New Changes affecting the supply of Number Plates
Following on from the significant changes to the legislation covering the style and display of number pates applicable for UK registered vehicles during 2001, further very significant changes become law on 1st January 2003. This will seriously impact on the Club’s ability to provide a replacement number plate service, irrespective of the age of your vehicle. These changes affect all number plate suppliers in England and Wales and members looking to obtain plates from alternative sources will find that there are much greater difficulties along with considerable extra inconvenience.
From 1st January 2003 any person wishing to buy any number plate, (that is the actual plate and not buying a registration number from DVLA or specialist dealer) for a vehicle that is registered with DVLA will have to produce very specific documentation to prove their identity. Not only this but also additional documentation to show they have entitlement to actually buy plates displaying the number they want.
Acceptable personal identification documentation includes a Photocard driving licence, supported by the paper counterpart, which is preferred, or a recent bank/building society statement, or recent utility bill. Additional identity supporting documentation can be an old style driving licence, a passport or other ID card, which contains your photograph.
Acceptable documentation to show entitlement to the registration number you want for your number plates includes the V5 registration document, excise licence renewal form (car tax renewal), a DVLA certificate connected to a personal number purchase and other official documents which provide the same information under less common circumstance.
ONLY ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS are accepted, so trying to present any form of copy will simply be wasting your time. This means that members will be required to present these original documents to the Club before any order can be processed. Clearly for personal callers this is not going to create too much inconvenience, but telephone and internet sales will involve a significant degree of inconvenience and delay. It is also clear that members will feel unhappy or unwilling to send such documentation by post, or even registered post. Clearly from the Clubs perspective we would be returning documents via secure registered mail for safety and security reasons. This will involve additional costs, which unfortunately will have to be passed on.
The aim of the legislation is to restrict the criminal access to easy obtained number plates. The Law requires all suppliers to be registered on a national database so that every number plate made can be traced through back to the person who bought it. Whilst the aims of the legislators are laudable the inconvenience factor for most will now rise considerably. For full details of the legislation visit www.dvla.gov.uk