We have the answers to some common questions about buying, selling, transferring, and owning a personalised registration plate.

• How do I buy a personalised registration plate?
• How do I sell my private registration plate?
• I’m scrapping my car. Can I keep my personalised registration plate?
• What happens to my private registration plate if my car is stolen?
• What happens to my personalised registration plate if my car is a write-off?
• My MOT and / or tax has run out. Can I keep my personalised registration plate

There are lots of ways to buy a private registration plate. You’ll see hundreds listed in national newspapers and various car magazines. These are usually offered for sale by number plate dealers, though you may find the occasional private advertisement too. See where can I buy a personal number plate? for lots more ideas.

Finding a personalised registration plate to buy is the most difficult part. With so many personal registration plates for sale, it’s hard to choose the one that’s right for you. Budget is usually the main deciding factor, but you can usually make the most of that budget if you hunt around for the best deals.

We’ve also put together a guide to buying a personalised registration plate.

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Selling a personalised registration plate can be pretty straightforward.

You’ll need to make some decisions on the way that’s right for you. Should you put the registration plate on retention, or leave it on the car? Should you sell ‘on commission’ via a dealer, or privately (cutting out the middle man)? You may, of course, also have the option to sell direct to a dealer. See more on how to sell a personalised car number plate for answers to some common questions.

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If you’re thinking of scrapping your car, but want to keep the registration plate you will need to apply to retain the personalised registration plate. The same rules still apply regarding MOT and tax. You should make sure you do this before the car is scrapped. Once a Certificate of Destruction has been completed, the registration number will be lost.

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Many of cars stolen each year will not be recovered. So what happens to your personalised registration plate if that happens?

As well as informing the police that your car has been stolen, you should also inform the DVLA. You can recover your private registration plate, provided you follow a few basic steps. You will need to wait 12 months before you can reclaim the registration plate. See stolen cars and personalised registration plates for more detail.

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If you’re unfortunate enough to be in an accident, there’s a possibility that your car may be declared as an insurance write-off. That means the damage to the car is beyond economical repair. If this happens, you must ensure that you follow the correct procedure to avoid losing your private registration plate. It’s important to keep in touch with your insurance company, and agree the retention of the registration plate before the claim is settled, or you could risk losing your private registration.

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If your MOT or tax has run out, you may still be able to retain your private registration plate. It depends on a number of other factors. See how to retain a personalised number plate for more detail.

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