Can I put a private registration plate on a Lease Car?

YES! You can put a private plate on a lease car.

The procedure is a little bit different to normal.

We’ve created this handy guide to putting a private plate on a leased car, van, or pickup.

The 5 step process of putting a private plate on a leased car is as follows:

1) Purchase a personalised number plate

Firstly, source your personalised [cherished] regostration number from the DVLA online, an auction, or a registration plate broker, the choice is yours.

You may of course already have a personalised number plate which is on retention. The next step is to assign the cherished number to your lease car, but this process is slightly different from the norm.

2) On the V778 Retention Document - fill in the “Nominee Details”

The finance company is named as the owner on the vehicle’s V5 certificate, they, therefore, must also be named as the nominee on the license plate certificate as well.

In the Nominee Details section of the V778 Retention Document, you will need to write down the name of the finance company, such as “Hyundai Financial Services Ltd” for example. It is vitally important that you get this right to avoid any problems further down the line.

3) Post your documents to the DVLA

You will need to post it to the DVLA. when the Nominee details on the document have been completed, The finance company name will then be printed in the Nominee section of the document, which is on the left-hand side.

The address to send your documents is: DVLA Personalised Registrations, Swansea, SA99 1DS

(please check this when you have your form)

4) Assign the private plate to the lease car

a. Option 1 – Plate On Car Before Delivery

Your (V778) Retention Document will be sent you by post (allow up to 4 weeks), when received you will then need to send it to the lease administration team (broker) who will have your plate put on your car before it is delivered to you.

It is important to note when putting your cherished plate on the car before you take delivery, this will slow down the delivery process.

b. Option 2 – Plate On Car After Delivery

Alternatively, have your vehicle delivered to you and then arrange for your plate to be transferred, there will be a small admin charge made by the lease company and this will need to be done when the V5 registration document has been provided to them from the DVLA after registration. If you want your lease car as quickly as possible, this is the most preferred option.

The process for this is as follows:

- Send the Retention Document (V778) to the finance company
- Get the new number plate printed and fitted yourself, or get them to fit it for you

5) At the end of the contract

When your contract ends you must take the plate off the car before it is returned to the lease company. You must liaise with your finance provider and do this at least six weeks prior to the end of your lease contract, to ensure there is enough time.

To remove your private plate from your lease vehicle, you must send the following to your finance provider:

- A cheque for £105 made payable to the DVLA
- A covering letter confirming the nominee details
- The administration fee (this varies, but is usually around £35 plus VAT)

Once received, you will be sent a letter of acknowledgment. If anything is missing, you will be sent a letter requesting the documents that are missing, along with a pre-paid envelope and how long it will take.

Once the DVLA has changed the registration number for the vehicle on their records, and the appropriate documentation has been sent back to you, you must update the car’s number plate immediately. After this, you have the option of putting your plate on Retention, or you can assign it to your new car straight away.