Personalised registrations or prestige plates are most commonly referred to as private number plates in the UK.  In Australia and New Zealand they are called either custom or personalised plates, whereas in the US, they are referred to as personalised or “vanity” plates.  The DVLA has private number plates for sale here in the UK, which are a special type of vehicle registration plates that vehicle owners willingly pay additional money for.  This type of vehicle plate enables the owner to have their choice of letters or numbers that depict their initials, a recognisable phrase, or a catchy slogan.

There are a few considerations regarding private number plates that you should be aware of should you be contemplating purchasing one for your vehicle.  First and foremost, offensive phrases or words are not allowed by the DVLA on these types of plates and your request for such will not be approved.  Interestingly enough, in recent years the DVLA displayed some leniency and has released combinations of phrases and/or words which had previously been banned (e.g. DAM and SEX).

Although there are some restrictions involved with having a private number plate, the registration can be sold or transferred to another automobile or vehicle.  If you are planning on transferring your plate, the vehicle that the number is associated with (a.k.a. the “donor” vehicle) must have a valid MOT and V5 certificate.  This applies to vehicles that are over three years old.  However the tax disc must also be current in the past 6 months and can only have expired naturally.  In other words, it cannot have been cashed in.