Frequently Asked Questions

For your convenience, we have provided a list of Frequently Asked Questions. Should the list below not provide the answer to your question, let us know by emailing or calling us, our Customer Service Team will be more than happy to assist you.

• What type of registration’s can I assign to my vehicle?
• Do the registration rules vary with motorbikes?
• Who is a ‘nominee’?
• Who is a ‘grantee’?
• Apart from the cost of buying the registration, what are the other costs that I need to consider?
• What do I do once I have bought the registration mark?
• How do I put my newly purchased registration onto my vehicle?
• What is the process of transferring the registration to a car that I do not own?
• Can I transfer the registration to someone else?
• What is a retention certificate?
• What is the difference between, suffix registrations, prefix registrations and the current style of registrations?
• Can I keep the registration should I want to sell my vehicle?
• What should I do with my old registration plate/s once I assign my new registration to my vehicle?
• Where can I buy my registration plates from?
• What rules do I need to comply with for having legal registration plates?
• How do I transfer Northern Ireland registration marks to a vehicle in Great Britain and DVLA registrations to Northern Ireland?
• How can I find my local DVLA office?
• How much is the ‘transfer fee’?
• What is the procedure for selling my registration via REG PEOPLE?

 

What type of registrations can I assign to my vehicle?
You can place any type of registration mark on your vehicle as long as it does not make the vehicle look newer than it is. For example, if your vehicle was first registered in September 2005, you cannot place a registration mark that makes the vehicle look like it was issued in March 2006 onwards, such as UT57 TTW.

However, you can place any dated registration mark that was issued before March 2006, such as GH55 OPP, R5 UUT. In addition to this, the vehicle could also have a dateless registration (i.e. a registration that is not particular to a year such as HRH 98).

Do the registration rules vary with motorbikes?
The above rules that apply to registrations for vehicles also apply to motorbikes as well. However, there are slight differences to size of plates on motorbikes.

The main rules for registration plates include the following:

• The material for the plate must be reflective;
• Motorcycles registered after 1 September 2001 only have to display a plate at the rear and motorcycles registered before 1 September 2001 can display one at the front as well;
• The plates on the front must display black characters on a white plate and black characters on a yellow background for the rear plates;
• The characters must be of a certain height (64mm), width (44mm – except 1 and I), stroke (10mm), space between the characters (10mm), space between groups (30mm), top, bottom and side margins (11mm); and vertical space between groups (13mm).

Alternatively, call us for more information and we can arrange for the road legal plates to be made on your behalf.

Who is a ‘nominee’?
The nominee is the name that is assigned by the grantee on a retention certificate (V750 or V778).
The nominee has no right to the registration until is is assigned to a vehicle in their name. All numbers will include a free 10 year extension.

Who is a ‘grantee’?
The Grantee is the one who has rights to the registration mark. They can assign the registration to a nominee and can add or change the nominee details at any time or at the same time of assigning the personalised registration to the nominee’s vehicle.

Apart from the cost of buying the registration, what are the other costs that I need to consider?
The main other costs you will need to consider are costs of making the plates, administration charges that the insurance company will make if you are already insured under another registration plates.

What do I do once I have bought the registration mark?
You have two choices: you can either have the registration assigned to a vehicle (if your name is on the V5C document) or you can assign the registration to a retention certificate (V778) for 10 years. If you assign the registration to a vehicle you need to remember to inform your insurance company.

How do I put my newly purchased registration onto my vehicle?
Transfer process is done either online via https://www.gov.uk/put-registration-number-vehicle website or sent directly to Dvla Swansea.

What is the process of transferring the registration to a car that I do not own?
You can transfer the registration to a nominee and that nominee should have the vehicle in their name.

Can I transfer the registration to someone else?
Yes. You can gift the registration to someone else; just let us know at the time you buy the registration.

What is a Retention Certificate?
A Retention Certificate (V778) shows who owns the registration plate and specifies the period that the registration certificate can be held for. You can renew the retention certificate for a period of 10 years and apply to assign the registration to a car at any time you like, once you have the retention certificate.

What is the difference between suffix registrations, prefix registrations and the current style of registrations?
A suffix registration is the reverse of a prefix registration, 3 random letters appear on the left followed by a space and up to 3 numbers on the right and a letter on the end to signify the year in which it was issued, e.g. YGS 199T. A prefix registration contains a year identifier at the beginning of the registration followed by, up to 3 numbers and 3 random letters, e.g. T199 YGS; the ‘T’ represents the year in which it was issued in both cases of suffix and prefix.

The current registrations are made up of 2 letters on the left (representing geographical area code), followed by 2 age identifying numbers (signifying the period in which they were issued – 0 means March and 5 means September) and 3 random letters; for example, MV05 TRR means the registration was issued in March 2005. Whether the plates are prefix or suffix or current, they are all unique.

Can I keep the registration should I want to sell my vehicle?
Yes, you just need to either transfer it onto another vehicle (yours or someone else’s) or apply for a retention certificate.

What should I do with my old registration plates once I assign my new registration to my vehicle?
You should keep your old plates because you will probably need them once you want to take your personal registration mark off your vehicle. When you apply to remove your personal registration from your vehicle, the DVLA normally assign the original registration to the vehicle that it was assigned to.

Where can I buy my registration plates from?
Your local registered number plate supplier or online from sellers

What rules do I need to comply with for having legal registration plates?
The main rules for registration plates include the following:

• The material for the plate must be reflective;
• The plates on the front must display black characters on a white plate and black characters on a yellow background for the rear plates;
• The characters must of a certain height (79mm), width (50mm), stroke (14mm) and have certain space between the characters (11mm), space between groups (33mm), top, bottom and side margins (11mm), and space between vertical lines (19mm).

Alternatively, use our online registration creator tool or call us for more information and we can arrange for the road legal plates to be made on your behalf.

How much is the ‘transfer fee’?
£80