Can You Put a Private Plate on a Lease Car?
Are you looking to put a private plate on a lease car but are unsure of the rules and steps to do so? Read our guide below so that you’re in the know when it comes to putting your own personalised plate on a lease car.
What Is a Private Registration Plate?
A private registration plate or also known as a personalised plate is a unique vehicle registration number chosen by the driver. Private plates allow drivers to put their own spin on their cars by having a more memorable and personalised registration plate.
It’s also worth knowing that there are limits as to what you can have on a private plate, the DVLA doesn’t allow any rude, offensive or inappropriate registration plates.
What Are the DVLA’s Guidelines?
There are a number of guidelines in place to restrict any inappropriate or offensive number plates on the road.
The DVLA’s guidelines are as follows:
- You can’t have a plate beginning with ‘Q’ or ‘NIQ’
- You can’t assign a plate to a ‘Q’ registered vehicle
- You can’t assign a plate that makes the vehicle appear newer than what it is, so you can’t use an ‘09’ plate on an ‘05’ vehicle
- Any plates the DVLA deems rude, offensive or inappropriate will be banned
If a private plate doesn’t meet any of these guidelines, it will be invalid and regarded as illegal. This could result in your private plate being taken from you with an additional £1000 fine.
How Do I Buy a Private Registration Plate?
The DVLA website has millions of plates available for sale or there are numerous other plate providers that buy and sell private registrations, such as Absolute Reg.
Private plates can be quite pricey and can set you back hundreds or even thousands of pounds to acquire, so make sure you’re absolutely certain of the plate you want.
How Do I Add a Private Plate to My Lease Car?
Adding a private plate to a lease car is quite straightforward but requires several steps before you can drive your new lease car with your personalised plate attached. Pendle Lease are here to help you through the process.
If you follow these steps, you’re sure to avoid any fines or trouble from the insurance company.
Ask Permission From the Finance Company
As you do not own the car that you’re leasing, being able to apply a private registration plate is purely down to the discretion of the finance company you have leased the car from. All of the finance companies that Pendle Lease use allow customers to add a private registration. Pendle Lease can obtain the instructions for you.
Update the Nominee Details
You need to update the nominee details with your finance company when getting permission to apply your private registration plate.
The finance company will inform you of the correct address to put down in the V778 form or the V750 form - A V778 is a retention document that is an A4 green piece of paper and a V750 is a Certificate of Entitlement and is an A4 pink piece of paper.
For more details on this process, visit the DVLA website.
Send the Documents to the Finance Provider
Whether you need to update the V778 or the V750, the new document must be sent to your finance company. These can be posted or scanned to them. All of the contact details for the finance company will be provided on the instructions. A DVLA transfer fee is payable by yourself, and an admin fee may be charged by the finance company. Pendle Lease do not charge you a fee for assisting in the process!
The finance company will then send off the completed documents to the DVLA to complete the transfer.
Confirm the Transfer Is Complete
Before applying your registration plates, you need to wait for confirmation that the transfer is complete. The DVLA will then send a written confirmation to you to confirm this.
You will also need to inform your insurance company of a registration number change before you drive the car.
What Happens When My Lease Contract Ends?
When your lease contract ends, you’ll have to remove your private plate from the vehicle.
Six weeks before the end of your lease contract, you should contact your finance provider explaining that you would like to remove and retain your private plate. They will then complete a V317 and send that to the DVLA.
If this process is completed before the end of your lease, you’ll need to swap back to the original number plate and inform your insurance provider of the registration change.
What if I’ve Purchased the Lease Car?
If you have decided to purchase your lease car at the end of its lease, you do not need to remove your private plates because the car now belongs to you. The DVLA will already be aware of which plates are on your car.
Remember to have the finance provider hand over the car’s logbook to you.
Still Looking for the Perfect Lease Car?
If you’re still on the hunt for a lease car to host your private plates, take a look at our selection of car leasing deals.
From an extensive group of premium brands such as Volkswagen, Renault, and BMW, we’re confident we’ll have the wheels for you.
