Car Leasing Myth Busters #6: Can I Put a Private Plate on My Lease Car?
Kick starting this myth busting blog with the answer from the start: YES, your put your private plate on any leased vehicle.
Don't worry, that isn't the end of this blog post. Whilst the process of putting your private (aka cherished) plate on a leased vehicle requires a few additional steps, it is still incredibly straight forward. A lot of people opt to do it. In fact, many of the Pendle Team have done it themselves, making us self-proclaimed experts.
How does it work?
First things first you obviously have to own the plate you are wanting to put on the car. If you don't own it, well that would be cloning a vehicle... The number plate must be on retention, which means you have a certificate showing your ownership and it is not currently assigned to another vehicle. A form V750 is your certificate of entitlement, and a form V778 is your retention document.
When putting a private plate on a car you actually own, you would normally need the log book (V5C) and the retention certificate for the private plate. Heading over to the DVLA website, you would simply complete an online application by inputting all the required reference numbers, pay a small fee to them and within a few weeks you will be notified that the number plate is now on the car. You can then get a set of plates made up, your insurance updated, and away you drive.
When you lease a vehicle, you do not receive a copy of the log book/V5C as you are not the registered keeper. This gets sent to the finance company who are the legal owners.
Additional steps for a leased vehicle
Your first port of call would be us (or your broker if you decided not to use us). We can only speak for ourselves, but as the broker we know how to advise you and provide you with the relevant information. The process differs ever so slightly dependent on the finance company your vehicle is leased with, but the process is near identical.
The first step will be to have the finance company added as a nominee on the retention document. Looking at your document, you will see a section for the grantee, which is you. And a section for the nominee. As the broker, we will provide you with the exact details that need adding as grantee and what boxes need signing. A clear scanned copy of the document is sufficient and the original is not required.
The finance companies typically charge an administration fee for putting on a private plate. But there is no fee to pay us.
Once they are in receipt of that, the finance company will take care of the rest and sort everything out with the DVLA. They will then notify you once the documentation is sorted and the plate can be put on your vehicle.
Taking the plate off
Incredibly easy: do these steps in reverse.
Notify your broker that you want the plate off. And everything will be done for you and a new retention certificate will be posted out so that you keep your number plate. It is important to remember that your private plate MUST be taken off of the vehicle before it is collected at the end of the lease.
Pendle Lease are on hand to help with this every step of the way. Whenever a request is received, you will be sent over a full instruction pack for your specific finance company that will also detail any fees charged.
