Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 section 26

Retention of registration mark pending transfer

Section 26 allows the Secretary of State to make regulations enabling a vehicle owner to retain a registration mark (number plate) and later assign it to a different vehicle.

• The registered keeper of a vehicle, or another person they nominate, can apply for a "right of retention" over that vehicle's registration mark, allowing them to later transfer it to a different registered vehicle.
• The right of retention must be exercised within a prescribed period, though this period can be extended (for a fee) if conditions are met and the Secretary of State agrees.
• Regulations may require application fees, vehicle inspections, and assignment charges; these fees may be partly or wholly non-refundable, and certain classes of extension or assignment may be exempted from fees at the Secretary of State's discretion.
• Rights of retention are non-transferable (except by operation of law, such as inheritance), and the Secretary of State retains broad powers to refuse applications, revoke rights, and reassign marks after transfer.

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