Personalised Registration Plates Blog

In the last blog post we covered how to apply to retain a personalised registration plate. It prompted a number of questions concerning replacement registration numbers. Some people were asking if they had to buy a registration number from the DVLA.

When you apply to retain your personalised registration the DVLA will automatically issue a replacement registration for your vehicle. It is generally an age related plate and is non-transferable.

The best way to explain the procedure is to use an example. I own a VW Touran which has the personalised registration plates JDR 6. If I went to the DVLA Local Office to apply to transfer or retain JDR 6, the DVLA would issue a suitable replacement registration number for the VW Touran as part of the process.

As the vehicle was first registered in June 2006, the DVLA would issue a ’56′ registration as a replacement. It is highly likely that the Touran would be reunited with its original registration; FL56 XOY. For more detailed information about car registrations including current style year identifiers, suffix and prefix year letters, click over to this very useful car registrations website.

There are no additional fees to pay to the DVLA for your replacement registration. You will receive a replacement tax disc with the same expiry date, a replacement MOT Certificate and a new V5c Registration Certificate (log book).

You will also receive DVLA form V948 – Number Plate Authorisation Certificate. This allows you to buy a set of replacement number plates for your vehicle. You should fit the new number plates to your car and at the same time display the tax disc with a matching registration. The only other task is to contact your motor insurance provider to notify them of the vehicle’s new number plates.

I hope this clears up any confusion surrounding replacement registration numbers when applying to retain a Personalised Registration Plate.

There are occasions when you may need to separate your personalised registration from your car. The usual reason is because the car is going to be sold and you don’t want lose the rights to display your personalised plates.

There are two options available when removing a registration from a vehicle. You can either transfer a registration to another vehicle, or you can apply to retain it. In this post we are going to be focussing on the latter of the two. This is often referred to as the DVLA Retention Scheme.

Applying to retain a personalised registration number is a fairly straightforward process. It is simply a case of making sure you have the required vehicle documents and correctly completing DVLA form V317 – Applying to Transfer or Retain a Vehicle Registration Number.

Please note the information contained within this post is correct at the time of writing. There were a few changes made to the Retention Scheme just over a year ago. The previous DVLA form was known as a V778/1. This has now been replaced by the V317.

To apply for retention of a personalised registration you need to have:

The V5c Registration Certificate – often referred to as a log book

The MOT Test Certificate – only applies to vehicles over three years old

The DVLA form V317 signed by the registered keeper of the vehicle

The appropriate fee – it currently costs £105 to retain a registration number

The vehicle should also be taxed although it is important not to enclose the actual tax disc with your application. The offence is ‘failure to display’ not failure to buy. If the tax disc is not correctly displayed you risk getting fined and having your vehicle crushed if it is on the road.

Your application can either be posted or taken in person to your nearest DVLA Local Office. I strongly recommend you go in person.

To find your nearest DVLA Local Office go to Google or one of the popular search engines and enter ‘find a local DVLA office’ into the search box. Even if you are not sure how to complete the actual DVLA form, take the correct documents with you and the DVLA staff will assist you. The DVLA Local Offices have V317 forms available so even if you have made a mistake you can complete a new form.

Finally, it can take between two and four weeks for you to receive your replacement V5c Registration Certificate and V778 Retention Document from DVLA Swansea. If the reason you are applying to retain your personalised registration plates is because you are selling your vehicle, it is definitely wise to plan ahead.

When I meet someone for the first time and they find out that I buy and sell personalised registration plates, they often comment that they would not be prepared to spend several thousand pounds on a personalised registration plate. Let me point out I fully understand that having your name or initials on your car number plates does not appeal to everyone.

But what if you secretly had a desire to own a personalised registration and only the price was putting you off?

There is a hidden benefit to owning personalised registration plates and many people fail to appreciate this very important fact. One of the best ways to explain this hidden benefit is to tell you about how I used to be very ignorant on the subject of premium watches.

I thought anyone who spent thousands of pounds on a premium watch was just being flash. Your local high street jeweller could supply a very nice looking dress watch for less than five hundred pounds. I then sold a very expensive personalised registration to a gentleman who happened to own several premium watches. When I had the pleasure of meeting him he educated me on the finer points of timepiece ownership.

I learned that certain premium watches actually hold their value incredibly well. Not only that, limited edition models can actually increase in value. He told me that if you have the funds available it actually makes financial sense to invest in a premium watch costing several thousand pounds, as opposed to buying a nice looking, mass-produced watch for less than five hundred pounds.

I could liken the watch scenario to the man who buys a brand new luxury car costing tens of thousands of pounds. Let us call him Stephen Michael Johnson for the purpose of this story. He would like a personalised registration plate but does not want to spend five thousand pounds on 8 SMJ which represents his own initials with a single digit.

In three years time Stephen’s car will be worth less than half of what he paid for it when it was brand new. If Stephen had gone ahead and purchased the personalised plate 8 SMJ it would still be worth at least what he paid for it.

The message here is that if you do harbour a desire to own a prestige personalised registration, please do not decide against it on the basis of cost. If you choose wisely and most dealers will be happy to advise you, it may not actually ‘cost’ you anything in real terms.

It is not uncommon for someone to have the pleasure of owning of a personalised registration plate for many years and to then recoup their original investment, plus profits when the time is right to let it go. So if you are reading this Stephen, pick up the phone and secure 8 SMJ before someone else parts with five thousand pounds with a view to recouping their original investment in a several years time. Let us not forget that you will also have the pleasure of seeing your initials proudly displayed on your shiny, new (depreciating) car every day, for as long as you decide to keep it.

Just because your vehicle currently has a standard issue registration number, does not mean you are stuck with it. Thanks to the DVLA Cherished Transfer Scheme you can opt to display something a little more personal on your vehicle.

Personalised registration plates are not everyone’s cup of tea. Some people just don’t get it, whilst others pay vast amounts of money for the right to attach what are essentially a couple of pieces of plastic to their cars.

So why do people choose to ‘personalise’ their cars in this way?

For some it is the desire to be instantly recognisable wherever they go. Others want to have a bit of fun and cause fellow motorists to turn and stare.

If a car drove past you with the registration plates FL56 XOY you wouldn’t think anything of it. However, if the same car passed you and had the personalised registration number H4 PPY or LOV 3R it may get your attention.

Have a look at these private registration plates and decide for yourself if there is a particular combination that would add the finishing touch to your car.

The Personalised Registration Plates UK blog is a series of posts containing general information about personalised registrations. The blog may be of interest to any UK motorist who already has a personalised plate, or indeed anyone who is thinking about buying a personalised registration.

This blog is for any UK motorist who owns, or is considering owning a personalised registration plate. The aim is to provide content that will be useful and informative. We are also available to answer any questions that you may have concerning personalised registrations.

My name is James and I buy and sell personalised number plates for a living. I supply to UK motorists who want to get rid of their standard issue registration and change it for something more appropriate. It could be a name, initials, a nick name, a funny word or even a football team.

If you have any questions or comments in relation to personalised registration plates, please post them on this blog.

We look forward hearing from you.

James