Transferring Number Plates

[Hendry]

Just wondering, is it possible to transfer a non private/personalised plate I.e. The cars original reg from one car to another like you can with private plates.

 

I've seen a few newer cars recently like Insignias and new model Focus which should be like 61 plates etc with prefix D and G regs on them, not unusual in itself as it could be a private plate but these don't appear to have any meanings, they just look like original regs from old long since scrapped cars. Most private plates I've seen are usually 6 digits or less, these have been 7 digits like an ordinary plate and random letters and numbers, I.e. Not like S600 ODY, more just like H371 BNS or L118 VSU for example, didn't think it was possible, always thought only a private plate could be swapped between cars and that once the private plate came off a car it'd always just get it's own original reg back.

 

Say for example, and I'm not going to do it, I bought a new 12 plate car but wanted to take the original non private plate - SA59 AAZ - off my Clio could I put that on the 12 plate and the Clio would get a new different 59 reg?

[barefoot]

yes

[lovejoy]

just as long as it does not make the vehicle appear "younger"  

  you can transfer ANY older plate to a newer vehicle,

but NOT the other way round.

BOTH vehicles must be licenced, mot'd etc to do it.

HTH

[overrun]

You can transfer anything you want, as long as it wouldn't make the car look younger, or the plate in question comes from a vehicle with 'non-transferable' on the log book.

[Hendry]

You can transfer anything you want, as long as it wouldn't make the car look younger, or the plate in question comes from a vehicle with 'non-transferable' on the log book.

My Astra said that on the "special notes" bit, it said 1. Declared new at first registration 2. Non transferable registration mark, however, oddly, that car started life as DV05 EKY, the 2nd owner put on N9 TJF then took that back off when he traded in the Astra for a new 316d BMW and the Astra got DV05 EKY back, so it'd appear it becomes non transferable if it gets assigned to a car a 2nd time after a plate change?

[cms206]

Something like that; I recently transferred E33 XGD off my old 760 Turbo onto my 940 and the 760 was issued with transferable mark E952 HFG in it's place; a mate of mine recently did the same and was also issued with a transferable mark but it seems it's down to whoever deals with it at the DVLA.

[Guest Breadvan72]

I am a total TOOOOOOOOOOOOOL and have just shelled out notes to DVLA to convert A144 KEL (a Lancia HPE 2.0 Volumex) to A20 VLX.  I deserve to have the piss ripped out of me 4 EVAH.  

 

Cheaper than a new clutch, though. 

[Tartan58]

I'm one of these saddos with a fetish for number plates even if they mean nothing to 99% of those who see them. Things like old plates with local area codes etc.

 

I wish there was a way to get the DVLA to release the plates from scrapped cars again, I'd love to get the plates from the first car I travelled in (Renault 14 no less) which my dad bought new a few months before I was born (and owned for 6 years until I had to be scrapped due to terminal rot) Nothing special about the registration but it means something to me - and I still have the original dealer supplied numberplates on the garage wall, and the spare wheel is still in my Mum's garage!

 

One other thing which saddened me greatly recently was the realisation that with these new fangled 51, 02 etc. number plates I'll not be able to play my favourite car journey game with my boys - my dad printed a list of the numbers 1-999 and we had to spot registrations with those numbers (in order of course) - kept me amused for months!

[Micrashed]

Yup - I wish I had kept VTC 263H now, but hey such is life.

 

I blez about in N999 MCR now. No I dont feckin support Manchester Utd/ sity.

[mercrocker]

How does this work then.....???  My Grandad's 1960 Wolseley was scrapped in the late 60s.   Now I see the number  plate (which I assumed died with the car) is running round on a 4x4, according to CarTell.   I would like to buy the plate but don't want to approach the owner (even if I knew how) cos he would make up some stupid price no doubt. (its worth about £500 to me...) 

[Mr Livered]

What does "on retention" mean (one for the stupid question thread maybe)?

 

I appreciate that cars have to be licenced and whatnot to get the reg off, but can I then keep it for later - ie once the car is no longer licenced?

[Pillock]

Retention is keeping a registration "live" without it being on a car. You have to pay a fee to keep it on retention, plus the costs of transferring to and from. I think its a maximum of three years.

 

Any allegations of this being just another money making scam are completely unfounded. Naturally the cost to the DVLA of moving a registration on their computer from a car to a person is massive and wholly justifies charging a three-figure sum.

[crapcarcollector]

Yes, that is 'retention' in a nutshell, I seem to recall it costs £80 a year to keep a transfered plate on retention

 

 

Sent from my Nokia 3310 using the force.

[skoda_fan]

Hendry raises an interesting point which accords with my experience. My car had a private plate transferred onto it by the last owner, but got its original plate back before he sold it to me. The V5 states this is non-transferable, although as I understand it I would be able to transfer another plate ONTO it. Interestingly, another car I had years ago onto which I transferred a private plate, received a completely different age-related plate (not its original plate) when I transferred the private plate off it before sale.

 

Incidentally, does the DVLA still issue 'Q' plates to vehicles of indeterminate age? Not seen one for a while now.

[Cavcraft]

I think (but stand to be corrected) that the non-transferable bit comes from people who would sell on their replacement numbers years ago. For example, I had 7891 FM on my Mk1 Cortina, sold the plate off it (it ended up on a coach in London) and got something like PMB 98B as the replacement. I was offered money for that too, but sold the car on and someone at the time said the DVLA were putting an end to people selling the replacement numbers on. 

 

Why you may/may not have a modern car marked as non-transferable is a mystery though.

[Guest Breadvan72]

Yesterday I can haz spottage of modern Fiat 500  F1 ATF   (plate was illegally spaced and lettered  FIATF).  Lot of money for a plate for a rather meh car!

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

I.e. Not like S600 ODY, more just like H371 BNS or L118 VSU for example

You might think those plates aren't special, but they certainly are to Mr Helibns or Mr Liibvsu.

 

 

 

[Joke borrowed from Viz c.1980]

[Guest Breadvan72]

Reminds me of when I got drunk and played Ouija.  V scary, as we definitely contacted a Spirit.  His name was QFWTRLBGMNRGYST

[Asimo]

Incidentally, does the DVLA still issue 'Q' plates to vehicles of indeterminate age? Not seen one for a while now.

 

Most of the Q plates I see are on construction plant. I have no idea why this should be so. There is a big project on at work with a dozen or so dumpers, diggers and rollers. Two of the rollers and one of the dumpers is on a Q plate. They all look like recent-ish kit, not antiques or lash-ups.

[Pillock]

I was told that's due to the amount of plant that is stolen and has all numbers erased, dumpers and stuff are easier to make disappear than a 6 month old Porsche. A lot of modern cars can be traced by serial numbers on components like ECU (of which there are plenty), dash clusters... Not just engine and chassis. Stolen recovered cars therefore get their original, or an age related plate.

[Hendry]

Another registration related question, well 2 actually that occurred to me recently,

 

1. Why do northern Irish cars have "private plates" rather than ones like the rest of the UK that you can identify the age of the car with?

 

2. If you bring a car over from there to here can you get it reregistered so it has a age related plate on it, I realise you don't need to but can you without doing what I asked in my original post ie robbing its current plate off it, but rather just asking the DVLA to register it on a Scotland/England/Wales age plate and take back their irish plate, I'm thinking of this with the thought of ever purchasing an NI car and driving about here and having folk thinking you are one of those tossers who's decided his nickname is Baz or Kaz and bought a cheap irish dateless plate with your "name" in it or to hide your cars age

[cms206]

Another registration related question, well 2 actually that occurred to me recently,

 

1. Why do northern Irish cars have "private plates" rather than ones like the rest of the UK that you can identify the age of the car with?

 

2. If you bring a car over from there to here can you get it reregistered so it has a age related plate on it, I realise you don't need to but can you without doing what I asked in my original post ie robbing its current plate off it, but rather just asking the DVLA to register it on a Scotland/England/Wales age plate and take back their irish plate, I'm thinking of this with the thought of ever purchasing an NI car and driving about here and having folk thinking you are one of those tossers who's decided his nickname is Baz or Kaz and bought a cheap irish dateless plate with your "name" in it or to hide your cars age

1) Easy answer: they're not private. Going back in time in the UK you could have happily been allocated by your local registration office something like 1035K on your car which then wasn't private, just like the same was that 1035Z in NI would be a standard issue. When the UK moved onto suffix plates in the early 1960s Ireland were still on 4 number/2 letter plates in the north. Because the NI system has many more combinations than rUK they didn't use up all their plates and indeed still have plenty spare. Until the mid 80s all ROI plates were dateless as well as NI; if the plate it carries is original then it can be roughly dated but you could put a new plate on your car every time the series changes (Belfast I think for example are currently on xFZ, running in series AFZ, BFZ, CFZ, DFZ, EFZ came after UEZ, XEZ, YEZ etc). The Republic used to work similarly with an area identifier and a random letter (ASI, BSI, CSI, DSI etc). Truth be told there was not really any such thing as a private plate in the UK until the money grabbing shites at DVLA allowed you to in the '80s IIRC.

 

2) Yes you can; IIRC you simply surrender your NI plate. Quite why you'd want to is beyond me though. For example York Pullman ran several ex Ulsterbus Leyland Tigers which lost their plates (NXI 4241, PXI 1319 and RXI 3337 IIRC) and were issued F84 WLH, G776 PWT and H289 EFB.

[Pillock]

Yes, that is 'retention' in a nutshell, I seem to recall it costs £80 a year to keep a transfered plate on retention

 

 

I think it's changed now, it looks like you can have 1, 2 or 3 years up front but no more? Naturally 3 years costs more because, erm.....

[Hendry]

I wish I'd known this when I was getting rid of my mk3 Astra ie my first car then I could've kept its plate and put it on every car I've had since. b'stard!

 

Re the Irish plates thing, how would this work, when I worked for AC in late 2007 they bought in some ex rental Astra mk5s, reg'd SK07 xxx but the number plates said "Charles Hurst Vauxhall Belfast" so probably the original plates, why would the DVLA when these cars were registered new A. Not register the cars using the standard NI 3 letters then 4 numbers combination they usually use, and B. be able to register them with Edinburgh area code regs issued by the local office there when they surely would've been registered by the Belfast DVLA office.

[Pillock]

Unless they were assigned a new plate before export as a job lot, it was the Edinburgh office that arranged the transfer and the Belfast dealer made the plates up ready....