How to Change Number Plates Back to Original: Step by Step
To go back to the registration your vehicle was issued with, you apply to the DVLA to take the private registration off it. That application costs £80, it is made online or by post, and the original number is usually put back on the vehicle straight away. You then have the original plates made and fitted before you drive it again. This guide covers each step, what the DVLA sends you afterwards, and the two points where people lose a private registration by accident.
The registration itself is not lost when you do this. Taking it off is the same application as putting it on retention, so the private registration stays yours to use on another vehicle or to sell later.
Most people do this for one of three reasons: the car is being sold or traded in and the registration is staying with them, the registration is moving to a newer car, or the plate was bought as a gift and is going back to its owner. The steps are the same in each case. What changes is whether you assign the registration to another vehicle straight away or leave it on the retention document until you need it.
Step 1: apply to take the private registration off
You need the vehicle's log book (V5C) and £80. The DVLA's online service is the quickest route: it is open Monday to Friday from 7am to 9pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 7am to 8pm, and if the vehicle does not need an inspection the number comes off immediately. By post it is form V317, with the V5C and the £80 fee made payable to DVLA Swansea.
The vehicle has to be registered with the DVLA in the UK, taxed or on a SORN, of a type that needs an MOT, able to move under its own power, and available for inspection if the DVLA asks to see it. A current MOT certificate is only needed for a historic (classic) vehicle, or one that has been on a SORN for more than five years. If the vehicle is not in your name you have to apply by post, and a registration starting with 'Q' cannot be kept at all. The retention process in detail covers the application itself, including what to do if you want to sell the registration rather than use it.
A car on finance is the common complication. If the vehicle is registered to you on the V5C you can apply as normal, because the V5C shows the registered keeper rather than the legal owner, but a leased or company vehicle registered to someone else has to go by post with their agreement. It is worth settling that before you pay the fee, because the £80 is taken when the application is made, not when it succeeds.
Step 2: what your vehicle gets back
The original registration number is usually reassigned to the vehicle automatically, and usually straight away. Usually is the DVLA's own word: in a minority of cases the vehicle is given a replacement age-related registration instead, which is why it is worth checking what number the confirmation shows before you order plates.
The paperwork follows by post. You get a V778 retention document, which proves your right to use the private registration for the next ten years, and a new V5C showing the number the vehicle now carries. Allow four to six weeks for the V5C. You can assign the private registration to another vehicle before either arrives, using the reference number from the application.
Do not sell or scrap the vehicle until both documents are in your hands. Part with it first and you lose the right to use the private registration, and the DVLA will not give it back. That is the single most expensive mistake made on this journey.
Step 3: have the original plates made
Number plates can only be made by a registered number plate supplier, and we have to see two things before we make them: proof of who you are and where you live, and proof that you are entitled to the registration. For a vehicle going back to its original number that is normally the new V5C, so this is the step that waits on the post. The full list of documents we can accept sets out which ones can be emailed and which have to be the physical original.
Once the documents are approved the plates themselves are quick. Order online before 2pm on a working day and we make them the same day. Choose local collection and a pair can be made and fitted within the hour during opening hours, which are 9:00am to 4:30pm, Monday to Saturday, with fitting available Monday to Friday. Every plate we make is built to the British Standard, BS AU 145e.
Step 4: fit the plates, then tell the right people
The plates have to be on the vehicle before you drive it. Swapping a pair over is a ten minute job with the right fixings, and our fitting guide covers removing the old pair, cleaning the area and choosing between screws, sticky pads and bolt caps.
Then tell your insurer the vehicle's new registration number, and update anything that bills you by number plate: the Congestion Charge, ULEZ and other Clean Air Zones, the Dart Charge, and any account that pays them automatically. A camera reading a number the system does not recognise is how people collect penalty charges weeks after a change they thought was finished.
How long the whole thing takes
The application itself is minutes online, and the number comes off the vehicle immediately unless the DVLA wants to inspect it. The wait is the new V5C, at four to six weeks, because that is the document that proves your entitlement to the original registration when the plates are made. If you need the car on the road in the meantime, it keeps its old plates and old number until the application goes through, not after.
Common questions
Can I drive with the old private plates once the registration has been taken off? No. The vehicle is legally the new number from the moment the DVLA processes the application, so it needs plates showing that number before it goes anywhere.
Does the private registration expire while it is off the vehicle? The V778 lasts ten years. You renew it in the 28 days before it expires and renewing is free, but if you miss the expiry date you permanently lose the right to use the number.
Can I put the private registration straight onto another car instead? Yes. Taking it off and assigning it to a different vehicle are two halves of the same job, and there is no fee to assign it. If you would rather not deal with the DVLA yourself, our Done-For-You Paperwork Service handles putting a registration onto a vehicle for you.
What if I decide I no longer want the private registration? You can give up the right to it and apply for a refund of the £80 fee, as long as it has not been assigned to a vehicle.
Do I need new plates for both ends of the car? Yes, a front and a rear plate, both showing the same registration. Mismatched or incorrectly displayed plates fail an MOT and carry a fine of up to £1,000.
What happens to the old private plates? Once the registration is off the vehicle those plates no longer belong on the road, because a plate may only display the registration the vehicle is currently assigned. Keep them if you like the plate, but the new car needs a newly made pair when the registration moves, since the old ones carry our details and the date they were made.
Does the DVLA need telling once the new plates are fitted? No. The change is recorded when the application goes through, and the new V5C is the confirmation. The people who still need telling are your insurer and anything that bills by number plate.
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