V750 Certificate and V778 Retention Document Explained

A V750 and a V778 do the same job in two different situations. The V750 certificate of entitlement is issued when a private registration is bought and is not yet on a vehicle. The V778 retention document is issued when a registration is taken off a vehicle and kept for later. Both prove you have the right to use that registration, both last ten years, and either one lets you assign the registration to a vehicle or have plates made.

Neither document is proof that you own the registration. The right to use a private registration is granted by the DVLA and, by law, it can be withdrawn. That distinction matters when you come to sell one.

The V750 certificate of entitlement

You get a V750 when you buy a registration that is not on a vehicle: from a DVLA auction, from the DVLA directly, or through a dealer. It names the registration, the purchaser, the date the entitlement was bought or last renewed, the expiry date, any nominee, and the certificate number you quote when you assign it. Where to find the V750 certificate number, and what each field on the document means, is covered in its own guide.

The V778 retention document

You get a V778 after applying to take a registration off a vehicle, which costs £80 and is the same application whether you are selling the car, changing it, or simply putting the registration away. The document arrives by post with a new V5C for the vehicle. Putting a registration on retention sets out that application step by step.

If the plan is to go back to the registration the vehicle was issued with, the V778 is the document you are left holding once that is done. How to change number plates back to the original covers what happens to the vehicle at the same time.

How long they last, and how to keep them alive

Both documents are valid for ten years. You renew in the 28 days before the expiry date printed on the document, and renewing is free. Miss that date and the right to use the registration is gone permanently, because the DVLA will not accept an application made after it. This is the one deadline on either document that cannot be recovered, so it is worth putting in a calendar the day the certificate arrives.

Using one to assign a registration or get plates made

Assigning a registration to a vehicle is free, online or by post, and you need the vehicle log book (V5C) as well as the V750 or V778. To have the plates themselves made, a registered number plate supplier has to see proof of who you are and where you live, plus the document proving your entitlement to the registration. The documents we can accept sets out which of those can be sent digitally and which have to be the physical original.

What the documents look like now

The DVLA redesigned both documents. The V750 and V778 were once printed on distinctive pink, green and blue stock; they are now plain watermarked paper, with the certificate or document reference number on the back and updated guidance notes. Customers with a Welsh postcode are issued bilingual versions, the V750W and V778W, in standard A4.

Certificates issued before the redesign remain valid and are accepted under the normal rules, so an older pink certificate in a drawer does not need replacing. Dealers, including us, receive the documents in bulk, which is why a registration bought through a dealer usually arrives with its paperwork already in hand.

Common questions

Can I sell a registration that is on a V750 or V778? Yes. The buyer needs the document to assign the registration to their vehicle. Do not send a scan or a photograph of it to anyone until a sale is agreed, because whoever holds those details can put the registration on a vehicle of their own.

What if I lose the document? You can apply to the DVLA for a replacement as long as it has not expired and you are the person entitled to use the number. Allow around three to four weeks for the replacement to arrive.

Does a V750 or V778 have to be in my name to use it? The registration can only go on a vehicle registered to the person named on the document, or to the nominee named on it. That nominee field is how a registration bought as a gift ends up on the right car.