How To Retain A Number Plate

Number plate retention can be carried out at the DVLA website and if done online, this process will be carried out immediately. Alternatively, you can retain a number plate by filling in a V317 form, and sending it to the following address:

DVLA, Personalised Registrations, Swansea SA99 1DS

The cost of number plate retention is currently £80, and when the private plate retention process is complete, this fee will be shown on your number plate retention document, otherwise known as the V778. To put this newly retained registration on another vehicle requires no additional fee, and you can pay the original £80 by card, cheque, bankers draft or postal order made payable to DVLA Swansea.

To retain a registration, you'll need a logbook (V5/C) and the 11 digit Document Reference Number if you're applying online. This number can be found on the first page of the logbook.

There are a few rules regarding how to put a number plate on retention in the UK, the first being that you must be the registered keeper of the vehicle the registration is displayed on. It must be taxed or have been declared SORN for the past 5 years, continuously if on SORN, and it needs to be available for inspection should the DVLA require.

The vehicle must be testable with an MOT and able to move via its own power, and the registration cannot start with a Q or QNI for private plate retention. It can also not include anything else in the logbook stating anything along the lines of "non-transferable".

To request the registration plate retention, you need to download, print, and fill out the V317 form from the DVLA.

Fill out the required details (sections 2, 3, and 9.1 or 9.2 if you want to add a nominee), and send the form as well as your logbook to the DVLA at the following address:

DVLA Personalised Registrations, Swansea, SA99 1DS

Once everything has been sent off and applied for, the DVLA will process your application and send you a new logbook showing a new reg. You'll also receive a new number plate retention document for the registration, both of which take around a fortnight if applied for via post. If you carry this out online, then the private plate retention will be immediate, and you will be told this once you've completed the process.

If the DVLA want to inspect your vehicle, this can take around a month, and if you're retaining the registration in another nominees name, the number plate retention document will go to their address.