Can I keep my personalised number plate when scrapping my car?

You can usually keep a personalised number plate, but the registration must be successfully retained or transferred before the car is handed over or scrapped. DVLA states that once the vehicle has been scrapped, the number cannot be retained or transferred.

Take the private number off before collection

Apply through the official DVLA service while the vehicle still exists and meets the eligibility rules. The current fee is £80. If an online application is approved without an inspection, the removal is immediate, but that does not mean the car should be collected using its old plate and documents.

DVLA issues a V778 retention document and a replacement registration for the vehicle. The V778 preserves the right to the private number for ten years. DVLA says the replacement V5C can take four to six weeks, and its INF46 guidance says not to sell or transfer the vehicle before the replacement V5C arrives.

Which vehicles are eligible?

The vehicle must be registered with DVLA in the UK, available for inspection, able to move under its own power and be a type that needs an MOT or HGV test. It must have been taxed or covered by SORN continuously for the previous five years and be taxed or SORN now. If it has been SORN for more than five years, DVLA says it must be taxed and have an MOT certificate.

A non-runner can therefore fail the standard eligibility test. A historic vehicle also needs a current MOT for this application even when it is normally MOT-exempt. Contact DVLA before disposal rather than assuming a damaged, immobile or exempt car will be approved.

Q and QNI registrations and numbers marked non-transferable on the V5C cannot be retained through the ordinary process. If the vehicle is not in the applicant's name, the application has to be made by post. DVLA can also require an inspection before deciding.

What if the car is an insurance write-off?

Tell the insurer immediately that you want to retain the number. The insurer must keep the salvage available if DVLA wants to inspect it. Do not let the insurer or salvage agent destroy the vehicle before retention is complete, and obtain written confirmation of what will happen to the original and replacement registrations.

We can hold off collection while the application is processed and update our booking once the replacement registration is confirmed, but only DVLA can approve the retention or transfer.

Update the vehicle and insurance records

Once the number is removed, fit plates showing the replacement registration before any lawful road use and tell the insurer. Give Blackburn Scrap Yard the replacement registration and current V5C details so the quote, collection and DVLA notification are attached to the identity the vehicle now carries.

Keep the DVLA approval, V778, replacement V5C and any insurer correspondence. The physical number plates themselves do not preserve the right to the registration and should not be treated as evidence that the transfer succeeded. The separate guide explains what happens to the vehicle registration after scrapping.

When can the car be scrapped?

Arrange collection only after retention or transfer has been approved and the replacement vehicle details are ready for the handover. Blackburn Scrap Yard then records the replacement registration, completes the appropriate DVLA notification through the authorised route and supplies the collection confirmation.

Use the official DVLA private-number service and read the current INF46 registration guidance.