Transferring a private number plate: a guide moving registration plates from car to car online

Having these ready before you start your application will help speed up the process. Online transfers can typically be completed in a couple of days while postal transfers may take a couple of weeks.

The small print 

There’s plenty of small print that goes with the transfer of a number plate. The vehicle must have been taxed (or had a SORN declaration) continually for five years, and if it has been SORNed for more than five years, then it will need to be taxed. If you’re thinking of transferring a number plate with a Q or QNI prefix, then stop, because these can’t be transferred. 

If the vehicle is sold before you apply to retain the personal plate, then you don’t have the right to retain it. Also, if you don’t remove the number before confirming a car’s destruction to the DVLA, then you lose all rights to the plate as well.

In the unfortunate instance of the vehicle being stolen, then you can apply to keep the personal plate immediately to safeguard it, but you won’t have the ability to transfer it to a new car or have a V778 issued until 6 months after the date of the theft, or once the vehicle has been recovered. You won’t get a reminder from the DVLA about this, you’ll need to remember to do it yourself.

And of course, any personal number plates that you have made for your car must be standard issue, clearly legible and in line with the UK number plate rules. So that means no non-standard fonts, correct spacing of the letters and numbers and not making numbers look like letters, and vice versa (5 and S, 8 and B, etc). It sounds obvious but legal details are also a requirement, so when speccing your plate make sure it has those ticked. If you’ve adhered to the above then you can fit your shiny new plate to your new car, and off you go.

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