number plate check DVLA previous car

[rOckyAMG]

A work colleague had a question which I didn’t know the answer and thought I asked the forum. They have bought a car which has had a DVLA number assigned for the first time. The plate was on a previous car is there anyway to find which car it was on before?

 

[Mr. B]

I really understand the question to be honest

 

[rOckyAMG]

The car had a private plate since registration and now has an age related plate. They want to check if the age related plate has been on a previous car.

 

[rOckyAMG]

I am under the assumption only DVLA knows and probably won’t tell you?

 

[Scooby_Doo]

I doubt very much if the new plate has been on another car. I would assume the DVLA only get a number plate back if a car is written off. Every time I've taken my private plate off a car , must be at least 10 times , I've always had the original number back.

 

[markjay]

I believe the car would have been originally assigned with a standard plate, which was then replaced with the private plate - I don't think you can have a new car registered directly only with a private plate? If so, then chances are that the car now has the same plate that was issued to it when new (although the DVLA don't guarantee it, this what usually happens). Back in 2017 (before GDPR) I was able to get a report from Cazana that showed all the previous plates a car had (though not the registered keeper's details). If you purchase the report from Cazana you might be able to verify if the car now has the same plate that it had when new.

With regards the DVLA... of course they know where each plate has been, but I am not sure what grounds you might have to request this info from them.

 

[rOckyAMG]

I think in the instance if they are assigning a plate for the first time they can reuse a plate from a ceased car such as a write off etc

 

[markjay]

is it just out of curiosity, or does your friend has a reason to suspect that the plate may have been used on a different car beforehand?

 

[ringway]

I think in the instance if they are assigning a plate for the first time they can reuse a plate from a ceased car such as a write off etc

The DVLA wouldn't use a plate from a write off. Imaging the problems that could throw up for insurance and history checking privately or by HPI.

They have any amount of plates to generate from any era if the need to.

That said, I'm certain that the car would be certain to be registed on a standard plate at first registration and then transferred to the cherished number before it left the showroom.



Edited three typos!

 

[rOckyAMG]

is it just out of curiosity, or does your friend has a reason to suspect that the plate may have been used on a different car beforehand?

I know you can register a car on your own plate if you have a the registration on retention for the first time. However, I didn’t think DVLA gave out used plates.

 

[rOckyAMG]

is it just out of curiosity, or does your friend has a reason to suspect that the plate may have been used on a different car beforehand?

I didn’t think so and but he’s meticulous. This is his first car in 12 years due to lockdown

 

[rOckyAMG]

I believe the car would have been originally assigned with a standard plate, which was then replaced with the private plate - I don't think you can have a new car registered directly only with a private plate? If so, then chances are that the car now has the same plate that was issued to it when new (although the DVLA don't guarantee it, this what usually happens). Back in 2017 (before GDPR) I was able to get a report from Cazana that showed all the previous plates a car had (though not the registered keeper's details). If you purchase the report from Cazana you might be able to verify if the car now has the same plate that it had when new.

With regards the DVLA... of course they know where each plate has been, but I am not sure what grounds you might have to request this info from them.

I just tried that and unfortunately it didn’t. The HPI matches too.

 

[zipdip]

The car will have a ordinary plate first and then private plate added later,when that private plate was removed the original plate is put on the new V5 and most people keep the old plate and put it on or have them made up,no plate issued by the DVLA will have been on another car,when a car is scrapped the plate is lost it never comes back.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

The last few new cars we have bought and put our plates on have always been issued with an age related plate first by the DVLA, this is then changed over to the private at the same time.

 

[jimbg]

Agree with the above, I have had a private plate since 1993 and moved it onto a new car every few years.
The new car always gets a standard age related plate assigned to the car and when you take the private plate off the the original standard plate goes back on.

 

[Scooby_Doo]

I disagree with the notion that a car has a normal plate assigned to it before you put your private plate on. I've had three cars registered on day 1 with my private plate.
I had a paintwork problem with a new BMW back in 1998 and a new car was ordered , three months later when I picked it up there were two identical BMWs side by side with the same private number plate , so I just swopped cars.

 

[Will]

Not sure if there exceptions to this - the original owner of one of my cars put it straight onto a personal plate, it had never had a plate transfer prior to me purchasing it.

The personal plate was however age appropriate for the date of registration, but it wouldn’t have been a random DVLA issue nor did it match where it was registered.

Likewise another car I owned came to me wearing a dateless NI type plate, but it had been assigned to the car from new. I put it onto retention just to get rid of it (as I didn’t like the look) and the DVLA just issued a London ‘04’ plate to me instead that hadn’t been used previously.

Being that there’s no shortage of unused current type plates, I can’t see why the DVLA would choose to re-issue a previously used registration mark, and as said they tend to re-assign the original VRM if another plate is assigned and later removed.

 

[Doodle]

A work colleague had a question which I didn’t know the answer and thought I asked the forum. They have bought a car which has had a DVLA number assigned for the first time. The plate was on a previous car is there anyway to find which car it was on before?

It won't have been issued to any other vehicle previously

I don't think you can have a new car registered directly only with a private plate?

Yes, you can.

For pre-2001 registrations it was much clearer when the DVLA had issued a date-related registration, as they would often be the really undesirable ones from ranges that would generally be regarded as private registrations. For example, when the private plate was removed from my grandmother's C-class, it was given P91 LRX as no previous VRN existed - it was registered when new against that private plate. As mentioned in previous posts, where there is an earlier non-private VRM on record, the car will invariably return to that.

 

[TomF]

The car had a private plate since registration and now has an age related plate. They want to check if the age related plate has been on a previous car.

Normally the cars first DVLA number goes back on the car..

 

[Wolfie1]

when the car was brand new and with the first buyer having a private plate to go on that private plate will be the first plate that car will receive, unless it was a pre registered car then it would have already had a plate assigned and it will go back to this, if its first plate was a private and then taken off a random plate will be assigned by the dvla, now whether that plate will coincide with where the vehicle is first registered or the area the transfer has taken place im not 100% sure.
Weird fact if a car has had a private plate then another private plate is fitted when the owner transfers their current plate to another car the car reverts back to the last plate on it ie the first private plate