If you have leased a car and have a private number plate or are thinking about getting one then the good news is that you will be able to put the registration on your vehicle. Take a look at our guide below for all the information you will need to know about private number plates and how you can put one on your lease car. If you already have a private number plate then you can skip down to When Can I Add My Private Number Plate?
A private number plate is sometimes referred to as a personalised number plate or cherished number plate.
This is a number plate that is uniquely designed and does not need to follow the usual age plate format.
You can choose from a selection of registration numbers that are available to buy.
If you do not already have a private number plate you will need to:
Please be aware that there are a few rules about putting a private registration on your new car. You can view the full list of restrictions on the DVLA's website but the ones that could apply to your lease car are:
Please be aware that when you apply for a personalised plate the DVLA ask that the vehicle be available for inspection if required. They will let you know if this is necessary.
How Do I Buy a Private Plate?
There are a number of ways that you can buy a private registration:
When you are changing the registration on your lease vehicle to a private registration number then you will need to have number plates made for the new registration.
If you already have the plates then you will just need to wait until your funder confirms the change has been processed with the DVLA before putting them on.
If you have just purchased the registration number and need to have plates made it will be up to you to do this and the plates will need to be put on the vehicle as soon as the funder has confirmed that the registration has been changed.
You can only get number plates made from a registered plate supplier. Please check the DVLA’s site for your nearest supplier.
When having the plates made up you will need to take original documents that:
It will be your responsibility to pay for the plates to be made.
With a lease vehicle you will need to wait until the vehicle is live on the funder's system before you can arrange for a private registration number to be assigned to the vehicle and then use your personalised plates.
Once the vehicle has been delivered it will then be set live on the funder’s system. Please be aware that it may be a few days after delivery that your vehicle goes live on their system as we need to receive the delivery paperwork from the dealership and then pass this onto the funder.
We usually advise waiting until your initial payment has been taken before contacting your funder as the lease needs to be live before they can request this payment.
Even if we have arranged your current lease we will not be able to arrange for your private number plate to be transferred to the new lease vehicle before delivery as it can delay the delivery process.
The cost for putting a personalised registration on your lease vehicle varies between funder. It is best to check directly with them to confirm the charges, but you may also find more information on your funder’s guide below.
We have spoken to our main funders to get a little more information from each of them on their process. Just click your funder below to see what advice they give and what you will need to do in order to have your private number plate assigned to your lease car.
If your vehicle is funded through manufacturer finance then you will need to contact them directly, and the contact details are listed further down the page for you.
ALD
In order to put your private number plate on your vehicle ALD ask you to get in touch with them and provide the below:
Once the private registration has been assigned to your vehicle you will then be able to put your number plates on the car.
ALD advise there is an admin fee of £48 for this process and this will be payable within 28 days of their invoice being raised and issued to you.
Alphabet
In order to add your private registration number to your vehicle Alphabet need your certificate of entitlement (V750) or retention certificate (V778) completed as per the below instructions:
Section 1 -
Section 6 - sign and date
This form should be sent to them at:
Cherished Plate Team,
Alphabet GB Ltd,
PO Box 1295,
Boongate,
Peterborough,
PE1 9QW
Along with the form you will need to send a cheque or postal order for £14.40 made payable to Alphabet for their admin fee. Without payment the change of registration will not be processed.
You will also need to confirm the address or email address you would like the completed paperwork sent to.
Arval
Once your vehicle is delivered you will need to contact Arval directly to receive a personalised guide to their cherished plate process. This is because the guides they issue are unique to each registration number to make it even easier for you to follow. You can call them on 01793884455 to request this.
Arval advise that there will be an admin fee of £24 to put a private number plate on your lease vehicle.
Hitachi
Before you can put a private number plate on your Hitachi lease vehicle you will need to put the registration number on retention with the Nominee as Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions.
Once the vehicle has been delivered you will need to contact Hitachi’s Fleet Compliance Team on 03444632900 (option 1, then 4, then 2) or Fleetadmin@hitachicapital.co.uk and they will let you know where you need to send your certificate of entitlement (V750) or retention certificate (V778).
Hitachi advise that they have an admin fee of £25 and there may also be a charge from the DVLA.
LeasePlan
In order to put your private registration number plate on the vehicle LeasePlan will require a copy of your certificate of entitlement (V750) or the retention certificate (the V778) with sections 1 and 6 signed by the grantee / purchaser.
You will need to contact LeasePlan to get a copy of their retention checklist, which you will also need to print and complete.
The original documents will then need to be posted to LeasePlan at the below address:
Vehicle Administration Department,
LeasePlan UK Ltd,
165 Bath Road,
Slough,
Berkshire,
SL1 4AA
They recommend sending the documents via special or recorded delivery.
Along with posting the original documents you will need to make a payment to LeasePlan of £42 for their admin fee. This will need to be paid via credit / debit card online and when you contact LeasePlan they will be able to provide details of how you can do this.
Once LeasePlan have received both the documents and payment they will confirm this via email within 48 hours.They advise once you have received this email it will usually take around 15 working days for your private registration to be assigned to the vehicle. They will email you again to let you know the process is completed, and this email will include a number plate authorisation certificate (eV948) and a letter of confirmation so that you can get new plates made up if needed.
Leasys
In order to arrange for your personalised plate to be added to the vehicle you will need to send Leasys your certificate of entitlement (V750) or retention certificate (V778) completed as below:
Section 1:
Section 6 – Sign and date
Please do not fill in any other sections. These will be completed by Leasys if needed.
Once the document has been completed you will then need to email it across to leasys@hudsonkapel.com.
Leasys advise there is an admin fee of £50 plus VAT. This will be charged to your account so you will not need to make a separate payment for this.
Once the registration has been changed Leasys will be in touch with you to advise that this has been authorised and you will need to change the plates.
Lex
You will need to contact Lex’s Cherished Plate Team directly in order to get a copy of their number plate assignment guide, which will walk you through the process of putting a private number plate on your lease vehicle. You can reach the team by calling 03448240706 (option 3).
Lex advise that there will be an admin fee of £60 for putting your private registration number on the vehicle.
Wessex Fleet
If your lease is funded through Wessex Fleet then you will need to send them your completed certificate of entitlement (V750) or retention certificate (V778) with the nominee details filled in with Wessex Fleet’s information. If you need to check anything when completing the form you can call their Customer Services Team on 01722322888 (option 3).
This form should be sent to the below address:
Wessex Fleet,
Wilton Shopping Village,
Wilton,
Salisbury,
SP2 0RS
There would be a £75 admin fee for putting your private registration number on the vehicle. If you decide you would like to put a personalised number plate on the vehicle please get in touch with Wessex Fleet and they will advise you on how to make payment for this.
If you have any more questions about adding your private registration number to your lease vehicle then you will need to speak to your funder directly.
Just click below to see a list of finance companies and their contact details.
Contact Details
If your lease company is not listed above just give us a call and we can provide these for you.
When it’s time to return your lease vehicle you will need to arrange for the private plate to be removed before collection. For more information on returning your car just take a look at our End of Lease Guide.
To arrange for your private registration to be removed you will usually need to get in touch with the same team you contacted to have the plate added. Some of our funders have also provided us with information on this process for you as well. Just take a look below to see this advice.
Depending on your funder it can take up to six weeks for the private registration to be removed and put on retention for you with the DVLA. Please make sure you allow enough time before the end of your lease for this to be done prior to arranging collection as some funders will not arrange collection with the private number plate still on the vehicle.
Please be aware that the DVLA charges £80 for the plate to be removed and your funder may also have an admin fee for the process.
ALD
ALD advise that you will need to contact them a minimum of six weeks before the end of your contract to arrange for your private registration number to be removed from the vehicle.
To arrange for the registration to be put on retention your will need to send them the V317 with the below completed:
The form will then need to be sent to them at either Maintenance.admin@aldautomotive.com or posted to the below address:
ALD Automotive Ltd,
Oakwood Drive,
Emerson’s Green,
Bristol,
BS16 7LB
Please be aware that if you are going to email a copy of the document to ALD it will need to be as a PDF. They cannot accept photos of the document.
ALD will invoice the DVLA’s £80 transfer fee to you.
Please note that ALD will not arrange collection if the private registration is still on the vehicle. They will only be able to do this once the age-related plate is returned to the vehicle.
Alphabet
In order to arrange for your private registration number to be put on retention you will need to contact Alphabet to get a copy of the V317 application form. You will need to complete this form and not the DVLA's online version as the online system will automatically make Alphabet the grantee and owner of the number plate.
This form will need to be completed as per the below instructions:
Please send the completed form to the below address:
Cherished Plate Team,
Alphabet GB Ltd,
PO Box 1295,
Boongate,
Peterborough,
PE1 9QW
Along with this you will need to send a cheque for £80 made payable to the DVLA and a cheque for £14.40 payable to Alphabet GB LTD for their admin fee.
Please note that the vehicle will also need to have a valid MOT if it is over three years old for Alphabet to be able to process your retention request.
Alphabet advise this process can take up to three weeks so you need to allow time for this before you can arrange collection.
Arval
When you near the end of the lease you will need to contact Arval again to arrange for your private registration number to be removed from the vehicle. You can contact their Cherished Plate Team on 01793884455.
Please be aware that there will be a charge of £80 from the DVLA, and Arval advise that if you did not pay their admin fee of £24 when assigning the registration to your vehicle it will be charged at this stage.
Hitachi
When you near the end of your lease you will need to get in touch with Hitachi again to arrange for the number plate to be put on retention.
You will need to contact their Fleet Compliance Team on 03444632900 (option 1, then 4, then 2) or email them on Fleetadmin@hitachicapital.co.uk.
There will be an £80 fee from the DVLA for the plate to be put on retention. When you contact Hitachi they will advise you on how this can be paid and if they have a fee for the process.
LeasePlan
LeasePlan ask that you contact them at least six weeks prior to the end of your contract to arrange for your private number plate to be removed as this will need to be done before they can arrange collection of the vehicle. Their contact number is 03444935812 and you'll need to select option 4.
They will then let you know what you need to do to put your private registration on retention and any administration charges involved with this.
There will be an £80 fee from the DVLA for the process.
Leasys
In order to arrange for your private number plate to be put on retention you will need to contact Leasys to arrange for a V317 application form to be completed.
Please be aware that you will need to get in touch with them at least six weeks before you need to arrange collection as the retention process may take this long.
There will be a charge of £80 from the DVLA to put the private registration on retention and Leasys charge an admin fee of £50 + VAT for this process as well.
Lex
Lex advise that they will need eight weeks’ notice that you need to remove your private number plate before your lease is due to end. This is to ensure the retention process with the DVLA is completed and there is still time to arrange collection before the end of the contract.
You will need to download the V317 form from the DVLA’s website and complete the below:
You will then need to send the completed form to the below address:
Cherished Team,
Fleet Admin Department,
Lex Autolease,
Blake House,
Hatchford Way,
Birmingham,
B26 3RZ
Along with the completed form you will also need to send a cheque payable to the DVLA for £80. You will need to check with Lex if they have an admin fee for the retention process.
Wessex Fleet
When it comes to the end of the lease you will need to put your registration number on retention if you would like to keep it.
In order to do this, you will need to download the V317 form from the DVLA’s website, complete this and post it to Wessex Fleet at the below address:
Wessex Fleet,
Wilton Shopping Village,
Wilton,
Salisbury,
SP2 0RS
Please note that there will be £75 admin fee from Wessex Fleet as well as the DVLA charge of £80. Please get in touch with Wessex Fleet to arrange for these payments to be made.
What is an age plate?
An age plate is the age related number plate that is assigned to a vehicle in line with the year it was first registered.
This is usually the registration plate that would have been assigned to the vehicle when it was first delivered.
When you remove your private number plate the vehicle will need to have the age related plate put back on the vehicle.
Transferring the number plate
You will need to arrange for the number plate to be removed from the vehicle and transferred to your new vehicle. Please see the above guides for removing your private registration or get in touch with your funder to confirm their process for this.
Insurance
You will need to inform your insurance company of the change of registration once this is processed by your funder, both when you put the private plate on and when you take it off.
Check out one of our helpful guides or our explaination of leasing to get all your questions answered.
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