Personalised or individual number plates can be purchased and added to any vehicle that you own. In order to register the licence plate, you must complete either an online form, or paperwork obtained through the DVLA website.
Form V317 specifically allows you to transfer an existing registration number you own for use on another vehicle. You can also obtain paperwork allowing a specified period from obtaining or removing a licence plate from a vehicle, before transferring it over to another vehicle.
In order to remove an existing licence plate from your vehicle you will need to complete form V317, this comes with the relevant information on to how to complete the document; it can either be posted back to the DVLA, or you can perform entire the process online. It is possible to transfer a registration to all new and used cars you purchase to a vehicle already in your name, even to another person’s vehicle. In this case, both parties would need to complete the application form for it to be processed.
Once you have completed the form it must be submitted with the fee (£80 as of February 2019) for the transfer, and either the vehicle’s registration certificate or a new keeper supplement with the V62 form (applying for a V5C registration certificate).
There are additional things to consider:
- When removing a private number plate from a vehicle then the previous registration number will be reapplied.
- You do not need to add the personal registration to a new vehicle immediately.
- You cannot keep any registration that begins with the letters Q or NIQ.
- The DVLA can request an inspection of the vehicle to which you’re transferring the registration plate. If no inspection is required, the number will be removed as soon as the application has processed.
Once your application has gone through, you will receive a reference number which you can then use to apply the private number to the new vehicle. You will also receive a new vehicle log book for the vehicle from which the registration has been removed, and a V778 retention document – this shows that the private number is yours and may be used on another vehicle. Alternatively, if you were transferring the number plate to another person or the motor trade, then they will receive the V778, this document gives the holder up to 10 years to apply the number to another vehicle.
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In order to add the registration plates to a new vehicle you will need to either supply the V778, a certificate of entitlement (V750 will be provided when you buy a private registration), or an online reference number previously obtained. Once again, the whole process can be done online or through the post if you prefer. You should then receive the new plates within two weeks, and they must then be applied to the vehicle before it can be driven. The updated V5C certificate can take up to eight weeks to arrive.
Don’t forget, you must update your insurance policy details for the car from which the plates have been removed (if applicable) and the vehicle to which the new plates have been added to ensure your policy is valid. Failure to do this could invalidate any claim and lead to prosecution.