Buying a Customer-Owned Registration

At REG KING, you can purchase registrations owned directly by us as well as registrations being sold by other customers.

When you're purchasing a customer-owned registration, the process is slightly different because REG KING acts as the middleman between you and the seller.

This gives both sides additional protection and allows us to verify the registration before the seller receives their money.

How Does REG KING Protect the Transaction?

When you purchase a customer-owned registration, you pay REG KING — not the seller directly.

We hold your payment while the registration and relevant documentation are being processed and verified.

The process is simple:

YOU PURCHASE → REG KING HOLDS YOUR MONEY → WE VERIFY THE REGISTRATION → TRANSFER IS COMPLETED → SELLER IS PAID

This means the seller doesn't simply receive your money before the registration has gone through our required checks.

If a genuine issue prevents the agreed transaction from being completed, the funds are still being held by REG KING, allowing us to investigate and, where a refund is due, return the appropriate funds to you.

Why Is This Different to Buying a REG KING-Owned Registration?

If a registration is owned directly by REG KING, we already control the registration and have verified the relevant documentation.

With a customer-owned registration, another individual owns the registration and is waiting to be paid for it.

We therefore carry out additional checks before releasing the seller's money.

This helps protect against issues such as incorrect documentation, transfer problems or potentially fraudulent transactions.

Why Do I Need to Assign the Registration?

Our preferred verification method is to successfully assign the registration to an eligible vehicle.

Successfully completing the assignment gives us strong confirmation that the registration can be transferred through the DVLA process.

Once the registration has been successfully assigned and our required checks have been completed, we can complete the transaction and release the seller's payment.

What If the Registration Is Currently on the Seller's Car?

Some transactions may take a little longer.

If the registration is currently assigned to the seller's vehicle, it will normally need to be removed from that vehicle first before the transaction can progress.

Timescales can therefore vary depending on the registration's current status, documentation and any DVLA processing required.

We'll keep you informed throughout the process.

What If I Don't Have a Vehicle to Assign It To?

Don't worry — you have three options.

Option 1 — REG KING Transaction Service | £150

If you don't have a suitable vehicle available, we can offer an alternative transaction service for £150.

This consists of:

£80 DVLA fee + £70 REG KING administration fee

We'll explain the applicable process before carrying out the service.

Option 2 — Use a Family Member or Friend's Vehicle

You may be able to temporarily assign the registration to an eligible vehicle belonging to a family member or friend, provided you have their permission.

You can then remove the registration from the vehicle afterwards.

Please remember to factor in the £80 DVLA retention fee, as well as potential additional requirements such as physical number plates, updating insurance and updating any services linked to the vehicle's registration.

Option 3 — Proceed Without Assignment Verification

If you don't want to use either of the options above, you may ask us whether the registration documentation can be supplied without completing our recommended assignment verification process.

REG KING may carry out additional checks and request further confirmation from the seller before agreeing to this.

However, this is not our recommended option.

Successfully assigning the registration provides a level of verification that documentation checks alone cannot provide.

If you choose to proceed without assignment verification, you may be asked to confirm in writing that you understand the additional risk and that REG KING cannot guarantee the outcome of a future DVLA assignment.

Your statutory rights are not affected.

When Does the Seller Get Paid?

REG KING holds the buyer's funds while the transaction is being completed.

The seller is normally paid only after the applicable verification and transaction requirements have been satisfied.

This is one of the key reasons we middleman customer-owned registration sales.

It gives the buyer additional protection while also giving genuine sellers confidence that once they have fulfilled their side of the transaction, their payment will be released.

A Safer Way to Buy From Another Seller

Instead of sending money directly to someone you don't know, REG KING sits between both parties and manages the transaction from start to finish.

Our aim is simple:

Protect the buyer. Protect the seller. Verify the registration. Complete the transaction properly.

For further information about verification, refunds, DVLA decisions, buyer and seller responsibilities and how different circumstances are handled, please read our Full Customer-Owned Registration Purchase & Verification Policy.