A retention document V778 is valid for one, two, or three years. If you retain a registration number for two or three years and you assign in the first year you will not have your remaining years retention fees refunded i.e. the £25 or £50 fee.

The mark held on retention must be assigned to a suitable vehicle before the expiry date printed on the document. If you are not ready to assign, the retention document can be extended for one, two, or three years for a DVLA fee of £25 per year.

To do this, send your certificate filled in at section three and signed at section six to DVLA Personalised Registrations, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BW with the appropriate fee.

You can apply to extend within 28 days of your expiry date.

You can also change the grantee's address and there is no fee for doing so.

Assigning to an Unregistered Vehicle

Discuss this with your dealer.

Assigning to a Registered Vehicle

Take or send the following to your local DVLA office.

Retention Document

The retention document filled in and signed at section one. If you wish you can add or change a nominee by completing section two and signing section six. Use this facility if you want to assign to a keeper's vehicle whose name is not already on the certificate. DVLA will need a £25 fee to do this.

MOT

You will need a current and valid MOT certificate (if applicable).

Tax Disc

A photocopy of your current tax disc or a tax application V10.

Insurance

You will need appropriate vehicle insurance.

DVLA Fee

You will need the appropriate DVLA fee.

Decided Not to Use the Registration Mark Held?

You can only apply after the expiry date for a refund of the £80 fee shown on the certificate. You will need to apply within six years of the expiry date. Complete section five and sign at section six.

The grantee has to sign and is the only person entitled to receive the refund.

Any price paid for the personalised registration will not be refunded and the right to the mark is lost.

Send the signed certificate to DVLA Personalised Registrations, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BW.

Last updated: Friday 22nd July 2011 at 3:41pm