Some Things To Know About Personalised Number Plates

One of the most important things is that you do not OWN the number on the number plate. No matter how much you paid for it, what you bought was the right to use that number plate. And if you are not careful you can easily lose that right and along with it the money that you paid for it in the first place.

There are two ways of owning the right to a number plate, one of which is by having it registered to a vehicle and the other is by having a retention certificate. When an absolute reg transfer is made to you, you become the registered keeper, and proof of this is on your log book (V5). If you have a retention certificate your name appears at the top of it.

If you want to transfer the number to another vehicle, the vehicle that currently has the number must a current V5 and also an MOT certificate if it is over three years old. It must also currently be taxed or have held a tax certificate in the previous six months. The vehicle to which you are transferring the number must also have a current V5, MOT if applicable, and be presently taxed – although you can tax it at the same time as you transfer the number.

There is a danger that you can lose the right to the number when selling or scrapping the vehicle. The number must be transferred to another vehicle BEFORE the sale or scrapping is carried out, or alternatively on to a retention certificate. A retention certificate costs £25 and is valid for one year. If you want to keep the number for longer, you have to renew the retention certificate at least 28 days before it expires.

If you are trading your vehicle in part exchange for a new one in the showroom, make certain that you carry out the reg transfers yourself: it is not wise to leave it to the salesman in the showroom. It is probably safest to transfer it to a retention certificate: the DVLA will issue your vehicle with a stock number. Then you can transfer it from the retention certificate to your new vehicle. In addition, you can lose the right to the number if you export the vehicle: you will need to contact the DVLA to ensure you follow the correct procedure.

If your number plate is not displayed legally you can also lose the right to it and be fined £1,000. So you should not add screws or bolts to a letter or number to change the way it looks.

You should also keep your number plates clean so that they can be read at all times. If you go for a drive down a muddy country lane, it is easy to get some mud adhering to the number plates causing them to be partially obscured or making an apparent alteration to the number. It is in fact a good idea to check your number plates every time you get into your car to see that they are clean and legible, and also still there! It is not unknown for number plates to fall off a vehicle, and driving without one or both of them is illegal.

In addition to that, it is also not unknown for thieves to steal number plates to put on a stolen vehicle before committing a crime. If the stolen vehicle is then caught on CCTV, the police will come knocking at your door because you are the registered keeper of the number. If you believe your number plates have been stolen, report it to the police immediately.

Some number plates have a flag of the country of origin on them. So you might see one displaying a Union Jack. However, this is not a licence to dress up your number plates with, say, the badge of Tottenham Hotspur on them. If you do this, you will eventually get spotted and receive a fine. You may also lose the right to the number plate, so don't take any risks.

Mark Hunt is the leading supplier of personalised number plates in the UK, and has thousands in stock that you cannot find anywhere else.