Where DVLA registrations are concerned, the forms and procedures for registering cars are based upon the way they are categorised or described.  Registration fees and procedures are based on classifications such as new, used, kit cars, radically altered, or rebuilt.  If you want to register a vehicle that is categorised as a kit car or one that has been radically altered or rebuilt, there are certain steps that you need to take in order to get them registered properly.

If you have a vehicle that falls into one of these specific categories, it will need to comply with certain criteria before you can successfully register it.  Based on the evidence that you provide, your Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) local area office will assign either an appropriate registration mark or the vehicle’s original one.  It typically boils down to a couple of aspects, namely the vehicle’s identity and a vehicle identity check.

Whenever a vehicle needs to be rebuilt, the identity of the vehicle may come under scrutiny.  Certain questions may be asked.  These questions may include, “was the original vehicle rebuilt,” or, “were so many different or new parts used during the process of rebuilding it that you have broken up the original vehicle?” When a registration mark has been allocated to a rebuilt vehicle, the DVLA has to establish if the vehicle had no original or previously registered identity.  Additionally, if the rebuilding of the vehicle has been significant, you will need to take it to a DVLA office in order to have it examined.

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Maltese registration plates are used for purposes of identifying ownership and vehicles involved in accidents or criminal activity. The country’s registration plates have followed the same alphanumerical format since 1995 and this consists of a three-letter combination followed by a three number combination. The plates are white with the characters printed in black FE-Schrift font. On the left hand side of the plates there is a blue box, which contains the European flag, with a white letter M underneath, to signify Malta.

There are many special series of number plates in Malta, depending on specific jobs or vehicle type. The three-letter combination on rental car registrations always ends with a K, whereas the third letter of taxis and buses ends in a Y. Any cars which qualify as tax-free have a letter combination beginning with TF, while all vehicles owned by the Maltese government have registration numbers starting GV, this includes police vehicles, which display the three letter combination GVP. Military vehicles include the letters GVA and department of health vehicles include the letters GVH. The letters CD indicate a vehicle owned or used by diplomats.

There are certain exceptions to the standard registration format, including chauffeur driven vehicles, which are used to transport members of parliament. These follow the format GM followed by two numbers. The country’s Bishop and President are both exempted from the registration requirements and only have to display their official logos on their vehicles.

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Standard issue registration plates in Croatia follow a specific format, which consists of two letters followed by three to four numbers and suffixed by one to two letters. The prefix letters are separated from the numerical combination by the Croatian coat of arms, while the significance of the prefix letters is that the act as a city identifier.

There are some exceptions to the style of registration plates in Croatia. The alphanumerical combination, used on standard plates, is printed in black, but green numbers and letters are displayed on vehicles owned by foreign citizens, temporarily registered vehicles and those belonging to international organisations. Plates on larger vehicles, which are unsuitable to be driven along smaller roads, have their registration numbers detailed in red.

The plates on Croatian police cars differ further still, as they are assigned registration marks consisting of six numbers split into two groups, printed in blue, which are separated by the country’s coat of arms. Croatian military vehicles have yellow plates, though the registration numbers follow the same format as standard vehicles, with the exception that they display HV, which stands for Hrvatska Vojska, meaning Croatian military, in place of a city code.

All of the plates are made from metal, but when a vehicle is displayed for sale in a dealership, it is assigned a test plate, which is made purely from paper. This plate is attached to the right hand corner of both the front windscreen and the rear window. They follow a different format from the standard plates, consisting of five numbers, preceded by the city code and split by the Croation coat of arms. After purchasing a vehicle, the temporary plates may only be used for a period of five days.

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Registration marks were first introduced in 1903 and they have since undergone several changes in format. However, they usually contain between one and three letters and up to four digits, with the digits following the letter combination or vice versa. Prior to the introduction of the suffix registration format in 1963, registration marks had no age identifying letters or numbers. It is therefore difficult to determine the age of a vehicle that carries one of these marks. Suffix registrations are age identifiable by their suffix letter. Similarly the prefix letter on a registration plate identifies the year of manufacture. New style registrations use the two-digit number to identify the age of the vehicle.

Suffix, prefix and new style registrations can only be assigned to vehicles of the same age or older. However, dateless registrations do not carry age identifying letters or digits and can therefore be assigned to any vehicle, irrespective of its age.

Dateless registration marks can be more difficult to come by, because they were issued prior to 1963 and the vehicles they were originally assigned to have often been scrapped. If you do obtain a dateless registration, it is likely it will be one of only a few similar registration marks on the road today. This means that they are often extremely sought after, even if they do not contain commonly used initials. Depending on the letters and digits involved, they can potentially be worth a lot of money.

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Most UK vehicle registrations follow a specific format; there are, however, some exceptions. One is for military vehicles, which have followed their own alphanumerical format since 1949. Armed forces plates have either two numbers followed by two letters suffixed by a further two numbers, or for vehicles registered from 1995 onwards, they follow the format of two letters followed by two digits suffixed by two letters. Between 1949 and 1982 the two letters acted as either an indicator for the branch of the services that the vehicle belonged to or the category of the vehicle.

Most armed forces registration plates are black with white or silver characters. The registration mark can be displayed in a variety of ways, across one, two or three rows.

Another exception to the standard registration mark is for trade plates. Motor traders and vehicle testers as assigned trade licences, which allow them to drive unlicensed vehicles on public roads while abiding by certain restrictions. Trade plates can be used, temporarily, on any vehicle and are used to identify the person rather than the vehicle. Since 1970 these plates have consisted of red lettering on a white background. They take the format of three numbers followed by between one and three letters.

Diplomatic plates also follow their own specific format. Vehicles operated by High Commissions, foreign embassies, consular staff and many other international organisations use them. The plates on these vehicles consists of three digits, one letter and a further three digits. The letter is either a D for diplomatic staff or X for accredited non-diplomatic staff. The first three digits act as an identifier of the country or organisation, while the final three digits act as a code, dependent on the role of the operator.

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When you purchase a personalised registration plate, the DVLA will issue you with a V750 Certificate of Entitlement. This records details of the person who purchased the plate, along with those of any nominated person. Only the people mentioned on the V750 can have this plate assigned to a vehicle of which they are the registered keeper.

Receipt of the V750, does not mean that the personalised plate has to be put straight onto a vehicle, the certificate allows you twelve months to take that step and the actual expiry date is shown on the document. If you are still not ready to assign the plate when the expiry date is nearing, you are able to extend the entitlement period for up to three years, at a charge of £25 per year. You can do this on the DVLA website or by signing section 2 of the V750 and sending this to the DVLA, along with a cheque to cover the fees.

Applications to extend the entitlement period must be made prior to the expiration date. Postal applications can be made within 28 days of expiry, while there is only a fourteen-day window for online applications. If you forget to extend your entitlement, you can send a letter to the DVLA explaining the reasons for the late application and enclosing the appropriate fee. The DVLA will then consider your application and respond to you accordingly.

If you lose your V750 you can apply for a free duplicate providing there are at least five days entitlement remaining.

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The standardised format for registration plates among member states of the European Union was introduced in November 1998 in Council Regulation (EC) No 2411/98. This format took inspiration from the registration plates, which had already been introduced in several of the member states including Portugal and Germany.

This common format is not mandatory in all of the European member states, being optional in the UK, Sweden, Finland and Cyprus. However, Denmark and Belgium will introduce it by 2010.

The specifics of Euro plates require registration marks to be on white or yellow plates printed with black characters and they must be longer than they are tall. There are still many variations across the European Union, however. For example, in the UK white plates are used on the front of vehicles, while yellow ones are displayed to the rear; France follows this same system. Luxembourg and the Netherlands use yellow plates to the front and rear. The UK uses plastic plates while throughout the rest of the European Union metal plates are commonplace.

The format of the EU plates includes of a blue strip down the left hand side, which contains the European Union symbol of twelve yellow stars. Beneath this symbol should appear the code for the country in which the vehicle has been registered. Member states that do not follow this format have an additional requirement placed on vehicles, when travelling internationally, to display an oval nationality sticker to the rear to enable their easy identification.

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If you decide to sell a personalised registration plate that you have entitlement to, there are many ways that you can proceed. You may wish to advertise privately or you may decide to approach a registered dealer who can handle the sale for you.

The first step is to get a free valuation for your mark. Some dealers may charge for this service, but there are plenty of companies out there who offer the service for free. You should receive a valuation within around 48hours.

On valuation, if you decide you would like to go ahead with selling your registration mark through a dealer, you should check their terms and conditions and the fees charged. You should also make sure you are entirely comfortable working with them. You must then provide confirmation to the dealer that you agree to have him advertise the mark on your behalf.

The dealer will advertise your registration plate in the way he thinks is most likely to achieve a sale. Often, interested parties will make offers below the advertised selling price and your dealer should make you aware of any such offers. The final decision on whether or not to accept a lower price always rests with you.

Should you be successful in selling your plates, there will be paperwork to complete, but the dealer should talk you through every step of this process. Once the sale is complete, the proceeds will be forwarded to you and you will relinquish any entitlement to the registration mark.

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Price is an important consideration if you are thinking of purchasing a personalised registration plate. The cost can vary from a few hundred pounds through to tens of thousands of pounds. Purchasers of personalised plates must also pay the fees associated with the transfer of the plates. Obviously, the higher your budget, the more options that will be available to you. However, depending on what you are looking for you may be able to find a plate to suit your requirements for a modest price.

If you are looking for a plate that is already assigned to another vehicle or that someone else has entitlement to, then you have no option but to wait and see if it ever comes on the market. The DVLA cannot and will not disclose the personal details of anyone using a particular registration mark that is not available for transfer on the open market.

There are many registration marks that never have been and never will be issued for sale, due to the strict government issuing rules. UK registration plates consist of between two and seven letters and digits and formats depend on the style of registration. You have the option to choose between dateless, prefix, suffix and new-style registrations. Most UK plates contain three numbers and four letters. There are, of course, some that contain fewer letters and digits, but these are rare and as such, tend to be considerably more expensive.

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Unissued registration numbers can be obtained direct from the DVLA. You can also purchase registration marks from private sellers or registered dealers. When you buy a personalised number plate you are paying for the right to have that mark assigned to a vehicle registered in your name. Registration marks are not items of personal property and, as such, the Secretary of State owns all registrations.

Registered dealers of personalised registrations sell previously issued registrations from their own stock and on behalf of private sellers. They also sell brand new registrations that have been purchased direct from the DVLA.

There are two options available to you if you purchase a personalised registration from a registered dealer. If you choose to only buy the registration mark, you will have to arrange with DVLA to assign the mark to your vehicle and pay the appropriate fee. In this instance, your chosen dealer will issue you with the paperwork to confirm your purchase of the mark. If you have purchased a previously unissued registration, you will be provided with a V750 Certificate of Entitlement. This confirms the registered dealer as the purchaser and your name as the nominee. If you have bought a previously issued registration, you will receive a V778 Retention Document, which will show details of the person selling the registration as the ‘grantee’ and your details will be recorded as the ‘nominee’.

The other option is to purchase the registration mark through a ‘buy and assign’ scheme. In this case, the dealer should take care of everything for you and you will be sent a letter authorising you to have the plates made up.

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