The Complete Guide to Buying Personalised Plates
There’s nothing better than being able to personalise your car and make it truly unique. One of the best ways of doing this is by having personalised licence plates – this allows you to choose the registration numbers for a specific vehicle.
To answer any question that you may have and to give you a complete walk through guide to buying personalised plates, here’s the complete guide from Primo Registrations:
What’s the Cost of Personalised Plates?
How much your plate costs depends very strongly on the numbers you have in mind, the more desirable the plate, the more expensive it will be. At Primo Registrations you can buy personalised plates for as little as £59, although you may need to play around with your ideas to get the best plate for your money. The price of plates will not include the D.O.T transfer fee, which currently stands at £80, but the team at Primo Registrations can also handle this for you with their fully managed transfer service.
Additional Costs Involved
As mentioned above, you will likely need to pay an additional fee of £80 to transfer the registration onto the vehicle in question. Some additional costs include:
• If you do not wish to assign the number immediately you will need to hold the number on a V750 certificate.
• When selling or scraping the car but retaining the plates, you will require a V778 retention certificate.
• These certificates cost £25 a year each to renew, although they are initially free to obtain.
If you are simply buying plates for yours or a nominee’s vehicle and are planning to use them straight away then there will only be the £80 transfer fee to pay in addition to the price of the plates.
How to Buy a Personalised Registration Plate
The process of buying a plate is very simple, just decide what you would like your plate to read like and type it into our search bar and press ‘enter’. This will return a selection of plates that match your specifications, search through them to find the one you want and then simply place the order online or call to order. It is as simple as that!
What Number/ Letter Combos Can You Use?
When it comes to buying the perfect plate for you, it can be a little bit difficult to decide what style you want. Currently there are four plate styles that you can chose from, these are:
• Current Style – i.e. AB12 ABC
• Prefix Style – i.e. A123 ABC
• Suffix Style – i.e. ABC 123A
• Dateless Style – i.e. 1ABC or ABC1
The dateless plate style is the most desirable and therefore the most expensive, also due to the lax rule regarding numbers and letters the words are much more easily identifiable. There are hundreds of potential variations that you can choose from, however do not try to buy plates that make the vehicle newer than it is as this is illegal and can land you in trouble.
If you can’t find the lettering you like then it is worth trying out different combinations and even different styles until you are happy. Try to have several options available before looking for a plate as this can help to avoid disappointment and gives you far more possibilities. Read here about the rules for various fonts that are available for a number plate.
What Can Your Plate Say?
There used to be a limit on risqué words, but this is now allowed which lets you use any word you like for your personalised plates. You will need to make the word you want fit within the styles listed above, but if you think of it, and it hasn’t already been taken, then you can have it. Some of the most common personalised plate themes include:
• Names and nicknames
• Sports or hobbies
• Vehicle related
• Interesting words or jokes
The limit of what your plate can say is down to your imagination and availability. Common words and phrases are normally snapped up very quickly so you may have to be a bit more creative with your choice of lettering.
Are There Restrictions?
Yes, there are a few restrictions on personalised plates including:
• You aren’t allowed to start a personalised registration plate with the letter ‘Q’
• Similarly, you can’t put a personalised plate on a ‘Q’ registered vehicle
• You can’t use personalised plates to make your car look younger than it is
• You can’t alter the spacing on your personalised plates
• It is illegal to use fixing bolts or other devices to change the appearance of your plate
In the case of the last three points, you could face a fine of up to £1,000 and lose your right to that number plate. Do not try to alter the appearance of your plate in any way, be creative and stay within the regulations to make your plate say what you want it to.
Can You Transfer Existing Personalised Plates?
Yes, it is possible to transfer your existing personalised plates onto a new vehicle. Alternatively, you can sell your personalised plates with your current vehicle if you so wished. Transferring existing plates follows the same protocol as buying new ones, in that you will need to complete a V317 application to transfer or retain a registration number.
Changing Your V5C
You will need to send your V5C form to the DVLA with the changes made to the registration plate for that vehicle. It is your responsibility as the owner to ensure that this is changed as it is not included in the transfer documents. This will not cost you anything to change and should be done as soon as possible.
Do I Need to Re-Buy Plates?
If you have already purchased the plates and they are assigned to your vehicle but your existing ones have been stolen, lost or damaged then you do not need to go through this process again. Simply have the plates printed again using proof of ID and proof of entitlement to registration mark to prove that the plates you are replacing belong to you. This can cost as little as £20 depending on the style and design of plate you choose.
How Safe is Buying Online?
Many people feel uncomfortable with buying online, however at Primo Registrations we have worked to make this process as safe and secure as possible when buying a personalised number plate. We’ve done this through state of the art security features and having a user friendly website that is quick and easy to purchase through. We are DVLA registered and pride ourselves on customer service, so if you’re experiencing any problems just give us a call today!
