Sell Car - Keep Private Plate

[barry1010]

Asking for my neighbour. He has a cherished number plate that he wishes to transfer to his next vehicle. He knows how to do that.
He doesn't know how to get a new number plate for the car he wants to sell.
I've looked online but it is as clear as mud.

Does anyone have a simple, straightforward answer?

[davebro]

my mate does it a lot - I don't have a clue! sorry

[Zacs-Master]

https://www.car.co.uk/number-plates/faqs/general/how-to-change-a-number-plate-back-to-the-original

[davebro]

maybe it's up to the new owner?

[TheWinner]

when he first bought the car it wouldn't have come with his cherished plate, so surely it just reverts back to the original plate ???

[barry1010]

Thanks, Zacs. My neighbour is somewhat confused because he didn't take the offer to 'retain' his original plates at £x per year and believed that returning to the original was not an option for him.

I shall show him your link.

[TheWinner]

this might help....

https://www.simplyregistrations.co.uk/retention-of-a-personalised-number-plate/

[Ryzen]

He will get his original plates back..unless they are of value to the DVLA...in this case he will get a different plate back.

[Zacs-Master]

'didn't take the offer to 'retain' his original plates at £x per year'

I don't know of any such 'offer'. He needs to make sure he's using the DVLA website and not some spurious 3rd party one.

[Blackstoun]

“He will get his plates back from DVLA” yeah right!
Don’t hold your breath, still waiting for my licence to come back, 19 weeks and counting

[Ryzen]

DVLA wont assume that the plates you are taking off are of no value to you and will offer to retain such for a cost..We carry out many plate changes and they are usually sorted in around a week at the moment providing that you fill the application correctly!

[Canary42]

Zacs' link appears to satisfy your query (but it is muddy, so take it a step at a time and hopefully the mud will clear).

[Canary42]

Here's the DVLA version if its any help.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-transfer-or-retain-a-vehicle-registration-number

[Zacs-Master]

This is the form and he needs to do Option B
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/979947/v317-application-to-transfer-or-retain-a-vehicle-registration-number.pdf

[barry1010]

Thanks all, much clearer now

[barry1010]

Sorry, there isn't an annual fee to retain the original plate for future use - it is acurrently £80 and valid for 10 years. He didn't take that option

[Zacs-Master]

So he let the private plate go?

[barry1010]

No, the private plate is on the car. When he changed from the original plate he could have paid a fee to retain the rights to the original plate for 10 years, which he didn't do. That is why he thought he had lost the right to put the original plate back on the car.

[Zacs-Master]

Some confusion going on here. There is no fee to 'retain the rights to the original plate for 10 years' There is an £80 transfer fee to change the plate to a private one but 'The vehicle’s original registration number is usually reassigned to it automatically when you take off a private number'
https://www.gov.uk/personalised-vehicle-registration-numbers/take-private-number-off

[hodges5]

I have just done this, you pay the transfer or retention £80 for the cherished plate, the dvla then send you the logbook with the original plate that the car was registered to, retention certificate and new logbook was with me within 5 days when done online

[Giggsie]

We have just done this online took off private reg on retention dvla then send you new registration certificate plus a form to take to get new plates made with the the reg they have given you. But take care when ou do it online your number is removed almost right away so cannot run car until you get new plates also remember to change insurance to new number