Guide to Purchasing Number Plates Online

A personalised plate is a splash of individual colour in a world of homogenous corporate blandness. To others though they're an ostentatious waste of time, money and energy; a triumph of ego over taste and common sense. Whatever your view there’s no doubt that personalised number plates are now big business. Since 1989 when the DVLA took charge of issuing plates and began marketing them the British government has benefited to the tune of more than £1.2 billion in extra revenues.

There are millions of number plates to choose from so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find one. Names, businesses, football teams, birth dates all offer inspiration when it comes to personalised plates. Online personal number plate providers offer search services designed to find you that perfect plate which can start from as little as less than a hundred pounds. They will also provide a registration transfer service, as transferring registration is a little more complicated than just changing the plates that are displayed on the car. It’s important that the correct paperwork is completed and the proper legal conditions complied with. While the process is not particularly complicated, there are a number of potential pitfalls so it does make sense to use the services of a professional company, to deal with the necessities.

You’ll need three things to be in place for a successful plate transfer

• Both donor vehicle and recipient vehicle must have current tax and MOT
• The recipient vehicle may not be older than the year on the number plate that is being transferred to it.
• If a car is to be sold or written off the registration will be lost unless it is transferred from that vehicle before disposal.

The first thing you will need to do when purchasing a set of personalised plates is to provide what is known as a nominee name. A nominee name is the name that appears in the V5 logbook of the vehicle that the number will be assigned to. Be sure to check the name is correct if purchasing a private number plate as a present.

When you purchase a new private number plate or transfer the registration from vehicle to vehicle an £80 transfer fee must be paid to the Department of Transport to cover the cost and administration of assigning the number plate to your vehicle. Registrations may actually be held on certificate indefinitely, so long as the certificates are renewed. The fee for putting a registration number on retention is £105 – that’s an £80 assignment fee and £25 retention fee. The retention facility enables a registration number to be taken off a vehicle and held on a certificate pending assignment at a later date. Private number plates can be held indefinitely on certificates but must be renewed annually for £25.

A reputable, professional company will take care of all these points and liaise with the relevant authorities with the transfer process usually measured in a matter of days.