NUMBERPLATERWhat documents do you need to buy a number plate?
To buy a road-legal number plate in the UK you need two documents: one proving your entitlement to the registration, and one proving your identity. That's not our policy — it's the law for every DVLA-registered plate supplier. Here are the full accepted-document lists (the same ones our checkout uses), the rule about originals, and exactly what happens to your documents once you've uploaded them.
Why the law requires this
Number plates can only be supplied by businesses on the DVLA's Register of Number Plate Suppliers — supplying plates without being registered is illegal. A registered supplier must verify your entitlement to the registration and your identity before making a plate, and must keep records of those checks for at least three years, open to inspection by the DVLA, the police and Trading Standards. The point of all this is simple: making it hard to get a plate made for a registration that isn't yours. We're registered as RNPS No. 75456, and the reasoning behind the whole system is covered in why suppliers ask for ID.
Document 1: proof of entitlement
This shows the registration is yours to display. For most buyers it's one of the first few on this list:
- V5C or V5C/NI registration certificate (logbook)
- Green ‘new keeper’ slip from a V5C/NI
- V750 certificate of entitlement
- V778 retention document
- Official DVLA confirmation letter
- V11 or V11/NI tax or SORN renewal reminder
- V379 or V379/NI temporary registration certificate
- V948 authorisation certificate with an official DVLA stamp
- eV948 or eV948/2 electronic authorisation certificate
- Fleet, lease or hire authorisation letter quoting the V5C document reference
- VVR PDF (‘V5C on demand’ or V5C-suppression fleets)
- UK trailer registration certificate (VTRC)
If your registration is on a certificate rather than a vehicle — a V750 or V778 — that certificate is your entitlement document. How those certificates work is covered in our retention & transfer guide.
Document 2: proof of identity
One document confirming who you are:
- Driving licence (photocard)
- Passport
- Utility, Council Tax or rates bill from the last 6 months
- Bank or building society statement from the last 6 months
- National identity card
- Bank or building society debit or credit card
- Police warrant card
- Armed Forces identity card
The originals rule
Send clear original documentation — copies and screenshots aren’t accepted.
What we need to see is the genuine document itself, clearly legible — the document reference, the registration and your name readable without guesswork. Copies of copies and cropped screenshots are the main reason a check can't be completed first time.
How our check works
- You upload at checkout. Both documents go in before you place the order — no chasing by message afterwards, no order stuck in limbo.
- We check the same day in most cases. A person verifies that the entitlement document matches the registration you've ordered and that the identity document matches the buyer.
- You're not charged until verification passes. Payment is only taken once your documents clear — and only then is your plate made.
- Your documents are protected. They're encrypted, used only for verification, held securely for the record-keeping period, and then securely erased. The law requires plate suppliers to keep verification records for at least three years; we keep ours for six as a business best-practice choice (in line with the Limitation Act 1980) — that's our decision, not a DVLA requirement.
If a document can't be read
An unreadable upload isn't a rejection. If a document is blurred, cropped or too dark to verify, we ask again — you'll get a secure re-upload link so you can send clear original documentation without redoing the order. Your plate is only made once both documents pass, which protects you as much as it protects the system: it's the check that makes the plate on your car a legal one. For what the finished plate itself must comply with, see are 4D number plates legal?
Quick answers
Why do I need documents to buy a number plate?
Because it's the law. Number plates can only be supplied by DVLA-registered businesses, and registered suppliers must verify your entitlement to the registration and your identity before making a plate. Any seller who skips the check isn't following the rules.
What documents do I need?
Two things: one document proving entitlement to the registration (most commonly the V5C logbook, the green new-keeper slip, a V750 or a V778) and one proving your identity (most commonly a photocard driving licence or passport). The full accepted lists are on this page.
When am I charged?
Not until verification passes. You upload at checkout, we check your documents — same day in most cases — and only then is your payment taken and your plate made.
What happens to my documents afterwards?
They're encrypted, used only for verification, and held securely for the record-keeping period the law requires of plate suppliers — then securely erased. They're never used for marketing and never sold.
What if my document is rejected or unreadable?
If something's unreadable we don't reject the order — we send you a secure re-upload link and ask again. Send clear original documentation and the check normally passes first time.
Need a plate that's actually legal?
Build yours in our configurator — legal font, sizes and spacing are applied automatically, and every order is entitlement-verified before you're charged. If a combination isn't road-legal, it won't let you build it.
Build your plate →Related guides
Reviewed 2026-07-02 · Written by Numberplater Ltd, a DVLA-registered number plate supplier (RNPS No. 75456). This guide is general information, not legal advice — the rules summarised here are set out in full in DVLA guidance (leaflet INF104 and GOV.UK).