Car Registration
A registration plate displays a series of letters and numbers, in place to identify the car.
Car registrations are registered with the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) and are a mandatory requirement for all vehicles
However, let’s talk private, personal number plates and how to go about finding your dream plate and if you find that perfect plate, what happens next. When you purchase a private plate it means that you are going to purchase a private registration number and have it transferred to your vehicle in-place of the existing one. This will also include the need to purchase an actual Perspex plate. At Moonstone when you purchase one of our plates the cost of the actual plate is included in the price.
When your vehicle was registered originally the plate it displays is unique to that vehicle, it provide the following:
Identification.
Date of first registration.
Geographically where the vehicle was registered.
When you purchase a private plate the last two points mentioned above may no longer be relevant. Identification is however paramount. It’s a way of vehicle identification and it must be registered. You may wish to use your new plate to hide the age of the vehicle, some people do. But hopefully it’s because you want your dream plate to be saying something about you, your name, your occupation, your wife’s name. The list goes on.
Car registration formats
There have been many car registration formats over the years and due to the sheer number of cars on the road today it has been necessary to increase the combinations that are made available.
In the early years number plates would just display one or two letters, then came the introduction of up to four digits which provided information on the region and the local authority that had issued the registration. After this came the Suffix format and then the prefix format.
Suffix: Displaying a letter at the end of the registration. The letter would identify the year in which it’s accompanying vehicle was first registered. Unfortunately the combinations available became exhausted rather quickly so it was then decided to put the letter at the beginning of the registration, this format being named a
Prefix style registration. This was introduced by the DVLA in August of 1983.
In 2001 the system was changed again where you will see that the year the vehicle was registered is featured in the middle of the plate, this format is used on all vehicles today.
Other formats that our featured on Moonstone will be
Cherished: Cherished plates are a mix of different styles that are pre-owned and being promoted on Moonstone on behalf of our clients.
Current: Current plates are un-issued plates that were issued to new vehicles since September in 2001. The numbers featured on the plate are in place to identify the age of the vehicle.
Dateless: You have probably heard of timeless fashions, where the style of a garment can’t be attributed to any particular year. Well that is a good analogy in describing dateless plates. In short dateless plates provide you with a registration that does not contain a year identifier or the numerical code used in the current vehicle registration format.
If you have any difficulty in understanding the formats that are available to you and wish to know more before committing to a purchase, we are only to happy to help. One of our helpful team is waiting.
Future Releases: This is your opportunity to purchase a number plate that will be issued for the very first time. Some of the new releases that become available to purchase are great for making up names, words. You will have the opportunity to use numbers that could be viewed as letters and vice versa. You will be able to register with Moonstone if you would like to be informed on the availability of plates in the future, we would contact you prior the new releases being issued.
The V5C registration document
All cars are issued with a V5C registration document. It’s like your vehicles birth certificate. This document will feature your vehicles registration plate information. All changes made to your vehicle including a number plate change will be logged on this document. It is of paramount importance that the document is always kept up to date. This is a paper document that is issued by the DVLA and should always be in the vehicle keeper’s possession. It is used to confirm proof of vehicle ownership.
How to transfer car registrations
Even though the process is very straightforward to follow, here at Moonstone, if you so wish we will complete the process on your behalf. There are three transfers that could be undertaken, they are as follows: Transferring a car registration between vehicles, a transfer from a retention document or certificate of vehicle entitlement and finally a transfer from a vehicle to a retention document where the plate owner is looking to store the registration plate (number) until it will be assigned to a vehicle in the future.
How to retain car registrations on certificate.
If you are looking to store the plate, then it is important that you take advantage of the DVLA retention scheme. This scheme allows you to keep the said registration in the form of a certificate and when you find the vehicle to house the registration you simply complete a registration transfer.
How to transfer a private number plate or vehicle registration, between vehicles.
In order to follow stringent government rules and regulations and how to transfer a private plate, the following guidelines must be adhered to: Both vehicles must be: *registered with the DVLA. * available for inspection. * mobile. * a vehicle that requires an MOT or HGV certificate. * a vehicle that has been taxed OR been registered with a off road notification certificate known as SORN for a minimum period of 5 years without interruption. If both vehicles have been off the road for more than 5 years they will need to be taxed and may need to be inspected.
It is important to note that you will need to complete form V317 which can be downloaded from the official DVLA website and also a transfer fee of £80 must also be paid to the DVLA.
For details in where to send the documentation and payment please visit the DVLA website.
DVLA registrations
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is the organisation in the UK government that are responsible for maintaining a database of drivers in Great Britain, it also has a database on all vehicles in the UK. Another role of the DVLA is to issue new registration numbers. There is usually a scheduled sequence that the DVLA adhere to however some numbers are actually held back from purchasing options due to censorship and commercial reasons.
Please note that we are required to make it clear that Moonstone Plates have no affiliation with the DVLA. They are referred to on this website as the authority that governs our operation as a commercial Car Registration number Plate supplier.
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Additionally, plates must conform to a set of specifications relating to colour; size; reflectivity; decoration and character size, font and spacing. Failing to comply with display regulations can result in MOT failure, a fine and permanent loss of the registration number concerned.
Another consideration when purchasing personalised number plates is the compatibility of the vehicle and the registration number. It is illegal to make an older car look younger with a registration that uses a year code later than the original date of the car. So, for example it is not legal to display a current style ‘19’ number plate on a vehicle that is older than the year 2019 but is legal to display it on 2020 vehicles etc.
