Transferring my grandad's private number plate to myself?

Jlawson118

Bit of a tricky situation here. My grandad spent years looking for a private number plate he liked and chose one a few years ago, basically my grandma's maiden initials and then his initials it works out as. He said to me even years ago he'd pass it down to me when he passed away.

He was diagnosed with cancer early July and given five years to live. Thinking five years was a long time, for my birthday at the end of July, my mum and step dad decided to buy me my own private number plate. Shortly after I put my new one on, my grandad was given less than one year to live and even said "It's a shame you got your private plate because you'll be getting mine soon."

I told him to stop talking like that, thinking he'd make longer, but then a few months later at the beginning of November, he passed away. My step dad paid to put the plate onto retention but the paperwork came back in my grandad's name and address. I've been waiting for some money to come through that I'm using to buy myself a new car as I need something more practical, my grandad gave me some money towards it before he passed, and my grandma is giving me quite a significant amount too, so I want to put his plate on my car as it's there in his memory then, and him and my grandma's initials seen as they've helped me out in getting a new car. It's got more of a meaning than my current one does.

I've just looked at the section I need to fill out about transferring it to a 'nominee' and it requires the owners signature to do so. And obviously I can't forge his signature and so I don't know what to do. His number plate also wasn't something in his will either. Before he passed away he was a little sceptical about me having it as he didn't want us to pay a lot of money to put it on retention, so he never looked into transferring it. But we paid the money because his memory means more.

What do I do in this situation without forging his signature?

Threewheeler

Contact DVLA with details, I believe that they will accept Executors signature with evidence of demise and allow transfer.

BeenThroughItAll

If you've got the retention certificate, just do it online, then there's no signatures involved.

unholyangel

https://www.gov.uk/personalised-vehicle-registration-numbers/person-with-right-to-use-private-number-dies

If the number hasn’t been assigned to a vehicle
Send the documents that prove you’ve got the right to use the number and either the:

V778 retention form
V750 certificate of entitlement form
The executor must sign the V778 or V750 before you send it.

You must also send a covering letter from the executor saying if you want to:

keep the number
give the number to someone else

I believe that might be the answer you're looking for.

Jlawson118

Hi guys, I know I'm bringing this back up but I have another query.

I took a few visits to my local Audi Approved centre and found a really nice A3 that I get to pick up on Friday! I can't wait. To get a part exchange quote on my current car, me and the dealer had a walk around and he asked me if I wanted my current private plate transferring over as he would be able to do that for me. And I briefly explained that I'd like to put the original plate back onto the car, but also that I'd like my grandad's private plate on my new one, but the retention document is still in his name. (Myself and my grandma had explained over the few visits we made that he'd passed away and was one of the main reasons I was looking to change my car)

But the dealer said he would be able to switch it over to me. But no more was said about it which makes me beg the question as to if he understood my situation.

So I'm wondering now if this would be possible? I'd contact the dealership but it's the Christmas period now so they'll be away until Wednesday. It's just I have permits to change over, and I won't change them until I have the car anyway. And if the dealership is unable to change them then I'll stick with the car's current plate and change mine over around August time

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Jlawson118 wrote: »

Hi guys, I know I'm bringing this back up but I have another query.

I took a few visits to my local Audi Approved centre and found a really nice A3 that I get to pick up on Friday! I can't wait. To get a part exchange quote on my current car, me and the dealer had a walk around and he asked me if I wanted my current private plate transferring over as he would be able to do that for me. And I briefly explained that I'd like to put the original plate back onto the car, but also that I'd like my grandad's private plate on my new one, but the retention document is still in his name. (Myself and my grandma had explained over the few visits we made that he'd passed away and was one of the main reasons I was looking to change my car)

But the dealer said he would be able to switch it over to me. But no more was said about it which makes me beg the question as to if he understood my situation.

So I'm wondering now if this would be possible? I'd contact the dealership but it's the Christmas period now so they'll be away until Wednesday. It's just I have permits to change over, and I won't change them until I have the car anyway. And if the dealership is unable to change them then I'll stick with the car's current plate and change mine over around August time

I would just make this easy on myself by putting your plates on retention, and put your car back to Original plates by the a3 with the original plates, get the executer of your grandades estate to fill in the nominee section in your name, wait for that to come back then re-register the A3 with your grandads plate!


That way theres no holding on for the forms to come back you get to use the audi whilst everything sorts itself out.

Jlawson118

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

I would just make this easy on myself by putting your plates on retention, and put your car back to Original plates by the a3 with the original plates, get the executer of your grandades estate to fill in the nominee section in your name, wait for that to come back then re-register the A3 with your grandads plate!


That way theres no holding on for the forms to come back you get to use the audi whilst everything sorts itself out.

Yeah that's what I was thinking, just leaving the Audi's plates on for now

As my grandma is the executor of estate, does she need to write any form of covering letter? Or does she just need to sign the nominee form?

Alter_ego

Jlawson118 wrote: »

As my grandma is the executor of estate, does she need to write any form of covering letter? ?

Post 4 seems to indicate yes.

Jlawson118

Right so here I am again. I've been backwards and forwards to the dealership trying to sort out the log book for my old car. Putting my own private plates onto retention and then waiting for the new log book with the old registration on etc.

The last visit I made, he told me to bring my grandad's retention certificate down and he'd see what he could do. If he was unable to do it then he'd help myself and my grandma write the cover letter to the DVLA.
So today I visited and he submitted things through the DVLA website to 'put the plates onto the car' and put my details as the registered keeper, where they accepted this request, he went ahead and had the plates printed but said I can't have them on until my new log book comes through and it's official basically.

But currently I still have my grandad's V778 retention document, but the plate is pretty much registered to the car in my name.

So now I'm a little bit confused as to who owns the registration. Say I put it onto retention at some point in the future, would that document then be in my name at my address? Or do I still have to sign the numberplate over to myself now and send the DVLA the nominee documents?

AdrianC

There's nothing different about a "private" plate. It's just a registration.

Any registration, once it's on a car, does not exist separately from that car. So if you have a V5C in your name with that registration, then you are as near to being the legal owner of that plate as it's possible to be. DVLA actually "own" the registration, you are permitted to display it on the vehicle, and the V5C says that you are the person legally responsible for that vehicle. The actual legal owner is not recorded anywhere.

If you want to remove it from the vehicle in the future and put it back onto a retention (basically a way of saying "I retain the rights to this reg, although it's not in use on any vehicle"), then you need to do that through the DVLA process at the time. DVLA will then reissue that vehicle with the original plate.