Buying and selling a private number plate

A private number plate is a registration that a person has the right to use. It can stay on one car for years, move to the next car, or be sold to someone else.

Where private numbers come from

DVLA sells new numbers through DVLA Personalised Registrations. It also holds nine auctions a year, online, and each one runs for seven days. DVLA's auction pages show the dates of upcoming auctions and the plates for sale.

A number can also be bought from a dealer, or from another person. GOV.UK notes that most dealers will transfer the number to your vehicle for you.

The two documents that prove the right

Someone who buys a number gets a V750 certificate of entitlement. Someone who takes a number off their own vehicle gets a V778 retention document. Either one proves the right to put the number on a vehicle.

The right lasts 10 years while the number is off the road. It has to be renewed before the document expires, or it is lost for good. Renewal is free, and DVLA accepts it from 28 days before the expiry date.

If you buy from a dealer and want to assign the number yourself, ask the dealer for the V750 or V778.

Putting a number on a vehicle

DVLA sets rules on which numbers can go on which vehicles.

• A number must not make a vehicle look newer than it is. DVLA's example is an "07" number on a car first registered in 2003.
• A number starting with Q or QNI cannot be assigned, and a Q-registered vehicle cannot take a private number.
• The vehicle must be registered with DVLA, able to move under its own power, and of a type that needs an MOT or HGV test.
• It must have been taxed or under a SORN without a break for the past five years.

Once the number is assigned, new plates have to go on before the vehicle is driven. The owner must tell their insurer. Accounts for the Congestion Charge, the Ultra Low Emission Zone, the Dart Charge and Clean Air Zones need the new number too, or a penalty charge may follow.

The vehicle must not be sold until the new log book (V5C) arrives.

Taking a number off to keep it

An owner can take a private number off a vehicle to keep it, or to move it to another one. The vehicle usually gets its original registration back.

The V778 and the new log book both need to arrive before that vehicle is sold or scrapped. Without them, the right to the number is lost.

Selling a private number

A seller can use a private number dealer, or find a buyer themselves. Most dealers will find a buyer, arrange the payment and transfer the number.

A seller who finds their own buyer assigns the number straight to the buyer's vehicle. This can be done online or by post, using the details on the buyer's log book.

DVLA warns sellers not to share a photograph or scan of the V750 or V778. Someone other than the buyer could use it to put the number on another vehicle.

The plates themselves

Number plates must show the registration correctly. The letters and numbers cannot be rearranged, or altered so that they are hard to read.

A driver with wrongly displayed plates could be fined up to £1,000, and the vehicle will fail its MOT. Plates can only be made up by a registered number plate supplier.

Useful links

• Private (personalised) number plates (DVLA, on GOV.UK)
• Sell or give a private number to someone else (DVLA)
• Renew or replace your private number (DVLA)
• Displaying number plates (DVLA)