Private number plates, personalised plates, cherished regs: they all mean a registration mark chosen to mean something. We do not sell the marks themselves. We make the road legal plates that display them, which is the step people forget after the paperwork is done.
Buying a private registration
Registration marks come from DVLA auctions, DVLA's own sales, or dealers and private sellers. Whichever route you take, you end up with one of two documents:
- V750 – a certificate of entitlement. It proves the mark is yours but is not yet on a vehicle.
- V778 – a retention document, if the mark has been taken off a vehicle and is being held for you.
If the mark is already on your vehicle, the registration is shown on your V5C logbook. DVLA's website is the authority on transfers, fees and how long they take; the rules change, so always check there before selling or moving a mark.
Putting the reg on your car
To display the registration, DVLA has to assign it to the vehicle and issue an updated V5C. Until that has happened, plates made with the new reg are not valid for the road. If the mark is currently on another vehicle, it usually has to be taken off and retained first.
Once the transfer is done, tell your insurer. Insurers quote and record vehicles by registration, and an unrecorded plate change can cause problems if the car is stolen or stopped.
Getting the plates made
A DVLA registered supplier has to see two things before making road legal plates:
- Photo ID – driving licence or passport.
- Proof you can use the registration – the V5C showing the reg, a V750, a V778, or a V62 or V948.
After you order in the plate builder we email a link to upload both. Plates go into production once they are checked.
Short regs and short plates
A private reg with six characters or fewer can go on a short plate (408 x 106 mm), which suits cars with a narrow recess. The characters still have to be full size with the correct margins, so a plate with too many characters, or a badge added, will not fit the short size legally. The builder checks this as you type.
Displaying a private plate legally
The rules do not relax because the reg is personal:
- No altered spacing, italics, non-legal fonts or symbols to make a word or name.
- 79 mm characters with 11 mm spacing and margins on cars.
- White front, yellow rear, BS AU 145e, supplier name and postcode printed on the plate.
- Fixings must not change how a character reads.
Plates that break these rules can fail an MOT and attract a police fixed penalty, and DVLA can withdraw a registration that is displayed illegally. The number plate rules guide has the detail.
What to do when you sell the car
If you want to keep the registration, apply to DVLA to retain it before the vehicle is sold or traded in. If it goes with the car, the new keeper gets it. Either way, the plates stay with the vehicle unless you agree otherwise with the buyer.
Build plates for your private reg
Published 24 October 2026