Keeping records
A company must be registered with the DVLA to sell or make number plates and must record details of every plate made.
FAQS
My potential supplier of new number plates tells me that scanned or photographed documentation is perfectly legal, is this correct?
No. New number plates can only be supplied to consumers after the outlet has seen original documentation proving the vehicle ID and person’s ID.
Records of all transactions must be kept for a period of 3 years. The Police, or persons appointed by local authorities, may enter registered premises at any time to inspect number plates to confirm they meet the current British Standard, or to inspect or take copies of records. Plates or components may be taken away for testing.
If records are not kept, the company supplying number plates could be fined up to £1,000 and and/or suspended from the register.
Recorded Information
A Registered Number Plate Supplier must see the original documents before producing a number plate.
The supplier must see original documents and record:
- the registration number
- the customer’s name and address and entitlement to the number plate
- a number that can be used to trace a customer and is taken from an original document from an accepted form of ID, such as a driving licence or V5C
Identity documents
The following documents are accepted to confirm a name and address:
- driving licence
- utility, Council Tax or rates bill from the last 6 months
- bank or building society statement from the last 6 months
- national identity card
- passport - does not have to be issued in the UK
- bank or building society debit or credit card
- police warrant card
- armed forces identity card
Proving you can use the registration number
The following documents are accepted to confirm the entitlement to the registration number:
- vehicle registration certificate (V5C or V5CNI)
- green ‘new keeper’ slip from the V5C or V5CNI
- certificate of entitlement (V750 or V750NI) to the number
- retention document (V778)
- a renewal reminder for vehicle tax or SORN (V11 or V11NI)
- temporary registration certificate (V379 or V379NI)
- a number plate authorisation certificate (V948) with an official stamp from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
- an electronic number plate authorisation certificate (eV948 or eV948/2)
- a letter of authorisation from a fleet operator (including lease or hire company) quoting the document reference number from the registration certificate
- if your fleet is in the new V5C on demand scheme (also called ‘V5C suppression’), a PDF of the vehicle’s details from the view vehicle record service
- UK trailer registration certificate (VTRC)
For more information regarding record keeping, go to the official documents published by the DVLA below.
- INF104: Rules on the display of number plates https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle-registration-numbers-and-number-plates
- INF195/2: Information to be kept by number plate suppliers https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inf1952-information-to-be-kept-by-registered-number-plate-suppliers