Keep Your Private Number Plate When Scrapping a Car

A personalised registration stays with the car unless you take it off first. Once the car has been scrapped, the number is gone. This guide covers the eligibility rules, the fee, the paperwork DVLA sends back and how to time it around collection.

Facts checked against GOV.UK and the law on 28 October 2026.

Do it before the car is collected

GOV.UK's first step for scrapping a vehicle is: apply to take the registration number off the vehicle if you want to keep it (GOV.UK: how to scrap your vehicle). It also says you must do this before you tell DVLA you no longer have the car.

The deadline is firm. You must have your V778 retention document and the new log book before you scrap or sell the vehicle, otherwise you lose the right to use the private number (GOV.UK: take a private number off a vehicle). Tell us about the plate when you enquire so the collection date can be set after the paperwork is done.

Is your car eligible?

According to GOV.UK, the vehicle must:

be registered with DVLA in the UK;
be able to move under its own power;
be of a type that needs an MOT or HGV test certificate;
be available for inspection, if DVLA asks;
have been taxed or had a SORN in place continuously for the past 5 years;
be taxed now or have a SORN in place. If it has had a SORN for more than 5 years, it must be taxed and have an MOT.

Historic (classic) vehicles also need a current MOT, even if they are normally exempt. Numbers starting with ‘Q’ or ‘QNI’ cannot be kept.

The ‘own power’ rule is the one that catches people scrapping a car. If yours no longer runs, check this first. Cars that have failed an MOT can still be eligible if they are taxed or on SORN; see MOT failure cars and scrapping a SORN car.

How to apply

It costs £80, and you must have the vehicle's log book (V5C). If you have lost it, replace it first: see scrapping without a V5C.

Online

Available Monday to Friday 7am to 9pm, and weekends 7am to 8pm. If DVLA does not need to inspect the vehicle, the number is removed immediately. If the vehicle is not in your name, you cannot apply online.

By post

Send DVLA (the address is on the form):

a completed V317 ‘transfer or retain a vehicle registration number’ form;
the V5C, or the green ‘new keeper’ slip with a completed V62;
the £80 fee.

What DVLA sends back

A V778 retention document, if the private number is in your name. If it is in someone else's name, the V778 goes to them.
A new log book (V5C)showing the car's replacement registration, usually its original number. GOV.UK says this can take 4 to 6 weeks.

That timing matters. Because GOV.UK says you must have both documents before the car is scrapped, allow for the new V5C to arrive before you book collection. It is also the V5C you hand over on the day, keeping its yellow section to tell DVLA.

Plates and the car on collection day

Once the number is off, the car carries its replacement registration. Before it is driven, GOV.UK says the plates must be changed and the insurer told. A car going for scrap is normally loaded onto a recovery vehicle rather than driven, but it still makes sense to fit plates showing the registration on the new V5C so the car and its paperwork match when it is inspected.

If you pay the Congestion Charge, ULEZ, Dart Charge or Clean Air Zone charges by automatic account, update or remove the old registration. GOV.UK warns you can get a penalty charge if those details are out of date. Keep the physical private plates if you like; the right to the number is the V778, not the plates.

A sensible order of events

Check the car meets the eligibility rules, especially tax or SORN history and running under its own power.
Make sure you have the V5C, replacing it first if it is lost.
Apply online or on a V317, and pay the £80 fee.
Wait for the V778 and the new V5C to arrive.
Enquire and arrange collection, giving the car's replacement registration.
Hand over the new V5C on the day, keeping the yellow section.
Tell DVLA the car has gone.

If the car is an insurance write-off rather than a scrap sale, GOV.UK's write-off steps start the same way: apply to take the number off before sending the V5C to the insurer.

If you forget

If the car is scrapped before the number is taken off, GOV.UK says the right to use the private number is lost. There is no step in its guidance for getting a number back from a scrapped car, so treat this as final.

If collection is already booked and you have not applied, contact the collection company to move the date rather than letting the car go. You can cancel by phone at least 24 hours before the agreed time; see how it works.

Holding the number for later

The V778 gives you the right to assign the number to a vehicle for the next 10 years (GOV.UK: renew or replace your private number). You can assign it to another vehicle straight away, using the reference you get after applying online, or later. Renewal is free and can be done up to 28 days before expiry. Once the expiry date passes, DVLA will not accept an application and the right is permanently lost.

Once the plate is safe, scrap the car as normal and tell DVLA.

Questions people ask

Can I keep my private plate after the car has been scrapped?

No. GOV.UK says you must have the V778 retention document and the new log book before you scrap or sell the vehicle, otherwise you lose the right to use the private number.

How much does it cost to retain a registration?

GOV.UK lists the fee for taking a private number off a vehicle as £80, whether you apply online or by post.

My car does not run. Can I still take the number off?

Possibly not. One of the eligibility rules is that the vehicle must be able to move under its own power, and DVLA may ask to inspect it. Check before you arrange collection.

How long can I hold the number without using it?

A V778 retention document lasts 10 years. Renewal is free and can be done up to 28 days before it expires; miss the expiry date and the right is lost permanently.

Does the car need tax or an MOT?

It must be taxed or have a SORN now, and have been taxed or SORN continuously for the past 5 years. If it has been on SORN for more than 5 years, it must be taxed and have an MOT. Historic vehicles need a current MOT regardless.

Sources

Who does what

Scrap A Car For Cash (operated by Lead Stack Ltd, company number 15877625) takes your enquiry and passes it to an affiliated vehicle collection company that covers your area.
The collection company values the vehicle, collects it free of charge and pays you on collection, in line with the terms you agree with them.
If the vehicle is completely scrapped, that happens at an authorised treatment facility (ATF), which gives you a Certificate of Destruction. A vehicle that is repaired and resold instead does not get one.

More detail: how it works and our terms and conditions.

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