A guide to putting a private number plate on your lease car
If you've leased a car and have a private number plate or are thinking about getting one then the good news is that you'll be able to put the registration on your vehicle. Take a look at our guide below for all the information you'll need to know about private number plates and how you can put one on your lease car. If you already have a private number plate then you can skip down to when can I add my private number plate.
A private number plate is sometimes referred to as a personalised number plate or cherished number plate.
This is a number plate that's uniquely designed and doesn't need to follow the usual age plate format.
You can choose from a selection of registration numbers that are available to buy.
If you don't already have a private number plate you'll need to:
Please be aware that there are a few rules about putting a private registration on your new car. You can view the full list of restrictions on the DVLA's website but the ones that could apply to your lease car are:
Please be aware that when you apply for a personalised plate the DVLA ask that the vehicle be available for inspection if required. They'll let you know if this is necessary.
When you're changing the registration on your lease vehicle to a private registration number, you'll need to have number plates made for the new registration.
If you already have the plates then you'll just need to wait until your funder confirms the change has been processed with the DVLA before putting them on. If you've just purchased the registration number and need to have plates made it'll be up to you to do this and the plates will need to be put on the vehicle as soon as the funder's confirmed that the registration's been changed.
You can only get number plates made from a registered plate supplier. Please check the DVLA’s site for your nearest supplier. When having the plates made up, it'll be your responsibility to pay for the plates to be made. You'll need to take original documents that:
With a lease vehicle you need to wait until the vehicle's live on the funder's system before you can arrange for a private registration number to be assigned to it and then use your personalised plates.
Once the vehicle has been delivered it'll then be set live on the funder’s system. Please be aware that it may be a few days after delivery that your vehicle goes live on their system as we need to receive the delivery paperwork from the dealership and then pass this onto the funder.
We usually advise waiting until your initial payment has been taken before contacting your funder as the lease needs to be live before they can request this payment.
Even if we have arranged your current lease we won't be able to arrange for your private number plate to be transferred to the new lease vehicle before delivery as it can delay the delivery process.
The cost for putting a personalised registration on your lease vehicle varies between funder. It's best to check directly with them to confirm the charges, but you may also find more information on your funder’s guide below.
We have spoken to our main funders to get a little more information from each of them on their process. Just click your funder below to see what advice they give and what you'll need to do in order to have your private number plate assigned to your lease car.
If your vehicle is funded through manufacturer finance then you'll need to contact them directly; the contact details are listed further down the page for you.
If you've got any more questions about adding your private registration number to your lease vehicle then you'll need to speak to your funder directly.
Just click below to see a list of finance companies and their contact details.
When it’s time to return your lease vehicle you'll need to arrange for the private plate to be removed before collection. For more information on returning your car just take a look at our End of Lease Guide.
To arrange for your private registration to be removed you'll usually need to get in touch with the same team you contacted to have the plate added. Some of our funders have also provided us with information on this process for you as well. Just take a look below to see this advice.
Depending on your funder it can take up to 6 weeks for the private registration to be removed and put on retention for you with the DVLA. Please make sure you allow enough time before the end of your lease for this to be done prior to arranging collection as some funders won't arrange collection with the private number plate still on the vehicle.
Please be aware that the DVLA charges £80 for the plate to be removed and your funder may also have an admin fee for the process.
ALD advise that they currently have 2 options for removing the cherished plate at the end of your lease.
The first is to remove the private plate online which will automatically put the retention document in ALD's name and they then send it to you once they receive the document. They have confirmed they won't hold any financial interest in the plate and you'll be sent the retention document via recorded delivery once they have confirmed your address to send it to. You can then transfer the registration to your name.
Alternatively, you can fill out a V317 form to allow them to put the retention document into your name. ALD has advised that the DVLA is currently working on an 8 week timeframe to process these so you'll need to contact them with enough time for this to process and arrange collection.
Please note there will be an £80 charge from the DVLA for this which can be issued as a cheque to the DVLA or ALD can issue a cheque on your behalf and invoice you the amount to be paid by card. If you're paying via cheque then this will need to be sent to ALD at:
Fleet Support,
ALD Automotive Ltd,
Oakwood Drive,
Emersons Green,
Bristol,
BS16 7LB
Or you can email ALD on maintenance.admin@aldautomotive.com.
Alphabet has advised you'll need to contact them at least 6 weeks before the end of the lease in order to arrange for your number plate to be put on retention. Again it'll be the team at AlphabetCherished@bca.com that you should contact.
When you near the end of the lease you'll need to contact Arval again to arrange for your private registration number to be removed from the vehicle. You can contact their team on fleetadmin.centre@arval.co.uk.
LeasePlan ask that you contact them at least 6 weeks prior to the end of your contract to arrange for your private number plate to be removed as this will need to be done before they can arrange collection of the vehicle. Their contact number is 03444935812 and you'll need to select option 4.
They'll let you know what you need to do to put your private registration on retention and any administration charges involved with this.
There will be an £80 fee from the DVLA for the process.
In order to arrange for your private number plate to be put on retention you'll need to contact Leasys to arrange for a V317 application form to be completed.
Please be aware that you'll need to get in touch with them at least 6 weeks before you need to arrange collection as the retention process may take this long.
There is a charge of £80 from the DVLA to put the private registration on retention and Leasys charge an admin fee of £50 + VAT for this process as well.
Lex advise that they will need 8 weeks’ notice that you need to remove your private number plate before your lease is due to end. This is to ensure the retention process with the DVLA is completed and there's still time to arrange collection before the end of the contract.
You can contact the team on LACherished@bca.com or 0344 824 0706 and they'll be able to confirm the process and any associated costs for you.
To remove the number plate from your lease car, you'll again need to contact Mobilize's admin house SAFO on 01753 260976 or Fleet.mobilize@safogroup.co.uk.
Please note they have advised us there is a retention cost of £80.
When you near the end of your lease you need to get in touch with Novuna again to arrange for the number plate to be put on retention. They advise you to contact them 6 to 8 weeks before the end of the lease and provide the plates as instructed by the DVLA.
To arrange for the cherished plate to be put on retention again Novuna has advised that there a's cost of £105, £80 of which is the fee due to the DVLA and £25 is their administration fee for the process. They'll require this to be paid and an email from you with the correct contact details to arrange this.
The email can be sent to them at fleetadmin@novunavehiclesolutions.co.uk and you can contact them on 03444 632 900.
Santander has 2 methods of removing the plate at the end of your lease.
The first is an online process which you complete and they'll then have the plate put on retention. It will be in their name but they'll complete the relevant sections of the form to say they have no interest in the plate and you'll be able to complete the other necessary sections to have it transferred back into your name.
The second, is to complete a V317 form which is then sent to the DVLA and the car is put into retention with you as the nominee. Please be aware that this is a longer process and you'll need to complete it around 8 weeks prior to the end of your contract. If you opt for this route you'll need to let Santander know once you receive the retention document so they can update their system with the correct registration.
Santander have an admin fee of £50 for the process and there will also be the £80 DVLA fee to pay.
When it comes to the end of the lease you'll need to put your registration number on retention if you want to keep it.
In order to do this, you need to download the V317 form from the DVLA’s website, complete and post it to Wessex Fleet at the below address:
Wessex Fleet,
Milford House,
Milford Street,
Salisbury,
SP1 1BP
Please note that there will be a £75 admin fee from Wessex Fleet as well as the DVLA charge of £80. Please get in touch with Wessex Fleet to arrange for these payments to be made.