Your car says a lot about you: your style, your personality, even your lifestyle.  Driving a sporty little roadster makes you a different person to someone who drives a beefy truck.  You may add pinstripes, detailing, or even have the car painted your favourite shade of magenta.  But there’s one more thing you can add to the car that will truly make it stand out, and that’s personalised license plates.

A number of private companies, as well as the DVLA, offer the ability to search available plate numbers for the one you specify.  They may even suggest options if the plate you desire isn’t available.  With the new numbering scheme, you’re likely to be able to ‘build’ a plate to suit your needs, since there are more letters and digits on the newer-model plates than in previous years.

Of course, cherished plates, those older plates from days gone by, are often made available as well.  But because there are fewer of them, they command a higher price than current-day plates.  Still, if you wish to truly make a car your own and ’76 MGB’ is the only plate that will do, you may just be able to get it – at a price.

Auctions are held several times a year for cherished plate numbers, and if you attend, even via the Internet, you may be able to bid on the plate you want.  It certainly makes memorising your plate number easier that way.  

Consider adding a personalised or cherished plate to your special car, and really enjoy your drive!

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Are the registration plates on your car. . . boring?  Are they the standard ones issued by the DVLA?  Have you seen personalised plates on cars about town and thought about what fun it might be to have them on your own car?  Did you know it’s easier than ever before to create your own fun number plates?

Many websites allow you to input plate numbers and see if they’re available.  For example, input a choice of one letter, one number, and then three letters and see if they are available.  For example, the plate registration PR05 PER (prosper) would be one that would follow the current registration format and be fun to drive with, as well.

Fun registration plates are also viewed as investments by many people.  Obviously, each plate or set of registration plates must be unique, so if your registered plate is the older, suffix-model of JEN 11E, you can be assured that is the only plate of its kind on the road.  Uniqueness, of course, has always been valued.  Should you decide to part with your personalised plates, you can be sure a good price would be likely at auction.

The more unique your plate is, yet with widespread appeal, the higher the price you are likely to receive.  Cherished number plates, especially those with older origins, are valued the highest and can be sold for tens of thousands of pounds.  In many cases, the appreciation of personalised registration plates far outstrips that of many other investments. 

Also, as DVLA changes their numbering scheme, those plates with an older style will increase in value because they will no longer be issued.  Just as the original dateless number plates issued after the original 1903 Motor Car Act are highly prized, so too are today’s numbers likely to be when their style is no longer available.

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The United Kingdom, like all other countries, has its own rules regarding car registration.  When you buy a new or used car, that vehicle must be registered with the DVLA, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.  There are many DVLA offices throughout the country, but the Internet has made the process much easier and faster.  While you’re likely to still need a visit to a DVLA office to finalise your car registration, the forms and directions are available online so at least you can arrive prepared.

When purchasing a new or used car, the dealer or seller is usually the one to notify the DVLA of the sale, although sometimes the purchaser is asked to do this.  The form used to record the sale, the V5 or V5C, has a portion for you as the purchaser to keep and record your information.  Both purchaser and seller must notify the DVLA immediately of the transfer of the vehicle.

If for some reason the seller doesn’t have a car registration document (V5) or certificate, you as the purchaser can move the DVLA registration into your name via form V62, available for download from the DVLA website.  In 4-6 weeks of mailing the form in you should have your new car registration.  Be sure to check it carefully for accuracy.  Mistakes not caught right at the outset can take much longer to correct later on.

If you are registering a car for the very first time, be aware that a fee of £55 will usually be levied to cover the costs of the vehicle’s registration throughout its life.  Under normal circumstances, a dealer will include this in the cost of the vehicle and take care of the registration paperwork for you as part of the sale.

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Spent thousands on your private number plate? Don’t forget to get a good print; or your great number plate won’t have the visual impact it should have. Number plate printers use different technology to print plates, and although they all should adhere to the standards that the DVLA set, they may not be of equal quality. Quality is often affected by price, so trying to save a few pounds by going for the cheapest plate, may end up costing you the visual pizzazz you have paid for.

One of the best places to look for a reputable number plate printer is online. Look for customer reviews on independent websites; find one of the better plate printers. Even though it may be tempting to do a price comparison, remember that a low price is likely to show up in the quality of the print, and a low price may also mean that the print does not meet DVLA standards. The better plate producers use fully computerised laser printers and thermal printing, with manual assembly at the end of the production line.

It is very important that you make sure that the plate print you are buying meets DVLA standards. DVLA standards include rules on the reflectivity of the plate (which can be affected by the manufacturing technology) as well as the typeface type, spacing between letters and the exact background colours. There are also elements in the number plate design that are mandatory, such as the flag design and prefix letters.

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For almost as long as there have been cars on the road in the UK, there have been car number plates, or vehicle registration plates, attached to them.  Each of these plates displays a seemingly random series of letters and numbers, usually in reflective material unless the plate is extremely old.

On many plates you’ll see the EU Country Identifier at the far left. The identifier for Great Britain is a vertical blue band with a circle of stars on it, and beneath the circle the letters “GB” for Great Britain.  Following the Country Identifier are two letters, commonly known as the Area Code, or memory tag.  These indicate the local registration office: the first letter identifies a very broad area, and the second letter identifies the registration office within that area.   For example, plate identifiers beginning with A were issued within Anglia, those beginning with P were issued in the Preston area.  Within Preston, for example, you’ll find 18 issuing offices, each of which is indicated by the second letter.

The following two digits are the age identifier.  If the plate was originally issued between March and August of a year, the digits of that year will be displayed: 11 for plates issued between March and August of 2011.  If issued between September and February of the following year, the numbers would have 50 added to them.  So plates issued between September of 2011 and February of 2012 would display a 61. 

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For quite some time you could only display the number plate attached to your vehicle when you purchased it.  But the times, they are a changing.  Now you can select a personalised registration plate for your car that reflects you and your lifestyle.  The DVLA has been issuing personalised plates since 1989, and their new website allows you to search the plates already issued, ensuring your plate is still available. The DVLA registrations process is an easy one to complete.

Personalised plates are a wonderful gift for yourself or someone special in your life.  Know someone who loves dogs?  Include the combination “K9” in it.  List your nickname or the name of your spouse on the car; the variations are almost endless. 

The plates can be quite expensive, however.  Be sure to do a search on the DVLA’s website or via another provider.  You may find that the plate you desire is extremely expensive—some of them can cost into the tens of thousands of pounds!  Short plates command the highest prices, so if you cherish something like 3P or M4, be sure to do your research first. If very lucky, when checking number plates for sale in your area, you may find the one you want at a reasonable price.

Some of the most popular plates are the “Miss” plates.  Start with MI55, and then choose the last three letters as your name, nickname or shortened version of the same. “MI55 AMY” or “MI55 CDY” are just some of the options you have.  You can also create your last name on a plate: W1LC0X and others can be created with a little imagination.

Plates can be purchased as a gift as well.  Simply inform the DVLA of that at the time of purchase.  They’ll note it on a form and you can present your gift to the lucky recipient.  It’s something that will last for years to come.

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With the option of choosing names, initials, company names and hobbies as part of your number plates, it is not surprising that obtaining a private registration is growing more popular.

Nowadays, the easiest way to buy a unique plate registration is via one of the many websites that sell car number plates. The better websites have search engines which allow you to try and find that perfect plate. This can be a bit of a tricky process, and often the search engine on a website will guide you in your search, by only allowing you to search within certain parameters, which is usually well explained. The only problem with searching for number plates on websites is that you may have to visit many different sellers to find your plate, because their inventories tend not to overlap. The DVLA Personalised Registrations website has a searchable database for unused plates, and the fixed purchase fee of £250 can be easily afforded.

The most interesting number plates for sale can often appear in classifieds, so look through the motoring sections of newspapers, or browse through the back pages of a car magazine. Be aware however, that these plates tend to be rather expensive, but if you want something really rare, this could be a great place to look.

Finally, the DVLA holds regular auctions whenever it releases a new range of plates. For example, in December 2009, the DVLA held an auction for the new 10-series plates that will start appearing on cars in March 2010. The benefit of buying plates at an auction is that you’re the first owner, and the value of the plate is likely to increase. It may also be your only chance to buy that exceptional plate before someone else grabs it.

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For some people a number plate goes beyond the mere fun of personalised number plates, but has a deeper meaning – a true cherished possession. Some plates really mean a lot to particular individuals and once they own their cherished plate, they will most certainly never sell it!

Romantic connotations are one of the most common. Recently model and TV personality Linda Lusardi and her husband Sam Kane, the actor, sought a plate with both their names on it. After a thorough search they discovered ‘LU54 RDY’, a number plate they definitely won’t give up.

Sometimes it is necessary to compromise just a little bit on the spelling, due to the configuration and restrictions on the letters and numbers featured. Dateless plates are a little easier to work with, because they don’t require a year reference to be included in the middle, start or end of the registration plates.

Number plates representing hobbies are very popular and so are number plates that play on the car’s name and model, such as ‘BMW 3’ for the BMW M3 or ‘FRE’ for a Ferrari. Names, initials and dates of birth are also popular, but perhaps the most sought after private registration plates are ones with simple letter and number combinations. A plate with the number ‘X1’ can reach prices in the hundreds of thousand pounds, but these are exceptions.

Those people who are willing to be a little creative, may find that UK number plates offer all sorts of unique words, which may not be that expensive.

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Companies offering to register UK number plates are a dime a dozen, but they all charge a significant fee. What many potential customers don’t know is that specific, individual registration plates can be purchased directly from the DVLA.

DVLA Personalised Registration Plates have millions of number plates in a searchable database. Not only does the DVLA offer a purchasing facility through its website and over the phone, but it also has regular auctions of brand new plates – auctions that are increasingly popular with trade professionals, but also one that individuals can attend. Buying directly from DVLA Personalised Registrations costs from £250 upwards and carries a £80 assignment fee.

The DVLA Personalised Registrations website offers a number of types of car registrations including the ‘current style’ car registrations, (which consists of two letters, two figures, a space and then three letters); prefix and suffix car registrations (with a two figure identifier at the beginning and at the end of the car registration), and ‘dateless registrations’ which has a number followed by a letter and vice versa.

Once you have purchased the personalised plate from the DVLA registrations service, they will send you a Certificate of Entitlement (V750) which you need to keep safe, because you will need it to transfer your purchased number plate to the car of your choosing. You don’t need to put the plate on a car immediately – the V750 certificate can be renewed every year.

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There are basically three different forms for registration plates that can be involved in the sale and transfer of a vehicle here in the UK.  The V5C is one of these three and there are certain guidelines and procedures that must be followed in order for you and the purchaser to legally complete the sale and transfer of the vehicle.  Additionally, this is the only way in which the DVLA will discharge your liabilities regarding the vehicle.  Be sure that both you and the purchaser follow these directions carefully.

The first step is to complete Section 6 (“new keeper or new name/new address details”).  Next, you and the purchaser need to sign the document under Section 8.  At that point you should send this to the DVLA immediately at, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BA.  Make sure that the “green” section (V5C/2) has been filled out accurately, and then give this portion to the person purchasing the vehicle.

If you sell your vehicle to a “motor trader”, the definition of which is on the rear side of the V5C/3, this “yellow section” must be completed.  The motor trader’s personal details and signature must be sent to the DVLA at the address listed in the above paragraph.  The uncompleted “blue and green” sections (V5C and V5C/2) must be detached and given to the motor trader.

There are additional guidance notes (INS 160) which accompany this document.  Additionally, the tax disc should be removed so that you can apply for a vehicle tax refund for the complete months which still remain on the disc.  Keep in mind that the DVLA will not pay you this refund if they have not received notification of the sale and transfer of the vehicle.

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