Private number plate

[Buckman]

If you are fortunate to be able to buy a private number plate, are you required to change the plate on the caravan as that plate should still be registered to the vehicle even though it is different to the one on the vehicle?

 

[otherclive]

If you are fortunate to be able to buy a private number plate, are you required to change the plate on the caravan as that plate should still be registered to the vehicle even though it is different to the one on the vehicle?

The towed vehicle must have the same registration plate as the towing vehicle.

 

[Buckman]

The towed vehicle must have the same registration plate as the towing vehicle.

Thanks but surely the original number plate is still allocated to the towing vehicle and would be linked to the private or personal number plate?

 

[Mr Plodd]

If towing ANY trailer with a UK registered vehicle the trailer must display the reg mark on the towing vehicle (and that includes artics)

But only if its a UK registered towcar. In Europe trailers are registered separately and carry their own registration mark.

As for fitting a cherished plate the "original" registered mark becomes dormant, but is reissued to the same vehicle once a cherished plate is moved off it (onto another or on retention)
I have a cherished plate and it's now been on 13 different cars so have a lot of personal experience.

If you fit a cherished plate you get a new V5 showing that (cherished) registered number and when you take it off you get a replacement V5 with the vehicles original registered number on it. Any MOT shows the current VRM used on the vehicle.

.

 

[RogerL]

If you are fortunate to be able to buy a private number plate, are you required to change the plate on the caravan as that plate should still be registered to the vehicle even though it is different to the one on the vehicle?

In the UK, caravans and trailers must show the number plate of the vehicle towing them (excluding foreign visitors) - so if you get a cherished number for the car, you'll need to change the plate on the caravan/trailer - if you don't change it, it's likely to trigger ANPR cameras as the number won't be allocated to a vehicle.

The old number goes into abeyance and will probably be restored to the car when the cherished plate is transferred to another vehicle - but - there's no guarantee as DVLA are at liberty to re-issue the old number.

 

[otherclive]

But only if its a UK registered towcar. In Europe caravans are registered separately and carry their own registration mark.

Can you buy private car registration plates in Europe?

 

[RogerL]

Thanks but surely the original number plate is still allocated to the towing vehicle and would be linked to the private or personal number plate?

It's not allocated, just unused

 

[Mr Plodd]

No, it must be a UK or Northern Ireland registration number for a UK vehicle.

Or do you mean if you live in Europe can you have a cherished plate from the country you live in? I don't think you can do that because number plates are often linked directly to road tax. I believe in Germany the police can (and do) remove plates from parked cars if records show its untaxed!

In America you can have pretty much whatever you want on your reg plate provided it's not rude or offensive.

 

[Beachball]

I thinking of getting a private numberplate for my new car my son and granddaughter have already brought one

 

[PTA]

Plus, of course DVLA and your insurer must be informed. Useful, too, to inform your servicing garage.

 

[RogerL]

Plus, of course DVLA and your insurer must be informed. Useful, too, to inform your servicing garage.

And your breakdown company.

 

[Jcloughie]

In America you can have pretty much whatever you want on your reg plate provided it's not rude or offensive.

There is a story of Brit living in America. He got a plate which spelled an English rude word, B * * * X. And got away with it as it is not recognised as such in the states.

John

 

[Buckman]

Thanks for the very enlightening replies. Never thought of insurer or breakdown company. Probably a £25 admin charge from insurer?

While in storage the other day a car with personal plates hooked up to a caravan with a plate that sort of match the year of the car hence the query.

 

[Hutch]

Plus, of course DVLA and your insurer must be informed. Useful, too, to inform your servicing garage.

It is the DVLA that issue the personal number plate.

Also if you do see a number plate that you like, make sure you are on the DVLA website. A lot of websites show numbers for stupid costs. My own number was shown on 4 different websites at over £1000, but I got it allocated to myself including transfer for under £500, on the DVLA website.It is a very easy process. Do not get taken in by the other websites.

DVLA Personalised Registrations

dvlaregistrations.dvla.gov.uk

 

[PTA]

Some personalised reg. plate selling companies will inform DVLA as part of the purchase package.

 

[otherclive]

My daughter says they are suitable for narcissists or people with memory issues. I just don’t think she wanted to buy me one. 🤣

 

[littlebasher]

Thanks for the very enlightening replies. Never thought of insurer or breakdown company. Probably a £25 admin charge from insurer?

While in storage the other day a car with personal plates hooked up to a caravan with a plate that sort of match the year of the car hence the query.

No insurance company has ever charged me for a plate change, and i've done it a lot of times !

Only one finance company charged me £20 admin fee, and only because i forgot to tell them. Had i let them know when i did it, there would have been no charge

 

[PTA]

My daughter says they are suitable for narcissists or people with memory issues. I just don’t think she wanted to buy me one. 🤣

Yup. I'm a narcissist. I am perfect in all respects...my wife is, however, a truth denier.

 

[Hutch]

Some personalised reg. plate selling companies will inform DVLA as part of the purchase package.

When you search for a number, A lot of the companies buy the number from the DVLA and then sell them onto the purchaser at an exaggerated cost.

 

[Mr Plodd]

I used www.speedyreg.co.uk
Very useful search facility so you can search letters, numbers combinations etc. When I purchased my plate they were exceedingly helpful.

 

[PTA]

I used www.speedyreg.co.uk
Very useful search facility so you can search letters, numbers combinations etc. When I purchased my plate they were exceedingly helpful.

Ditto with "Swift Reg."

 

[Lutz]

Can you buy private car registration plates in Europe?

It depends on which country you live in. In Belgium, Austria and the Scandinavian countries, you can have any combination of letters and numbers. The prices vary from country to country. In Austria it's only €228.30. Denmark is the most expensive at about €1234, but the others are all round about €1000.
In Germany you can choose any one or two letters followed by up to four numbers after the mandatory registration identifier of the town or local government area. That's a rather limited choice, but on the other hand it only costs €10. For example, my car, a BMW X4 3.0d has MTK X 430 (MTK is the registration identifier of the local council where I originally registered the car, although I don't live there any more). Often people choose their initials followed by their birth dates or something easy to remember like A 1234, although you'd have to be pretty lucky to get that. When you sell the car you can now transfer the number plate to your new car. That's a fairly recent change. Previously, the plates were made dormant for 6 months and then reissued to someone else, if requested.
In other countries, such as France, Spain, Italy or the Netherlands, you don't have a choice at all.

 

[littlebasher]

When you search for a number, A lot of the companies buy the number from the DVLA and then sell them onto the purchaser at an exaggerated cost.

Last year, i was looking to get a particular plate that reads my initial and surname. No funny spacing, strange fonts required either !

Couldn't see it for sale on any number plate websites nor on a car, so emailed the DVLA and asked if it was ever going to be made available (the hope being that they put it in a future auction).
Months later they replied to tell me that rather than being auctioned, they would list it on their website on a certain date & time for a fixed price.

£299

Not sure if it fell through their cracks, but its worth significantly more than that (especially to me for obvious reasons)

Really good service from them, despite taking so long to reply

 

[Jaydug]

Probably a £25 admin charge from insurer?

Maybe with some insurers, but AXA didn't charge me anything. I have two cars, both with personal number plates. When I bought my C1, I already had the number on retention, but I had to insure the car on the original before I could drive it away. It took me about a week before I got the transfer done; hence ringing AXA to change. All done without charge. And why not? 7 clicks on the Backspace, followed by seven key taps.

 

[Hutch]

When I changed my car from a 2007 Santa Fe to a 2014 Santa Fe, the insurance company said No Problems, both cars would be insured on the same Numberplate, until midnight on the day I picked up the new car