Personalised Number Plates

What are Personalised Number Plates?

Personalised number plates convey in some form or the other the identity of the owner. They are deliberately designed by the owner, albeit adhering to the UK registration systems. Personalised number plates are also called private number plates or cherished plates.

What Is The UK Registration System?

The officially permitted requirements stipulate that each number plate should have seven characters. The characters starting from left to right should follow the following chronological order.

1. A two letter area code; the first letter pertaining to the region and the second to the local registration office.
2. A two digit (numeric) age identifier. This is generally the last two digits of the year of registration, for example, "06" for 2006.
3. A random three letter sequence for unique identification.

How Personalised Number Plates Work?

Numbers which resemble letters in combination with actual letters are made to represent names of individuals or places. This combination is unavoidable as the UK registration system, as explained above, does not allow more than three consecutive letters in a number plate.

As an example, the letter E resembles the number 3, although in a reverse way and the number 4 can be made to look like the letter A. So, the number B34 CON can be formed to look like BEACON, which can very well be a brand name or a trade mark of the vehicle owner's company. The possibilities are immense, if left to the imagination.

How To Get A Personalised Number Plate?

You need not keep a number plate allocated to your car if you so desire. You can purchase a different registration number and transfer it to your vehicle. The process is quite simple. You need to search for a new number of your choice and transfer it to your vehicle. On the other hand, you can sell the registration number owned by you to someone who takes a liking to it.

How Is This Done?

All you need to do is approach a specialist company to do all your formalities and paperwork. Trading in registration numbers is not difficult, but you need to adhere to a set official process. This is inevitable since the number plate displays the registration of the vehicle bought by you. The United Kingdom laws are very stringent and do not compromise on the rules governing the number plates.

Here are some other pointers for you to note.

• Both the transferor and the transferee vehicles need to pay current road tax and MOT.
• Even if you do not have a taxed and insured vehicle, it is still possible for you to purchase a personalised number plate. This is possible by using what is called a retention certificate. This certificate entitles you to display your personalised number until the number plate is made available to you. The certificate has a validity of 12 months and is renewable.

Displaying Number Plates

The United Kingdom registration requires that registrations are displayed on acrylic plastic plates. The personalised number plates will have to be designed within the specified rules and regulations.