How to put a private plate on retention

Retention takes a private plate off your car and keeps it in your name on a V778 retention document. The DVLA charges £80.00 and the online service does it in minutes. One rule matters more than the rest: keep the car until the V778 and its new V5C have arrived.

By Steven T. Jackson OBE, founder of PrivatePlates.co.uk, who has bought, sold and valued private plates for 37 years, since 1989. Published 18 Oct. 2026.

A woman in her hallway opening an envelope that has just arrived in the post

When you need it

There are three usual reasons:

You are selling, scrapping or part-exchanging the car and want to keep the registration mark.
You are moving it to another car you own.
You want to sell the private plate on its own. It has to come off the car first.

Before you start

You need the car’s log book, the V5C. If the car is registered to you, apply online. If it is not, the application goes by post. A number starting with Q or QNI cannot be kept.

The DVLA asks the same of the car whether a registration mark is coming off or going on. It must meet every one of these:

It is registered with DVLA in the UK.
It can move under its own power.
It is a type of vehicle that needs an MOT or HGV test certificate.
It is available for inspection, if DVLA ask to see it.
It is taxed now, or has a SORN in place.
It has been taxed or on SORN continuously for the past five years.

A current MOT certificate is only needed on top of that if the vehicle has had a SORN in place for more than five years, or if it is a historic vehicle that would otherwise be exempt from MOTs.

Step by step, online

Open the DVLA’s take a private number off a vehicle service with the V5C to hand. It runs 7am to 9pm on weekdays and 7am to 8pm at weekends, and it is available in Welsh.
Pay the £80.00.
Unless the DVLA wants to inspect the car, the private plate comes off at once and you get a reference number. That number lets you put the registration mark on another car straight away.
Fit number plates showing the car’s original registration before you drive it, and tell your insurer.
Wait for the post: the V778, and a new V5C showing the replacement registration. The V5C can take four to six weeks.

By post

Send form V317, the V5C (or its green new keeper slip with a completed V62) and the £80.00 to the address on the form. To tax the car in the same envelope, add a V10, the tax and an MOT certificate, and pay the right postage.

The mistake that loses it

Do not sell, scrap or hand back the car until the V778 and the new V5C are in your hands. Without them you lose the right to the private number, and I cannot get it back for you. There is no way to recover it. If the car is going back to a finance or leasing company, start early.

Who else needs telling

Anything that charges by registration needs the new details, or a penalty can follow: the Congestion Charge, the Low and Ultra Low Emission Zones, the Dart Charge and Clean Air Zones. A car with Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation needs the scheme told too.

Keeping it on the V778

The V778 proves your right to the registration mark for ten years. Renewal is free. Apply no earlier than 28 days before the date on it, and on or before that date: miss it and the registration mark is lost. Our guide to the V750 Certificate of Entitlement covers renewal and naming a nominee, which work the same way for a V778; a lost V778 is replaced by post.

Questions

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

The DVLA charges £80.00 to take a private number off a vehicle and keep it. Renewing the V778 every ten years costs nothing.

How long does a V778 last?

ten years. Renew it free of charge, no earlier than 28 days before it runs out. Let it lapse and the registration mark is gone for good.

Can I sell my car before the V778 arrives?

No. GOV.UK is clear: you need the V778 and the car’s new V5C in your hands before you sell or scrap it, or you lose the right to the private plate.

Do I get my old registration back?

Usually, yes. When a private number comes off, the DVLA normally puts the car’s original registration mark back on it straight away. The new V5C shows it.

Is it worth £80.00 to keep a cheap one?

Only you can say what it means to you. If it is the money you are weighing, ask us for a free valuation first. It costs nothing and tells you what you would be keeping.

Selling it? Ask for a free private plate valuation, or read what a private plate is worth. Transfers and retention sets out how a private plate goes on to a car, and our search finds the next one. The rules here are the DVLA’s, published on gov.uk.