Keeping a Private Plate Without a Car: Retention, the V750, the V778 and the V5C Explained

Written by Oliver Wright, Private Registrations Specialist at Right Reg — 25 years buying, selling, valuing and transferring UK number plates.

Last updated: 23 September 2026

TL;DR: You can keep a private number without a car to put it on. The right to use it sits on one of two DVLA documents. A V750 certificate of entitlement is what you get when you buy a number that has never been on a vehicle. A V778 retention document is what you get when you take a number off a vehicle, which costs £80. Both are valid for 10 years. Renewal is free, but you can only apply in the 28 days before expiry, and DVLA will not accept an application after that date. Get the V778 and the car's new V5C log book before you sell, scrap or write off the car, or you lose the number for good. If your car is stolen, the rules are different again, so read that section before you do anything.

Contents

1. What does it mean to put a plate on retention?
2. What is the difference between a V750, a V778 and a V5C?
3. Who is the grantee and who is the nominee?
4. How do I take my private plate off my car?
5. What happens to my plate in my situation?
6. How does the 10-year clock work?
7. Can I get my £80 back if I never use the number?
8. How do people lose a private plate for good?
9. Frequently asked questions

What does it mean to put a plate on retention?

Putting a plate on retention means taking your private number off a vehicle while keeping the right to use it later. DVLA calls this "taking a private number off" a vehicle. The trade still calls it retention, after the old retention certificate.

What you hold is not the number itself but the right to assign it to a vehicle. DVLA sets this out in INF46, Registration numbers and you. While that right is on paper rather than on a car, you do not need to own a vehicle at all. You can keep a number for years between cars, hold it for a child who has not passed their test yet, or keep it while you decide whether to sell.

If you are taking a number off to sell it, our guide to selling a private number plate covers what happens next.

What is the difference between a V750, a V778 and a V5C?

Three DVLA documents do three different jobs, and most retention mistakes come from mixing them up.

Two other forms come up. The V317 is the postal application to transfer or retain a number. The V62 is what you send with the green "new keeper" slip if you do not have the full V5C.

The V750 and V778 do the same job, which is to prove your right to a number that is not currently on a car. The only difference is where the number came from. If you are buying a number, ask which of the two you will receive, and check that the number on it matches the plate you are paying for.

To give a sense of scale, the seven DVLA timed auctions held between January and September 2026 sold 13,619 registrations, according to the published results we analysed for our number plate valuation guide. Every one of those left the auction as a V750, with its own 10-year clock already running.

Trade tip: treat a V750 or V778 like a cheque book. GOV.UK warns sellers never to share a scan or photograph of either document online, because someone other than the buyer could use the details to put the number on another vehicle. If a buyer asks for a photo of your V778 "to prove you own it", send a photo with the reference number covered.

Who is the grantee and who is the nominee?

Every V750 and V778 names up to two people, and the difference decides who controls the number.

• The grantee is the person who holds the right to the number. Only the grantee can renew the document, change the details on it, give the number up or ask for a replacement if it is lost.
• The nominee is someone the grantee has named to receive the number on their vehicle. You fill in section 2 of the V750 or V778 to name them.

The nominee is how gifts work. It is also how you put a number on a car registered to someone else, such as a partner, a child or a lease company. The grantee can change the nominee at any time by filling in section 2 again and posting it to DVLA Personalised Registrations. GOV.UK sets out the process under selling or giving a private number to someone else.

If you are buying a number from a private seller, make sure you end up as the grantee, or that the number goes straight onto your car. Being named as the nominee on someone else's document gives you no control over it.

How do I take my private plate off my car?

DVLA's process is quick online and slower by post. Here is the full sequence, from the GOV.UK guidance on taking a private number off a vehicle.

1. Check the car qualifies. It must be registered with DVLA in the UK, able to move under its own power, of a type that needs an MOT or HGV test, and available for inspection. It must have been taxed or on SORN continuously for the past five years, and be taxed or on SORN now. A car on SORN for more than five years must be taxed and have an MOT. Historic vehicles need a current MOT even if they are normally exempt.
2. Have the V5C in front of you. If the car is registered in your name, you can apply online. If it is registered to someone else, you have to apply by post.
3. Apply and pay £80. Online, the number usually comes off straight away unless DVLA wants to inspect the car. You get a reference number that you can use to put the number on another vehicle immediately. By post, send the V317, the V5C (or the green slip with a V62) and the £80 fee.
4. Fit the car's original plates. The car's original registration is usually reassigned to it automatically. You must put the original or new plates on before you drive it, and tell your insurer the registration has changed.
5. Update anything linked to the old number. GOV.UK lists Congestion Charge, Low Emission Zone, ULEZ, Dart Charge and Clean Air Zone accounts. If you forget, penalty charges will follow the new number.
6. Wait for the post. DVLA sends a new V5C showing the car's replacement registration, which can take four to six weeks. The V778 goes to whoever is named as the holder of the number. If that is someone else, it goes to them, not to you.
7. Do not sell or scrap the car until both documents arrive. GOV.UK is explicit that you must have the V778 and the new log book before you sell or scrap the vehicle, or you lose the right to the number.

Online applications are available 7am to 9pm Monday to Friday, and 7am to 8pm at weekends.

Trade tip: if you are part-exchanging, do the retention a few weeks before you hand the car over, not on the forecourt. The new V5C can take up to six weeks, and a car that has already gone to the dealer while the paperwork is still in the post is the classic way to lose a number.

What happens to my plate in my situation?

The general process above covers most people. These are the situations where the rules change, or where timing matters more than usual.

The stolen-car rules are the ones people most often get wrong. GOV.UK's guidance on what to do if your vehicle has been stolen says that if your insurer pays out, you need to get your number back before you tell DVLA you no longer own the car. Do it the other way round and you risk losing the number along with the car.

For write-offs, GOV.UK's scrapped and written-off vehicles guidance simply says to apply to take the number off if you want to keep it. The catch is that a badly damaged car may no longer move under its own power, which is one of the eligibility tests. Raise it with your insurer at the start of the claim.

How does the 10-year clock work?

A V750 or V778 lasts 10 years from the date it is issued. When it runs out, the right to the number ends with it, unless you have renewed. GOV.UK's renewal guidance sets out three rules.

• Renewal is free, and the renewed document lasts another 10 years.
• You can only apply in the 28 days before expiry. If you apply earlier, the application may be refused.
• DVLA will not accept an application after the expiry date. If you miss it, you lose the right permanently.

A worked example: a V778 issued on 1 October 2026 expires on 1 October 2036. The renewal window opens on 3 September 2036 and closes on 1 October 2036. That is four weeks out of ten years.

DVLA sends a reminder by letter or email before the right runs out. But the reminder goes to the address on the document, so it only helps if that address is current. If you move house, update the V750 or V778. You can do this online for a V750 through your DVLA personalised registration account, or by post for either document. If the number is already on a car, you only need to update the V5C.

When a replacement arrives, destroy the old document. DVLA treats earlier versions as invalid.

Can I get my £80 back if I never use the number?

Sometimes. GOV.UK's guidance on giving up your right to a private number says you may get a refund of the £80 fee if:

• you paid the fee, either as part of the purchase price or when you took the number off a car
• the number has not been assigned to any vehicle since you paid it
• you have the latest V750 or V778. If it is lost but still valid, you can get a replacement first.

You claim by ticking the surrender section on the V750 or V778, signing it and posting it to DVLA Personalised Registrations in Swansea. Surrender is final: you cannot use the number again afterwards. If the document was issued before 9 March 2015, you can only get the refund once it expires, and you cannot replace an expired document.

For most private plates, the £80 refund is worth far less than the number itself. Before you surrender a number, find out what it would sell for. Our free number plate valuation will tell you whether it is worth selling instead.

How do people lose a private plate for good?

DVLA's rules leave no room for appeal in any of these cases, so the only protection is doing things in the right order.

1. Selling or scrapping the car before the V778 arrives. This is the most common one, and GOV.UK names it directly.
2. Letting the V750 or V778 expire. Once the expiry date passes, DVLA will not accept an application.
3. Putting a second private number on a car without taking the first one off. GOV.UK warns that you could lose the right to the first number if you do not take it off before assigning a new one.
4. Telling DVLA a stolen car has gone before getting the number back.
5. Giving the details on a V750 or V778 to someone you do not know, which is why the scan-and-photo warning exists.
6. Letting a car's tax or SORN lapse in a way that fails the five-year continuous tax-or-SORN test. The car then cannot be used to take the number off.

There are also two eligibility rules that no paperwork can change. You cannot keep or assign a number beginning with Q or QNI. And you cannot put a number on a car if it would make the car look newer than it is. That second rule is why a dateless number plate is the safest choice if you plan to keep a number across several cars: it has no year in it, so it fits any vehicle.

When you are ready to put the number back on a car, our step-by-step transfer guide covers the assignment, and our transfer time guide explains how long each stage takes.

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep a private number plate without a car?

Yes. Once the number is on a V750 certificate of entitlement or a V778 retention document, you hold the right to it without owning a vehicle. The document lasts 10 years and can be renewed free of charge in the 28 days before it expires.

How much does it cost to put a number plate on retention?

DVLA charges £80 to take a private number off a vehicle and keep it on a V778 retention document. Renewing the V778 every 10 years is free. If you never assign the number again, you may be able to claim the £80 back by surrendering it.

What is the difference between a V750 and a V778?

Both prove you have the right to a number that is not currently on a vehicle. A V750 certificate of entitlement is issued for a number that has never been on a vehicle, such as one bought from DVLA. A V778 retention document is issued when you take a number off a vehicle.

How long does a V778 retention document last?

10 years from the date it is issued. You can renew it free of charge, but only in the 28 days before it expires. DVLA will not accept an application after the expiry date, and the right to the number is then permanently lost.

Can I sell my car before the V778 arrives?

No. GOV.UK says you must have both the V778 and the car's new V5C log book before you sell or scrap the vehicle. If you sell it first, you lose the right to the private number.

What happens to my private plate if my car is stolen?

Apply by post to keep the number as soon as the car is stolen, using form V317, the V5C and the £80 fee. You must have reported the theft to the police, and the car must have had a valid MOT and tax when it was stolen. If the car is not recovered, you must wait 6 months before putting the number on another vehicle.

Can I keep my private plate if my car is written off?

Usually, if you apply to take the number off before the car leaves your ownership. The car must still meet DVLA's eligibility rules, including being able to move under its own power and being available for inspection. Tell your insurer at the start of the claim that you want to keep the number.

Can I put a retained number on someone else's car?

Yes. The grantee names the other person as the nominee in section 2 of the V750 or V778, and the number can then be assigned to their vehicle online or by post. This is how private plates are given as gifts, and how they go onto lease cars.

Official sources

• GOV.UK: Private (personalised) number plates
• GOV.UK: Take a private number off a vehicle
• GOV.UK: Renew or replace your private number
• GOV.UK: Give up your right to use a private number
• GOV.UK: If the person with the right to use the private number dies
• GOV.UK: What to do if your vehicle has been stolen: personalised registration number
• GOV.UK: Scrapped and written-off vehicles: insurance write-offs
• GOV.UK: INF46 – Registration numbers and you
• GOV.UK: Form V317 and form V62