Private plate retention & transfer (V750 / V778)

The two documents: V750 and V778

Two DVLA documents prove the right to assign a private registration, and the difference between them is simply where the number has been:

• V750 — certificate of entitlement. Issued for a registration bought new that has never been assigned to a vehicle.
• V778 — retention document. Issued when a registration has been taken off a vehicle and is being held on retention.

Both do the same job — they prove your right to put the number on a vehicle — and both are valid for 10 years. Renewal is free, and you can apply to renew up to 28 days before expiry. Keep whichever one you hold safe; you'll need it for the assignment and, later, for having plates made.

Taking a number off a vehicle (retention)

If you're selling a car but keeping its private number — or just want the number held while you decide — you apply to take it off the vehicle:

• Apply online or by post using form V317.
• The fee is £80.
• You'll need the vehicle's V5C registration certificate (logbook).
• If the application succeeds, you receive a V778 retention document for the number and a new V5C for the vehicle, which goes back to a different registration.

The DVLA sets conditions on which vehicles and registrations qualify — check the current rules on GOV.UK before you apply.

Transferring a number between vehicles

Moving a registration straight from one vehicle to another goes through the same V317 route, for the same £80 fee. In practice it's the same machinery: the number comes off the donor vehicle and is assigned to the receiving one, and each vehicle's V5C is updated to match. Again, the DVLA sets the qualifying conditions — GOV.UK has the current detail.

When you actually need plates made

None of the paperwork above puts a physical plate on a car. Once the DVLA has assigned your number, you need plates made for the vehicle now carrying it — and there's a second set people forget: the vehicle the number came off usually returns to its previous registration, so it needs plates showing that registration too. Driving either car on the wrong plates is displaying an incorrect registration.

Any DVLA-registered supplier — us included — must see proof of entitlement before making a plate: your V750, V778 or the vehicle's V5C all work, alongside identity documents. The full list of what's accepted is in our documents guide. If you've just completed a retention or transfer, the document the DVLA sent you is precisely the one to upload — V750 and V778 certificates are among the entitlement documents we accept at checkout.

Keep the display legal

A private number doesn't change the display rules: the plate must use the prescribed font, sizes and legal spacing — rearranging or squeezing characters to spell something is what turns a legal registration into an illegal plate. See our spacing rules guide before you order.

Quick answers

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.

Related guides

• Are 4D number plates legal? (2026 guide)
• What documents do you need to buy a number plate?
• Number plate spacing rules (and why they matter)