personalised registration number plates

Personalised Car Registrations from the DVLA

It is said that a man views his car as an extension of himself, but for a woman a car is just a house on wheels, something she can furnish and lavish gifts on. If this is true, it occurred to me that when shopping for my wife this Christmas I should include something for her car - along with the perfume, the earrings and the Black Magic, of course.
Alloy wheels and sun shades, matching ...
...accessories - her very own personalised number plate.

---But isn't that expensive?---
That all depends on where you shop and what you want on the plate. A prefix style registration - that is, one with a year letter indicator followed by a number, a space and three letters - is one of the cheapest you can buy and the DVLA are the cheapest source to buy from.
Combinations of letters and numbers which display a name or a ... more

Personalised Car Registrations from the DVLA

It is said that a man views his car as an extension of himself, but for a woman a car is just a house on wheels, something she can furnish and lavish gifts on. If this is true, it occurred to me that when shopping for my wife this Christmas I should include something for her car - along with the perfume, the earrings and the Black Magic, of course.
Alloy wheels and sun shades, matching seat covers, car mats and more, she has the lot. The one thing she hasn't got is that ultimate in car accessories - her very own personalised number plate.

---But isn't that expensive?---
That all depends on where you shop and what you want on the plate. A prefix style registration - that is, one with a year letter indicator followed by a number, a space and three letters - is one of the cheapest you can buy and the DVLA are the cheapest source to buy from.
Combinations of letters and numbers which display a name or a particular word - such as M4 NDY or TRA 1N - are very much sought after and could set you back thousands of pounds. But if you set your sights a little lower and go for something which just has meaning for you and your partner, you needn't break the bank. There are a staggering 21 million car registrations available to purchase, either from the DVLA or from one of the DVLA authorized Number Plate Suppliers. (Available means that they are not currently assigned to any vehicle). Therefore, there is a good chance of finding something you want at a price to suit your pocket.
I recently purchased one of these marks from the DVLA for my wife's car. I chose the mark as follows: - letter M for March (the month she was born) two numbers for the year of her birth (which I dare not disclose) and the letters LBS for her initials. The cost was £250 and includes VAT and the Department of Transport assignment fee of £80. To that must be added the cost of a new set plates when I have them made up. Call it £270.

---Call it daylight robbery!---
You think that is expensive? Take a careful look at the prices being quoted by the competition and then tell me that is expensive.

---How do I do that?---
Look in your local directory and in the newspapers, or better still, go on-line and search for 'car registrations'. You will find a whole host of companies offering cheaper prefix style registration marks, some will even throw in a set of plates, BUT BE WARNED - you may end up with a much bigger bill. Other suppliers do not always include the £80 government transfer fee in their prices. Neither do they always include VAT!

---I still think it's too much.---
All right, look upon it as a long-term investment. What I have bought is termed a 'cherished registration mark', one that will be much sought after in years to come, like the more expensive examples I was telling you about. I believe these prefix car marks will gain appeal as new cars with modern registrations replace them on the roads. They will become more exclusive and increase in value as time goes on.
It is not an item of property, subject to wear and tear, but an 'entitlement' allowing my wife (as the registered keeper of the vehicle to which it is assigned) use of this mark on any car she owns for as long as she wants.
When the time comes to change cars, she can transfer it to the new vehicle or sell it on if she so wishes. It is an asset and one that she can use and enjoy now and forever, and one that she can display on her car and be proud of.

---So that's what it's about, getting noticed! ---
Number plates are made to stand out and be visible. They have bold letters and reflective backgrounds. I never fail to note a number plate when I am stuck in traffic, particularly if it is unusual in any way. People notice them. What's wrong with that?
The trouble with a Ford Focus or a Renault Megane, or any other car for that matter, is that it looks like every other Ford Focus or Renault Megane. The only way to look different in a car, to express yourself in any way, is to make a few changes and customise it. No woman wants to turn up to a party in the exact same outfit.

---Well all right, how did you buy this mark?---
I went straight to the DVLA general website - www.dvla.gov.uk - and was directed to another DVLA site - www.dvla-som.co.uk - which deals specifically with the sale of personalised registrations. The 'som' stands for Sale of Marks. Both sites are very easy to navigate around and all the information you need is there. I found it most helpful and clear to understand. They leave no 'plate' unturned. The answers to all your questions are there.
They tell you all about the Cherished Transfer, Retention and Sale of Marks schemes and explain what is possible and what is not allowed. (For example, you cannot swap a W-registration for an R-reg to make a car appear younger).
Go to the site and try it for yourself. Just select Prefix Style or Current Style search, enter the vehicle registration mark you are looking for into the general search box and away you go. If you don't find a match right away then try a different combination to see what is available.

---Sounds all a bit involved to me.---
Not in the least. I took a quick look at a number of different company websites. All of them operate in much the same way and offer the same search facility. It is all very simple, very fast and very efficient. Once you have found the mark you want you can purchase it immediately and pay by debit or credit card, or by cheque.
The DVLA have there own dedicated telephone hotline 0870 6000 142. When I rang them, all they needed from me was the name of the person on the V5C logbook (in this case my wife) and the current registration mark of the car. How easy is that?
Within a week I received a 'Certificate of Entitlement'(formV750) for my chosen vehicle registration mark. Among the notes on the back it reads: "The purchaser has acquired from the Secretary of State the right to have the registration mark shown overleaf assigned to a vehicle."
This certificate is valid up to a year so I have plenty of time to get a set of plates made, wrap them up and put them under the Christmas tree before I even have to think about the next step.

---Next step? It gets worse!---
It's only a matter of updating the car documents to show the new number. Before I swap the car plates over in the New Year, I will contact my local VRO (Vehicle Registration Office). There is nothing else to pay. All I have to do is show them the Certificate of Entitlement and some ID so that they can issue me with a replacement tax disc and endorse the MOT certificate with the new number. Then the DVLA will send my wife a new V5C registration document.
I must also remember to tell the insurers that the car's registration number has changed.

---What happens to the existing number?---
The existing number will become void and I will be dispose of the old plates when I fit new ones.

---Any more you can tell me?---
Only to say that in the normal course of events a registration number stays with a car from the time it leaves the showroom until it is scrapped. When you buy a car you acquire the 'entitlement' to the registration number that comes with it. When you sell your car that entitlement passes to the new registered keeper (unless you apply to the DVLA to retain it).

To sum up:
Make the DVLA your first port of call when shopping for a personalised number plate. Only look elsewhere if you cannot find the mark you want.
Get all the information you need from the DVLA websites. You can download their information leaflets if necessary and find about the forms you may need. For example, form V317 Transfer of Registration Mark (to transfer a registration number from one vehicle to another), and formV778 Retention document (to place a number on hold pending reassignment).
Make a gift of a personalised number plate to someone very special. It is an accessory that will be uniquely theirs, will never wear out and will last a lifetime.

Lastly, check out this website: www.direct.gov.uk/motoring
 

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