Personalised number plate FAQs.

A private (personalised) number plate is a registration you select for your vehicle, rather than the one assigned by the DVLA. It lets you customise your car, motorcycle, or other vehicle with a registration that means something to you — whether that's your name, initials, a significant number, or a word that reflects your personality.

The key distinction is this: normally the DVLA assigns number plates sequentially. With private plates, you decide. With over 71 million available registrations, the options are nearly endless, though rules and regulations apply. They can also become valuable investments over time.

1. Find your plate. Use our search tools to filter by name, initials, significant numbers, or meaningful words. Our suitability checker verifies whether a plate is compatible with your vehicle.
2. Check out. Complete your purchase securely with a range of payment options. Optional extras include our managed transfer service and custom acrylic plates.
3. We handle the paperwork. Our Easy Reg Transfer Service manages all legal and administrative steps — we deal with the DVLA so you don't have to.
4. Receive your plates. Custom physical plates are printed and shipped directly to you, usually within one working day of your transfer completing.

You don't need any documents at the point of purchase — you can buy a plate and hold it on a certificate before deciding which vehicle to assign it to.

When you're ready to transfer the plate to a vehicle, we'll need a few details from:

• Your V5C logbook — we don't need the physical document; just a couple of details from it.
• Your most recent MOT — if applicable, to confirm the vehicle is road-legal.

Our Easy Reg Transfer Service guides you through this step by step.

There are two important rules to be aware of:

Age restriction: You cannot display a private plate that makes your vehicle appear newer than it actually is. For example, a car first registered in 2010 cannot display a plate with a 2015 age identifier. Our suitability checker tool helps you confirm compatibility before you buy.

BS AU 145e compliance: All plates must conform to DVLA format regulations, including font, size, colour and spacing. You must not alter character spacing or otherwise misrepresent your registration number. All plates supplied by Yellowhite are fully compliant, so you don't need to worry about this.

For new (unissued) registrations using our Easy Reg Transfer Service, the process typically takes 7–10 working days from the date of your order — and often quicker than that.

For second-hand registrations held on a retention certificate, the process involves physical documents being sent by post to the DVLA, which takes longer. You should expect around 3–4 weeks — this is standard across the industry and not specific to Yellowhite.

We keep you updated throughout the entire process so you're never left wondering where things stand.