Potential problem removing private plate??

[grantyblade]

Hey everyone - hopefully quick question, can't find any answers on any other thread so far i'm afraid!

 

I have my car which has been parked off the road for last 2 months. MOT ran out end Jan 10. Tax runs out end of this month Apr 10. I have a private plate on the car which I need to remove and can either transfer it onto another car or I can put it onto retention. Question - Do the DVLA allow you to take a plate off a car that is not MOT'd? I would love to keep the plate however I don't want to possibly incur the charges of fixing the car to get it through it's MOT which maybe considerably more than the plate is worth (in money not sentiment!!) as I am about to get rid of the car.

 

Any info would be so appreciated. Thanks in advance

[patdavies]

Get it pit onto retention now, before the tax runs out. You shouldn't have a problem.

[grantyblade]

So the car doesn't need to have a valid MOT? Because on the DVLA website it's a little unclear!

[crem]

I very much doubt it. I seem to recall that people used to buy some scrappy little moped for a tenner to put their private plate on, to "hold it" for free until they wanted to use it again thereby avoiding the £25 charge per year to put it on retention. When they wanted it on their shiny new car again I am sure they didn't go to the trouble of MOTing the scrap bike to get their number back off it.

Edited April 15, 2010 by crem

[Oily]

I very much doubt it. I seem to recall that people used to buy some scrappy little moped for a tenner to put their private plate on, to "hold it" for free until they wanted to use it again thereby avoiding the £25 charge per year to put it on retention. When they wanted it on their shiny new car again I am sure they didn't go to the trouble of MOTing the scrap bike to get their number back off it.

 

You now need an MOT to transfer a plate over.It's to stop people buying 'wrecks' from barns that are older than the hills just for the plate.

 

I tried to transfer my plate over from my car which had no MOT or tax,it had been SORNed for a few yrs but they wouldn't let me.

['the dude']

You do not need an MOT. The vehicle is taxed so you do not have a problem. If you do not make the application before the end of the month then declare SORN on the vehicle.

 

As long as the vehicle has a recent continuous tax history you should have no dramas as that proves that the vehicle has been roadworthy.

Edited April 16, 2010 by 'the dude'

[grantyblade]

Cheers dude. Would like to do it this week however I don't get paid till either 30/4/10 or 1/5/10, so can't afford to do it till then. Tax disc runs out 30/4/10, do you reckon I'd get a few days grace to do it in first few days of may?

[Oily]

Copied from the Directgov site:

 

Conditions for transferring a registration number

 

You can’t transfer a registration number:

 

• starting with ‘Q’ or ‘NIQ’ for Northern Ireland registered vehicles
  
• if it will make the vehicle it’s being transferred to look younger
  

To transfer the registration number, both vehicles must be:

 

• registered at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
  
• available for inspection
  
• of a type that needs an MOT or heavy goods vehicle (HGV) test certificate
  
• currently taxed
  

However, if the vehicle that currently has the registration number is not taxed, you can still apply to transfer provided:

 

• there is no break between the date the tax disc runs out and the start of the SORN
  
• the tax disc run out no more than 12 months before the date you apply
  

[grantyblade]

Copied from the Directgov site:

 

Conditions for transferring a registration number

 

You can’t transfer a registration number:

 

• starting with ‘Q’ or ‘NIQ’ for Northern Ireland registered vehicles
  
• if it will make the vehicle it’s being transferred to look younger
  

To transfer the registration number, both vehicles must be:

 

• registered at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
  
• available for inspection
  
• of a type that needs an MOT or heavy goods vehicle (HGV) test certificate
  
• currently taxed
  

However, if the vehicle that currently has the registration number is not taxed, you can still apply to transfer provided:

 

• there is no break between the date the tax disc runs out and the start of the SORN
  
• the tax disc run out no more than 12 months before the date you apply
  

 

 

Thanks Oily, I've read the DVLA rules previously and am a little confused because it doesn't say that a car must have a current MOT just that:-

 

********** of a type that needs an MOT or heavy goods vehicle (HGV) test certificate **********

So do I presume that it doesn't need current MOT? Well I'm going to have to go and try it next week!

 

On a separate note - sorry for maybe sounding dumb - but if I pay £105 to put it on retention, would I then still have to pay £80 to then re assign to a new car in maybe a few months?

[Snefclarb]

It looks like that just specifies that it must be the sort that gets MOTed but doesn't have to actually have a current one?

[patdavies]

On a separate note - sorry for maybe sounding dumb - but if I pay £105 to put it on retention, would I then still have to pay £80 to then re assign to a new car in maybe a few months?

 

No, the assignment fee is part of the £105.

[crem]

The £105 is made up of the £80 assignment fee plus £25 for your first years retention payment. You can choose to pay £130 or £155 at this point if you already know that you wish to keep it on retention for 2 or 3 years.

 

You never lose the £80 even if you decide to surrender your reg plate as this is refundable on application.

[Oily]

Speaking from personal experience,when I tried to transfer my plate over from my car which didn't have an MOT or tax they flatly refused.

[crem]

Speaking from personal experience,when I tried to transfer my plate over from my car which didn't have an MOT or tax they flatly refused.

 

Your car failed on the "currently taxed" rule in their list though, so doesn't clarify the MOT question.

[Oily]

Your car failed on the "currently taxed" rule in their list though, so doesn't clarify the MOT question.

 

However, if the vehicle that currently has the registration number is not taxed, you can still apply to transfer provided:

 

• there is no break between the date the tax disc runs out and the start of the SORN
  
• the tax disc run out no more than 12 months before the date you apply
  

I complied with the above rules and still they wouldn't let me so i can only put it down to the car not having an MOT