller will enter your details on the V5C and send it off to the DVLA, but also tear off and give you the V5C/2 section, which you keep until the DVLA sends you a new V5C, usually within a few weeks.

What you need to do when you are selling a car

If you’re selling your car , it’s important to ensure that all the paperwork is in order.

You’ll have to complete the new keeper details on the V5C (section 6), sign it (section 8) and send it off to the DVLA.

You’ll also have to complete, tear off and hand over the new keeper part of the V5C to your buyer (which will be the V5C/2, if it’s a private buyer, or the V5C/3 if it’s a car dealer).

Updating your details with the DVLA

You will have to inform the DVLA by post to update your driving licence, V5C and any direct debit details (if you pay for your car tax in this way), like when you move house.

You can still drive while you wait for the new documents to be sent to you.

• Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DVLA fee added when I buy?

What is the DVLA fee you are asking me to pay? What is that for?

The DVLA fee is the fee charged by the DVLA to re-register your car under the new number and issue replacement documents. This fee is payable upfront when you buy your private number plate . Even if we are supplying you with a Certificate to be transferred to a car at some point in the future.

Do I have to pay another fee when I put the registration number on my car?

You don't need to pay again when you apply to have your number plate transferred to your car .

How much is the DVLA fee?

DVLA fee is usually £80. This fee is paid (by us) to the DVLA. This charge is not levied by The Plate Market.

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Use the search facility to help answer any questions.

What style of personalised registrations do you offer for sale?

There are 4 different styles:

Current style

DVLA release over seven million new combinations like this every six months. The majority of current style registrations can be purchased at fixed prices through this website, although the more sought after are sold at DVLA Auctions.

Current Style registrations cannot contain an 'I' or a 'Q', and cannot contain a 'Z' in the first two letters.

The majority of prefix style registrations can be purchased at fixed prices through our website, although the more sought after are sold at DVLA Auctions.

Prefix Style registrations cannot contain an 'I','Z' or 'Q', and cannot contain a 'O' or 'U' as the first letter.

These were issued to new vehicles between February 1963 and July 1983. Consisting of three letters, followed by one, two or three numbers, and a single letter at the end that identified the vehicle's age. For example:

Suffix style registrations are only sold at DVLA Auctions.

Suffix Style registrations cannot contain an 'I','Z' or 'Q', and cannot contain a 'O' or 'U' as the last letter.

In mainland Great Britain, these were issued to new vehicles prior to February 1963.

Examples include:

Dateless style registrations are mainly sold at DVLA Auctions.

A small selection of dateless registrations are also available to purchase at fixed prices through this website, these all contain either the letter 'I' or 'Z'. You can view these at https://dvlaregistrations.dvla.gov.uk/nifixed/ .

How do I purchase a personalised registration as a gift for somebody else?

When you purchase a personalised registration, we will send you a V750 Certificate of Entitlement, which you will need to assign the registration to a vehicle. If you are purchasing it as a gift, set the account up in your name and address. When making the purchase, you can add a nominee, this should be the person who is or will be the registered keeper of the vehicle it's going to be assigned to.

Once the registration is assigned to a vehicle, the entitlement is transferred to the registered keeper of that vehicle as shown on the V5C Registration Certificate.

Will I receive the actual number plates when I buy a registration?

DVLA does not provide the actual number plates when you make a purchase. We will send you a certificate of entitlement (V750) which you will then need to use to get number plates made with a number plate supplier. You can find your nearest supplier using https://www.gov.uk/number-plate-supplier

The registered number plate supplier will ensure the plates are made to the correct legal standard. More information about number plates can be found at http://www.gov.uk/displaying-number-plates

I've bought a personalised registration, what do I do next?

All information relating to the displaying, assigning and retaining a personalised registration can be found at https://www.gov.uk/personalised-vehicle-registration-numbers

I haven't received my Certificate of Entitlement (V750) or I have lost/destroyed it. Can I get a replacement?

If you have not already applied to put the registration number onto a vehicle, you can apply for a duplicate certificate online via 'My Account'. There is no fee for this. Please allow two weeks for delivery of the new certificate.

You can also contact us to apply for a duplicate here

If you have already applied to put the registration onto a vehicle, the certificate is no longer valid and a replacement cannot be issued.

I have a Certificate of Entitlement (V750), how can I check that it is the latest valid certificate?

You can check this at the below link. You will need the registration number and the certificate number to hand.

Can I cancel my purchase?

The following information only applies to consumer purchases of fixed price registrations sold through this website. We reserve the right to refuse cancellation requests from businesses and in cases where any purchases have been bought with the intent to re-sell.

If you have not already applied to put the registration number onto a vehicle and wish to cancel your purchase, you must apply within 14 days after the date of purchase. To apply to cancel your purchase, visit the personalised registrations enquiry page , and choose the option "Cancelling the purchase of a registration number".

Applications to cancel made after 14 days will not be accepted, but you can still apply for a refund of the £80.00 assignment fee.

We aim to reply to you within 14 days of your request, and if approved, a refund will be made to the payment card used at the time of purchase. We reserve the right to charge a cancellation administration fee in the event of excessive or irregular cancellation requests.

I do not know my log in details, how can I log in?

If you have forgotten your password, from the log in page, click 'I've forgotten my password'. Enter your user ID and email address, and we will send you a new password to the email address linked to your account. Please note that your password is case sensitive.

If you do not know your user ID, or no longer have access to the email address that is linked to your account, please contact us here so we can verify your details.

Do you consider lower priced offers for registrations advertised on this website?

No, we don't accept offers under any circumstance. All fixed priced registrations on this website are inclusive of VAT, and the £80 assignment fee

Can I pay in instalments?

No, DVLA do not offer any finance or payment instalments, all payments must be made in full at the time of purchase.

Can I buy a registration that has been on a vehicle in the past?

No, DVLA only sells registrations that have never been issued or sold before. If a registration has been on a vehicle in the past, and even if that vehicle has been scrapped, that registration will not be available to purchase from DVLA.

Can DVLA help me to contact the owner of a registration that I want to buy?

We cannot provide any information about the owner or whereabouts of a vehicle or registration due to Data Protection laws. It is also not possible to forward any correspondence to them, as this would be breaking Invasion of Privacy laws.

I can't find a registration, are there others available?

Although there are millions of registrations available to buy direct today, you might want a registration that does not appear in your search results. If this is the case, we might be able to make that registration available. To do this, the registration

• must be a valid format, see the ' What style of personalised registrations do you offer for sale? '
• must never have sold previously. You can make use of our auction sold search , where you can search every single registration we've already sold through our auctions, with dates and hammer prices for each registration.
• must never have been issued to a vehicle previously. If a registration has been on a vehicle in the past, it cannot be made available for sale. You can use our Vehicle enquiry service to see if a registration is currently assigned to a vehicle.

If you have a specific registration in mind, or a preferred combination of letters and numbers, please use our online email service to contact us.

Do I need to assign a registration to a vehicle straight away?

No. When you purchase from DVLA, you'll receive a V750 certificate of entitlement. This will be valid for 10 years, and if you don't assign the registration within that time, you can renew it for a further 10 years with no additional fee.

There is no fee to hold a registration on a valid certificate.

Does DVLA buy registrations, or can DVLA help me sell my registration?

No, DVLA does not purchase registrations, or exchange them, under any circumstance. When selling a registration, you may wish to use one of the Personalised Registration Dealers listed at dvlaregistrations.dvla.gov.uk/dealers , who have agreed to comply with DVLA's terms and conditions of trading practices.

I can't find my registration in my account?

Only registrations that are purchased direct from DVLA can appear in your online account. Once you have assigned the registration to a vehicle, the registration is no longer held in your purchase account.

How do I complain if I'm unhappy with the service received from DVLA?

You can find information on our complaints procedure, and how to contact our complaints team at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency/about/complaints-procedure .

What can I do in my online account?

Registration numbers purchased from our website will automatically appear in your online account. You can also add registrations purchased directly from a DVLA auction into your account. You cannot add registration numbers that you have not purchased direct from DVLA. You cannot add registration numbers that are, or have ever been, assigned to a vehicle.

Registration numbers will automatically be removed from your account once assigned to a vehicle, you cannot add them back into your account.

You can add a nominee to the registration number to allow it to be registered to vehicle in someone else's name.

The rights to the registration number are valid for 10 years from the purchase date. You can extend this period, free of charge, if you still haven't assigned the registration number within this time.

You can change your postal address for future purchases.

You can change the address of registration numbers already held in your account.

You can request a duplicate certificate of entitlement (v750) if yours is lost or destroyed. If you have not received your original certificate a duplicate can be requested after 10 days from the date of purchase.

If you need more help finding your perfect registration, or have another question about personalised registrations, you can contact us here .

If you have any other DVLA related query, please visit www.gov.uk/contact-the-dvla

Registration Styles

'Current' style are the registrations currently used for new registrations and are made up of the form; 2 letters, 2 numbers and then 3 letters.

'Prefix' style are the registrations that were used prior to 2001 and consist of; 1 letter, 1-3 numbers and then 3 letters.

'Suffix' style are the registrations that were used prior to 1983 and consist of; 3 letters, 1-3 numbers and then 1 letter.

'Dateless' style fixed price are registrations that can be assigned to any age vehicle and consist of; 3 letters and 3 numbers.

5. Is it ethical

Now that we got the “ legal ” question out of the way…

What about “How ethical is it to wholesale”.

Type that into the web and you’ll get thrown into a black hole of comments and forums chatter you won’t ever be able to get out of.

Here’s the bottom line of why it gets so much controversy and what it has to do with assignment fees…

Wholesalers are going around marketing “We buy houses CASH” when in reality, they aren’t buying it cash… they’re assigning the contract for a fee.

This is where everyone gets their tights all tied up in a bunch (did I just make up a word?! Yes! I did). Because if you say you’re going to close it with cash, but you have to walk away from the seller because you can’t find a buyer… how would you feel leaving a seller (who seriously needed to close yesterday), hanging)?

Some with a conscious would feel pretty bad… others don’t care.

So it’s up to you how you feel about the ethics side of things.

Can you close the deal yourself if you can’t find a cash buyer , via a hard money lender or partner? Or will you feel comfortable walking away from the deal? Or will you be confident enough to go up to the seller and tell her the truth, that you intended on selling the contract to a cash buyer but it seems that your priced it too high, can we renegotiate?

The underlying problem with “walking away” from a buyer is not pricing it right.

If you have a good deal, cash buyers will be all over it and be HAPPY to pay you an assignment fee.

Here’s a video on ethical wholesaling:

6. How much should a fee be?

New wholesalers typically aren’t sure what they should charge. But it’s going to vary from deal-to-deal, and market to market.

A decent wholesaling fee can range from $10,000 to $30,000.

There are occasions when you hear about $100,000 assignment fees. And they do happen. It’s just a matter of negotiating a good deal.

While there isn’t a “set fee” that wholesalers should charge, it all depends on how good of a deal you can negotiate, and how high you can mark up the contract for an end buyer.

So there are two components that determine how much you can get paid for an assignment fee:

• Seller’s price.
• End buyers price.

Later, in another section, I talk about how you can increase your assignment fee… for now, let’s just cover how much your can charge.

Earlier I mentioned that your market might have an influence on how much you can charge. And that has more to do with how low of a discount, sellers are willing to take AND how competitive it is in your market.

Here’s an example:

If a seller talks to three wholesalers, one offers $200,000 while the others offer $180,000, she most likely will go with the higher offer. Well, now those wholesalers might enter into bidding wars in the market, by creeping up their MAOP (Max allowable offer price).

When wholesalers start raising their Max offers (because the market is demanding it), AND if the end buying price (what cash buyers are willing to pay for that deal) does move up with it…

Then you start seeing wholesalers’ assignment fees start shrinking down. We’ll go over later some techniques for helping with this natural occurrence in the market.

Here’s an example of a real wholesaler using our handwritten mailers, in a case study where he made anywhere from $4k fees to $22,500

7. Who pays for it?

Typically, in a traditional real estate wholesaling model, the end buyer (the cash buyer) is paying for your assignment fee.

For example: You negotiate with the seller to buy the property for $100,000. And the end buyer agrees to buy this deal for $120,000. He enters into escrow and pays the $120,000. You get the difference between the seller price and the end buyer price.

8. Does the seller or buyer see the fee?

In a typical assignment transfer, yes your assignment fee will be inside the closing statements.

After a property closes escrow, every party involved will get “closing statements” that look might look like this (depending on your state and the companies you use):

One of the line items may show up as “Assignment Fee” (or something similar), and show the amount.

Buyers will see these, as well as sellers.

However, a cash buyer (usually) understands that wholesaling is A LOT of work and that you should get paid for it. A good cash buyer understands that.

Sellers, most likely, won’t understand what an “assignment fee” is when they see this doc (they most likely won’t even read it).

On the rare occasion that they actually do ask what that line item is, you can tell the truth like this: “We work with partners and lenders all the time, and sometimes we end up selling the property during escrow to these partners, instead of keeping it ourselves. In this case we ended up selling to them”.

There’s a way to circumvent this potential problem of an assignment fee showing up on the closing documents…

And that’s by doing a double close instead of an assignment.

Let me explain in the next section…

9. Alternatives to an assignment?

As mentioned in the previous section, an assignment fee can have some cons to it. The primary being that sellers AND buyers can see how much you’re getting paid.

However, there is another “tool” you can use that hides this from both parties, and that’s called the “double close” (sometimes referred to as a “simultaneous closing” or “back to back” closing. As the name implies, there are 2 separate closings, not 1 (like our assignment fee transaction).

Here’s an explanation:

• The homeowner (party A) agrees to sell to a wholesaler (Party B) for $100,000
• They enter escrow
• While in escrow, Party B finds a cash buyer (Party C)
• Party C agrees to buy that property for $150,000
• They enter a second escrow agreement (different from the first)
• Party C funds the escrow account to buy the property at $150,000
• Party B uses those funds (minus his “assignment fee”) to pay the purchase from Party A

A little confusing?

Maybe this infographic helps:

We won’t go into too much detail about this as this is an article on the assignment fee… But just know that there is an alternative to hiding your fee but using a double close.

The con to this is that you pay a little more because you’re in fact doing 2 closes, not 1. So the times you might want to a double close vs an assignment fee is when you negotiated a very good deal and want to conceal the big check you’ll be getting.

10. Assignment fees and agents?

Anyone can get paid an assignment fee for this kind of “wholesaling” transaction. There’s no law that says agents can’t. However, that agent/broker needs to pay careful attention to their State RE commission laws as they’re put under serious scrutiny if they walk any fine lines.

For instance, if you’re buying the property and wholesaling it AND you’re licensed… in most states, you have to express to the seller that you are a licensed real estate agent but you are NOT representing them, and instead the principle of the transaction.

If you’re an agent wondering if you can (or should) do this, first contact your broker or RE Commission office to find out more.

Secondly, you might want to reconsider doing this as in some markets agent commission fees are higher than typical wholesaling fees. This is rare, but there are some hot markets where wholesalers have to keep raising their prices to win the deal, and therefore lower their assignment fee.

11. How to increase your assignment fees?

As mentioned in a previous section, your fee is greatly dependent on the kind of deal you negotiate.

So if you get a deal at $100,000 and another investor (cash buyer) is willing to pay $150,000 for it, you walk with a $50,000 assignment fee (assuming no closing costs are removed from this).

There are 4 factors to increasing your assignment fees…

• Become a better marketer If you improve your knowledge and skill set in marketing, you can essentially get to motivated sellers before anyone else.In the next section, we cover how to find these properties, which has everything to do with marketing, but one way (that we specialize in) is using handwritten mail to gain the best response rates from sellers.
• Become a better negotiator If you study and practice good salesmanship you can effectively win deals even if you’re offer is “low” . If you have no experience in sales, this will take time, but there are loads of resources available online (free and paid) that you can take advantage of. But, if you’re planning to stay in this entrepreneurship game for the long haul I HIGHLY suggest you study sales on a regular basis.
• Know you numbers Getting better and better at knowing what your market demands in terms of prices, rehab costs , etc… will help determine a more accurate price at a faster rate. Why does this matter to getting paid a higher assignment fee? It’s 2 reasons: First, if you know that cash buyers are willing to pay X, you can raise your asking price from end buyers, or on the flip side of that if, you know that a house needs some major repairs you can use that negotiated a lower price with the seller…Secondly, if you are really good with numbers, you can give an offer faster than your competition who has to take 1-2 days to send an offer in. In competitive markets “ Speed to lead ” wins and the person who can act fastest is usually the one who takes the trophy.
• Build a thriving buyers list The second component of the assignment fee and wholesaling business is selling the contract to a cash buyer.And, if you can build a list of buyers who will pay more for a good deal than most of the other “bottom of the barrel” buyers who demand very steep prices.Where do find buyers willing to pay more? It’s usually among high w-2 earners (doctors, lawyers, etc) who like to flip houses on the side. Or high-income business owners looking to park their cash somewhere to earn 15%+ annual ROI by doing so occasional flips.If you can find them, network with them, and add them to your list you can essentially raise your property raise to increase your assignment fee

12. How to find discounted properties to wholesale?

Finally our last section in this article which is probably at the top of some people’s minds:

“ Assignments sound great, but how do you FIND discounted properties!?!?”

Wholesaling is probably one of the toughest occupations in real estate.

You have to be well-rounded in almost every aspect of the industry. And you have to be top-notch in your selling and marketing capabilities.

But with that, there are foundational techniques to help you find these properties on your own. I’m going to give you 2 resources to start below.

First, is our article “ 8 ways to find 100 sellers for under $500”

Second is our eBook on Direct mail

You can get the Ebook for free by subscribing below to our newsletter, where we give lessons, stories, and value every week to real estate investors like you…

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How do DVLA plate auctions work?

Those searching for a personalised number plate will eventually hear of DVLA auctions. Taking place both online and in person, DVLA reg auctions are a great place to get a new private plate for yourself or as a gift for a loved one. But what are DVLA number plate auctions, and how do they work? In this guide, we explain everything you need to know.

What is a DVLA number plate auction?

The DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) has millions of registration plates available, and throughout the year, they host several different auctions for people to bid on their desired plates. The auctions take place online and in person and are an opportunity to acquire a private plate that isn’t available anywhere else.

How does a DVLA number plate auction work?

DVLA auctions work in two ways. There are venue auctions and timed online auctions, meaning you can either arrange to go to an auction and bid in person or bid online during a specific timed event.

How does a DLVA timed auction work?

With a DVLA timed auction, you are participating remotely online, like eBay bidding. The timed auction takes place over a few days, with each participant having the option to set up a maximum bid for the plate up for auction.

The system will increase bid prices by £10 increments on behalf of the bidder up until the maximum bid they have specified. The person with the highest bid wins, but you will fail to acquire the plate if the lot exceeds your maximum bid.

Additionally, there is a system that prevents something known as ‘lot sniping’, where someone tries to bid as late as possible. The system means that bids in the last 30 minutes automatically extend the auction by another 30 minutes. This is known as a ‘sliding end time’.

How does a DVLA venue auction work?

At a DVLA venue auction, there is a physical event to attend at a set venue. This is a much more traditional form of auction, and you can participate in person, online or over the phone.

Participants are registered for the auction and are then sent a bidder’s card. Bidders arrive for their chosen lot and call out their bid for the plate in question, with the auctioneer fielding bids from those in the room and people bidding online and over the phone.

READ ALSO: What do I need to get number plates made?

How to bid on a DVLA auction

Bidding on a DVLA timed auction is easy. You can either go to the DVLA website and register (if you are available at the time and date of your chosen lot) or use the Right Reg DVLA auction system, which will bid on your behalf.

The Right Reg instructions are as follows:

• Search the latest DVLA auction for a desired registration.
• Click on the registration plate you want to bid on.
• Enter your maximum bid amount (the price for which you agree to buy the registration plate).
• Fill in your name and contact details.
• Submit a ‘nominee name’ - the name of the vehicle’s registered keeper who will be using the plate.
• Confirm and pay the DVLA plate auction bidding fee.

Bidding at a venue auction

To bid at a DVLA venue auction, arrive for the time of your chosen lot, and once it has begun, start bidding using your bidder’s card by raising it high enough for the auctioneer to see.

If you submit the highest bid, the auction house will take a 10% deposit for the plate, giving you five working days to make the full payment (including VAT and an assignment fee).

Once your payment has cleared, the DVLA will send you a V750 form (a Certificate of Entitlement), meaning you can assign the personalised registration to a vehicle (this could be your car or someone else’s if you are giving the plate as a gift.

You can read the full bidding instructions on the DVLA website .

How much does it cost to bid at a DVLA auction?

In addition to the agreed price for the registration, there are some DVLA auction fees to be aware of; these include:

• Auctioneer’s fee: 7%
• DVLA transfer fee: £80

READ ALSO: The world’s most expensive number plates

How to find DVLA auction results

If you want to look at previous DVLA auction results or the DVLA auction history of a particular registration plate, you can do so via the DVLA website.

You can either go to the ‘ last auction ’ page and look through the results of the previous auction, including the price each plate was sold for, or you can use the DVLA’s ‘ auction sold search ’ function to look up a particular registration’s DVLA auction history.

Other ways to buy or sell a number plate

If you want to buy a new registration, there are other ways to do so apart from DVLA auctions. Here at Right Reg, you can browse our featured private plates , search for available UK private number plates , or use our number plate finder service , where we can help you find exactly what you are looking for.

If you want to sell your number plate , you don’t have to put it up for auction. Instead, you can use this free number plate valuation tool and get your plate listed on Right Reg.

For more tips, guides, and advice, visit our news page .

DOT fees when transferring a personalised registration

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Department of Transport Fees

Transferring to a vehicle from a V750 certificate of entitlement attracts a DOT fee of �80.00 levied by the Department of Transport.

In transferring a registration to your vehicle from a V778 document there will be a charge of �80.00 levied by the Department of Transport.

When transferring a registration from your vehicle to a V778 document there will be a charge of �80.00 levied by the Department of Transport.

Value Added Tax

Value Added Tax (VAT) will apply in certain cases and will not apply in other cases. The application of VAT will be determined by the source for the registration.

If the registration is a government stock registration then VAT will be applied to the base price and not to the DOT fee.

Where registrations are being marketed and sold on behalf of private clients there will be either part VAT or no VAT charged.

Value Added Tax (VAT) will be applied at the standard rate for those registrations that are sold on behalf of VAT registered businesses.

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Premier Plates UK are a DVLA recognised reseller of DVLA registrations and we are a DVLA registered supplier of number plates for cars and motorcycles. We buy DVLA auction registrations and from members of the public. We are brokers of dvla registrations for members of the public and we provide our marketing service for owners of high value and low value chersihed number plates . We have custom search facilities on our website which allows our customers to search quickly for their ideal number plate . If you are looking for a dateless plate or a new style registration you will be able to find it and enquire or buy securely online. Before choosing your ideal plate you need to check on the age of your vehicle and the year qualifier for the new reg in order to make sure it is a transferable number to your vehicle. In purchasing your ideal private plate you will need to ensure the vehicle registration is displayed in accordance with DVLA regulations..