can i transfer a reg number from my car which is SORN and no MOT?

[SilverSaloon]

hi

our 2002 alfa 156 had a fault in june, so we purchased another car and i SORN'd the alfa and put it in my garage. The MOT has since expired.

The alfa has our personal reg number on it (which i put on a couple of years ago).

i now want to transfer this personal reg onto the new car.

however do I need to MOT the alfa? the problem is the alfa still has the fault and therefore i very much doubt it will pass MOT emissions tests. I was going to sell it as spares/repair....

thanks in advance!

Derek

 

[AJA]

I could be wrong, but I always thought to transfer a reg off a car it needs to be MOT'd at least. Sorry.

 

[Druk]

^ yes. afaik the donor needs an MOT.

 

[Harrythedog]

I think you can transfer the Reg ok and the DVLA will issue a new number for the Alfa. Coukld be wrong but I don't think an MOT is required. Think of all the people that trade in their old cars but keep the Reg. At the very least you should be able to hold the Reg on retention but I forgot how much that costs

 

[Kingy68]

SORN'd the alfa and put it in my garage.
....
i now want to transfer this personal reg onto the new car.

If the Alfa is SORN (so doesn't need an MOT) then I think you can transfer to a new car and you will be issued with age related number plate for the Alfa. Worth a call to the DVLA as they are usually very helpful (once you get though ) but this is the offical line on it ....

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

Transferring a registration mark and how to apply : Directgov - Motoring

Also, the V317 form for transferring numbers does say that an MOT or GVT certificate shoulf be enclosed if appropriate.

 

[mirras]

It's £105 to put the plate on retention for a year, this includes the £80 fee to assign it to the next car.

 

[SilverSaloon]

thanks - i'll give Swansea a ring before I post off the forms/documents.

 

[jaymanek]

Unless things have changed It has to be MOT'd.

I had to get an old wreck up to spec to get the plate off a few years back... Spent hundreds just to scrap it a few days later.

 

[EDZ649]

The other thing to watch out for is that DVLA may ask to inspect the car at their local office if there has been a long break since it was last on the road and you have to drive the car there, they won't accept it being taken on a trailer.

 

[trapperjohn]

The other thing to watch out for is that DVLA may ask to inspect the car at their local office if there has been a long break since it was last on the road and you have to drive the car there, they won't accept it being taken on a trailer.

Ah thats a bit odd. May be things have changed but my cousin who had a Skoda Estelle (?) soft top with the reg A15 KYP (Yes he owned a skip company called A1 Skips) and loved the joke. He had to take his rag top to DVLA Preston so they could inspect it when he wanted to put the Reg on retention. I think they just wanted to cheer up a dull day. He trailered it there. I know it was SORN at the time hence the trailer - I'm not sure about an MoT.

He flogged the reg on to a buddy in the skip business when he retired from the skip game. His two soft top Skodas were bought by a trader and shipped back to their homeland to be done up. Apparently they are in great demand over there.

 

[mdk1]

I have just got this weeks copy of Autocar Mag (9th Nov) in the post and just opened it to Steve Sutcliffe's page and he is writing about the same thing. may be worth picking up a copy.

 

[AJA]

If the Alfa is SORN (so doesn't need an MOT) then I think you can transfer to a new car and you will be issued with age related number plate for the Alfa. Worth a call to the DVLA as they are usually very helpful (once you get though ) but this is the offical line on it ....

Transferring a registration mark and how to apply : Directgov - Motoring

Also, the V317 form for transferring numbers does say that an MOT or GVT certificate shoulf be enclosed if appropriate.

So according to your link the car needs an MOT then?

 

[Kingy68]

So according to your link the car needs an MOT then?

I didn't think it was 100% clear from the link so suggested calling DVLA.
I'd personally interpret it as not needing an MOT if it's SORN and meets the criteria for tax disc(s) but as I'm not sure I would check with DVLA if I were in the OPs situation.
It's ambuguous where it says "MOT ... if appropriate" as this may refer to a car at 3 years + needing an mot or likewise could refer to a SORN car which doesn't need an MOT.

 

[corned]

We lost a private plate a few months ago when we scrapped an old car. As it was not worth getting the car up to MOT standard we decided to let it go. We didn't really want the plate any more, and it was not valuable enough to be worth putting the money into the car to get it through an MOT test.

Yes, a current MOT is required to transfer off a plate. Jay is quite correct.

The 'MOT - if appropriate' bit refers to cars under 3 years old, or otherwise exempt from requiring to hold an MOT certificate. SORN does not count there I'm afraid.

 

[trapperjohn]

Just spoke to my cousin at his retirement villa in Chorley. Yep his car had an MoT he just did not think it would make it to Preston and back mechanical wise and it was SORN too.

 

[srefre]

So just to muddy the waters a bit more.

My old W124 had a private plate, but after it got rear ended and was deemed a total loss by the insurers, I was still able to retain the plate.
Granted I had the MOT certificate, but clearly the condition of the car had changed since then due to the accident. The DVLA asked to inspect the car, which was impossible as the insurers had taken it. I spoke to the DVLA explaining it was write off and instead I had to send them a letter from the insurers saying that they didn't want the plate, and the location it was stored.

Just wondering if this is acceptable, why is it not acceptable to retain a plate from a SORN vehicle? I understand they issue a new plate, so they want to make sure the vehicle is roadworthy, but why is there no option to retain the old plate, not issue a new one, and scrap the car?

 

[jaymanek]

Guys... you are confusing the MOT and SORN systems.

SORN is related to road tax... If the car is taxed or sorned with no breaks between the status then thats fine for the plate transfer.

However, regardless of its road tax position, car still needs to be MOT'd.

 

[SilverSaloon]

I just phoned the DVLA in their reg transfers dept. They say its fine for no MOT aslong as the car is a class which is "MOT-able". He did say something about because it had just recently lapsed. I suspect if it had no MOT for years and years it may be different....

anyway, he said it was fine and just to put a post-it on the application form stating the MOT lapese on XX/XX/2011 and it should be fine.

i did double check this with him saying that "so, i dont need to get the car MOT'd then?" in which he replied "no - it will be fine".

here's hoping he is correct

 

[Doodle]

If you get to speak to someone human they're normally fairly accommodating. The rule would appear to have been put in place to stop people buying old wrecks just to snaffle the numberplate.

You can prove you've had the car for a while and it's only recently failed the MoT, so they can exercise a bit of discretion.

 

[Dieselman]

Unless things have changed It has to be MOT'd.

I had to get an old wreck up to spec to get the plate off a few years back... Spent hundreds just to scrap it a few days later.

I don't think it needs MOT anymore.

You need to build a good rapport with a local test station as I'm sure they could have helped you out here.