Terms & Conditions

Terms and Conditions for BUYING a car registration through CapePlates

These terms and conditions apply to all business transactions carried out by Cape Plates. Your statutory rights are not affected.

  1. All registrations are sold subject to availability, Cape Plates cannot be held responsible for a registration that ceases to be available for whatever reason. In such cases any payment made by the purchaser will be refunded in full, provided the failure is through no fault of the purchaser. CapePlates liability is strictly limited to a refund only, no claims for damages, interest or expenses will be accepted.
  2. Any deposit taken to reserve a registration is non-refundable unless we fail to secure or transfer your registration at no blame to yourself. It is the customers responsibility to supply all documents requested within 4 weeks of purchase. If you cannot supply your vehicle documents in this timescale please call to discuss before purchasing. Any outstanding balance must also be paid within 4 weeks, or in some circumstances within 2 weeks of the agreed sale - this will be confirmed in writing.
  3. When a part payment has been taken, any balances due when paid on a credit card will be subject to a 2% handling fee. Debit cards are not subject to any handling fees.
  4. It is the sole responsibility of the purchaser to ensure that all the correct details are entered onto Cape Plates internet forms and submitted. A Cape Plates representative shall use standard phonetics to refer to combinations requested by the purchaser. Incorrect nominee names will incur a charge of £25 to correct.
  5. Under the Distance Selling Regulations Cape Plates will notify you that our service begins as soon as a registration is reserved on your behalf, therefore there is no cooling off period, the transaction cannot be reversed or cancelled and no refund will be offered or be available under any circumstances.
  6. Registration numbers must be displayed correctly. To miss-space or miss-represent your letters and numbers in a way is an offence under the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 1971. Subsequently all registration marks sold by the Company are sold on the understanding that they will be displayed in accordance with Section 17 of the Road Vehicles Regulations Act 1971. Cape Plates do not in anyway endorse the use of 'Show Plates' which are not road legal. Cape Plates will not honour any claim made by a purchaser displaying 'show plates' on their vehicle. A 'show plate' is defined as a registration plate made up that displays characters not correctly spaced.
  7. CapePlates accept no responsibility with regard to the expiry of Retention Certificates or Certificates of Entitlement that are supplied to you the purchaser. We will endeavour to give notification where possible and will give assistance in certificate extension so long as a £60.00 fee is paid to Cape Plates. A 'Nominee' named on a Retention Certificate/Certificate of Entitlement has no legal ownership of the registration mark until it is assigned to their vehicle.
  8. All transfers will be carried out as quickly as possible; we cannot guarantee specific times for completed transfers. We cannot be held responsible for postal delay, DVLA delays or any other unforeseen circumstances. We aim to have your retention certificate delivered to you within 21 days, however in some special cases a registration mark may take up to 13 weeks to transfer from a donor vehicle (this is usually the case for registrations that are on donor vehicles that are without a valid MOT - and the time needed to prepare a vehicle for a MOT Test)
  9. In some circumstances, we may need to transfer your chosen registration directly to your vehicle, instead of supplying you with a Retention Certificate/Certificate of Entitlement. This will usually be the case when the registration being purchased is being sold on behalf of an agency/commission sale where the registration is still held on the donors car. We will advise of this procedure if it arises. Cape Plates will carry out all of the transfer paperwork involved.
  10. All registrations are subject to the Department of Transport transfer fee and most are subject to VAT at the current government rate.
  11. Your new registration should not be displayed until you are in receipt of your new tax disc (licence) and the transfer has been successfully processed. It is your responsibility to display the registration in accordance with current government regulations.
  12. Registrations cannot be purchased/used to make a vehicle look younger than it actually is. You can make your vehicle look as old as you wish. If you purchase a registration that is too new for your current vehicle Cape Plates accept no responsibility and will offer no refund or exchange. For example, you cannot put a 'P' prefix registration on an 'M' plate registered vehicle. Any doubts, enquire before purchasing.
  13. Our computer database has millions of registration numbers online. We endeavour to show correct prices but in the event of errors no money will be taken or accepted without prior consultation with the customer. In these circumstances the sale will not proceed.
  14. Registration marks on UK mainland certificates cannot be transferred direct to vehicles registered in Northern Ireland. Vehicle to vehicle transfers are allowed so it's possible to transfer a mark from a UK DVLA registration certificate to a UK mainland registered vehicle and then on to a vehicle registered in Northern Ireland. We can supply a donor vehicle service for you to transfer your registration number to a NI registered vehicle - please enquire for prices of our NI transfer service.
  15. CapePlates is a Registered Number Plate Supplier (RNPS). Registration number 31424. When a set of number plates is ordered without purchasing a cherished number we will request proof of address and entitlement to the registration number. Number plates ordered cannot be cancelled or changed after the time of ordering as these are custom made and mistakes cannot be rectified at a later date. We endeavour to deliver a set of number plates within 7 working days.
  16. CapePlates is the trading name of Cape Tech Ltd.
  17. E&EO
  18. By registering your details with Cape Plates you are granting us permission to contact you for the purpose of marketing our company, until you specifically request to be removed from our mailing database. This covers email addresses supplied when signing up for our newsletter, requesting a valuation or purchasing a registration.

Terms and Conditions for SELLING a car registration through CapePlates

  1. The Seller of the registration mark appoints CapePlates to advertise and sell the right to transfer this registration mark to a buyer that CapePlates shall find. By agreeing to these terms it is confirmation that you wish CapePlates to advertise and sell the registration mark.
  2. A Buyer is confirmed as found, once CapePlates have received a part payment from an intending Purchaser of the mark.
  3. Completion of the sale is reached when CapePlates is notified of the replacement mark being issued on the new V5. Once the sale is complete, the payment amount agreed in the quotation, or any lower offer agreed, will be paid to the Seller. Once we have sold your registration, you will be issued with a new age related registration for your vehicle. Once you are in receipt of your new V5 with your replacement registration, please send a copy of this to our office. If we have transferred your registration onto a DVLA retention certificate, you will need to send this to our office for verification. We will then issue you with your payment cheque. No payments are made under any circumstances until we are in receipt of either a copy of your new V5 or the orginal DVLA V750/V778 retention certificate.
  4. This contract is valid indefinitely and must be cancelled by the Seller in writing -if you do not send a cancellation request by recorded delivery you must call or email Cape Plates for receipt of this request, we will then issue you with the cancellation code. If for any reason the mark is no longer available for sale due to the vehicle carrying the mark being destroyed, stolen or sold, or if the seller wishes to withdraw the mark from sale, the seller must inform us immediately.
  5. Once CapePlates has received confirmation of cancellation, the Seller will incur no costs whatsoever. A Seller may only withdraw their registration mark from sale provided that Cape Plates has not already found a suitable buyer and taken a part payment deposit. In this case, if a Seller withdraws their registration from sale for any reason, they will be liable to pay Cape Plates loss of commission and costs. Our loss of commission is the difference between the selling price and the price agreed that we will be returning you once sold.
  6. The donor vehicle (the vehicle with the mark that is being sold) must be taxed and have a valid MOT if applicable. It is the sellers responsibility to ensure the vehicle has a valid MOT and Tax disc.
  7. The Seller is responsible for presenting the donor vehicle to their Department of Transport's Local Licensing Office, if so required, at their own expense.
  8. It is the Sellers responsibility to return all valid paperwork to CapePlates, including Current V5 and MOT Certificate, if applicable, as requested during the sale within a maximum of one week of notification of a sale.
  9. CapePlates is responsible for the administering of the documentation required to transfer the registration mark. CapePlates will NOT be liable for any losses caused due to any delay other than on the part of CapePlates. In the unlikely event the DVLA revokes the right to a registration mark, CapePlates will not be liable for any damages; interest or other expense incurred.
  10. If the Seller is holding the registration mark on a Retention/Entitlement Certificate, the Seller must provide CapePlates with the un-expired certificate to be sent to the DVLA for amendment.
  11. Transfer involving registrations either going to, or coming from Northern Ireland can take longer than standard transfer as they involve two licensing authorities and therefore are not bound by the usual time constraints.
  12. By registering your details with Cape Plates you are granting us permission to contact you for the purpose of marketing our company, until you specifically request to be removed from our mailing database. This covers email addresses supplied when signing up for our newsletter, requesting a valuation or purchasing a registration.


We follow a strict complaints procedure - if you feel that you wish to make a complaint, please send it in writing to:

Cape Plates, PO BOX 361, Gateshead. NE8 4ZU and we will provide a written response within 7 working days.