Personalized plates are more popular than ever, but if your car is financed, you’ll need permission from your provider first.
Putting personalised plates on a car is more popular than ever, with lots of us keen to put our own stamp on our vehicles. If you own your car outright there’s nothing holding you back - but if your car is financed, you’ll need to follow a few rules and get permission from your finance provider before you can go ahead.
Personalised registration plates (also known as private plates or vanity plates) are registration numbers customised to be meaningful or to have a significance to the owner. They are typically made up of a combination of letters and numbers, and can represent names, initials, important dates or a specific phrase. For example: ‘JSM 1989’ could represent John Smith born in 1989.
If you want to put personalised number plates on your financed car, the steps you’ll need to take will depend on the type of finance agreement you have. Let’s take a look at the most common:
1. Personal loan/car loan (unsecured personal loan) – You can put personalised plates on cars bought with a personal loan with minimal fuss. The car is yours outright from the start as the loan is not secured against the vehicle, so you don’t need permission from the lender. You will, however, need to follow the standard process for registering private plates through the relevant authority and update your insurance provider.
2. Conditional sale (CS) – You can put personalised plates on a CS car, but you must first get permission from the finance company as the car belongs to them until the final payment has been made. Once permission is obtained you can apply for the private plates and the finance company will usually update their records.
3. Hire purchase (HP) – You can put personalised plates on an HP car but, as above, you will need to get permission as you don’t own the vehicle until the final payment is made. Ensure you get written permission from the finance provider and inform your insurance company of the change.
4. Personal contract purchase (PCP) – You can put plates on a PCP car but you will need permission. As with CS and HP, under PCP you do not own the vehicle until the final payment is made. Once you have approval you can follow the same steps as the other agreements but be aware that if you choose not to buy the car at the end of the agreement, you may need to return the car to its original registration.
5. Personal contract hire (PCH) – With a PCH agreement you are leasing the car for a set time with no prospect of ownership, so, again, you will need permission. If permission is granted you can go ahead and add the plates, but you will need to return the car to its original registration before returning it. The leasing company may also charge an admin fee to change the plates.
Read more about some of the most popular types of car finance in our helpful guide to car finance.
The first and most important thing to do is to obtain permission from your finance provider. It's highly recommended you get this in writing via email or letter to avoid any complications down the line. If approved, the provider will usually ask for the plate’s entitlement certificate and they’ll then update their records with the new registration number.
Next, you will need to update the nominee details for your new number plate. If the private plate wasn’t purchased by you or isn’t in your name, you’ll need to add yourself as the nominee. This can be done through the vehicle registration authority (the DVLA) online or by post. In order to do this you will need the V750 or V778 certificate of entitlement.
You must also send the vehicle’s logbook (V5C) and the approval from the finance company to the DVLA.
Once you’ve done all this, you’ll need to wait for confirmation that the transfer is complete. This confirmation can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to come through, and you should receive it once the private plate has been assigned to your chosen vehicle. The log book will also be updated with the new details and sent to you by the registration authority.
Now that you have the confirmation, the next step is to notify your insurance company of the change. Your insurance policy must be updated to reflect the new registration number – failure to notify your insurance provider could invalidate your coverage. You can usually do this through the insurer’s website, app or a customer service department.
Lastly, now all the relevant paperwork has been submitted and you are ready to change your plates, you will have to update any automatic payment accounts that are tied to your car's registration. These can include things such as parking permits, toll charges or congestion charges. Failure to do so could result in unwanted fines. You can update all of these by signing into the relevant websites or contacting the companies’ customer service departments.
Don’t forget to keep the old plates from your vehicle, as (depending on which type of finance agreement you have in place) you may need to replace them when you return the car.
Depending on the type of finance agreement you have in place, you may need to remove the plates and assign a standard registration plate to the car. To do this you’ll need to contact the vehicle registration authority and apply to ‘retain’ the private plate. This can be done online.
Once you’ve done that, the private plate can be removed from the car and you will either be provided with a new standard plate or be asked to replace the original plate. All of this can take a few weeks so it is important to start the process with enough time before the car is returned.
As we’ve seen, this process can vary depending on the type of car finance you have in place., Here is a summary of your options:
1. UPL/car loan – As you own the car from the start, it belongs to you, which means that the private plate also stays with you. You don’t need to do anything, unless you sell or transfer the plates.
2. PCP – If you choose not to purchase the car at the end of the agreement, you must remove the private plate and reassign the original plate, or a standard new one that will be issued by the DVLA. You can retain the private plates for use on your next car. If you choose to purchase the car by making the full payment, the plates remain with you and you don’t need to take any further action.
3. PCH – As you don’t and cannot own the car, the plates must be removed and replaced with the original plates or standard DVLA issued alternatives. Again, you can retain the private plates for use on a future vehicle.
4. HP and CP – For both of these agreements, once the final payments are made, you’ll own the vehicle and can continue using the private plates. You will only need to remove and obtain the private plates should you wish to sell or transfer the car.
The most important thing to remember is to make sure you leave enough time to retain or transfer the private plate if you’re not keeping the car, especially under PCP and PCH agreements.
