Registrations
Registrations are not items of property in their own right, and what is actually being purchased from the DVLA or a secondary market trader is the 'rights to display' particular acrylic number plates on your vehicle. Regardless of where you actually buy your registration, it must be assigned to your vehicle using DVLA assignment or the Cherished Transfer Scheme.
There are two different ways to buy registrations;
- Buy from DVLA direct through DVLA telesales or DVLA Auctions (held 5 or 6 times a year)
- Buy from the secondary market; a Cherished Numbers Dealer
Both options are very suitable but equally there are points to watch out for.
The method of completing a Cherished Transfer is to collate the necessary documents, these being:
- Buying from the DVLA
If you buy your private plates from the DVLA telesales direct or a DVLA auction, then you will have to acquire the physical number plates elsewhere (the high street) in addition to understanding and complying with the assignment or cherished transfer scheme. The DVLA do not deal in private registrations that have already been purchased or assigned throughout the history of British car registrations and so they are unable to perform an archive search or contact present owners of previously issued registrations on your behalf. - Buying from a reputable Cherished Numbers Dealer
If you buy your registration from a cherished numbers dealer in the secondary market then they will often perform the legal transfer on your behalf and even supply the physical number plates. If you are buying a registration that is currently un-issued, you should make sure that you shop around as many dealers in the secondary market add significant mark up on the price that the DVLA has set as the sale value. However, if you are buying a registration that has previously been issued then make sure that you buy from a reputable and established secondary market trader.