Terms of Service

Terms of Service
Last updated: 28 Jun 2026

1. About these terms
These terms of service ("Terms") govern your use of Absolute Reg, an online marketplace for buying and selling UK private vehicle registrations ("registrations" or "plates") at auction. They form a legally binding agreement between you and Absolute Reg Limited.

By creating an account, listing a registration, or placing a bid, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by these Terms, our Privacy Policy and our Cookie Policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the platform.

Who we are
Legal business name: Absolute Reg Limited
Company number: 9366611
VAT number: 203855128
Registered/postal address: Suite 5, Chequers Barn, Chequers Hill, Bough Beech, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 7PD
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0207 205 2347

2. Definitions
Seller — a registered user who lists a registration for sale.
Buyer — a registered user who places a bid on a registration.
Winning bid — the highest valid bid at the close of an auction, provided any reserve has been met.
Buyer premium — our fee payable by the buyer, as set out in clause 9.
Reserve — the minimum price a seller will accept, as described in clause 5.
Platform — the Absolute Reg website and services.

3. Eligibility and accounts
You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a legally binding contract to use the platform. You must provide accurate, current information and keep it up to date.

Before you can bid or list, you must verify your email address and phone number. To list a registration, or to complete a purchase, you may also be required to complete identity (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) checks and provide supporting documents. We may refuse, suspend or close an account, or decline a listing or bid, where checks are not satisfactorily completed or where we reasonably suspect fraud or a breach of these Terms.

You are responsible for all activity that takes place under your account and for keeping your login details secure.

4. Our role
Absolute Reg provides an online auction platform that connects buyers and sellers. Except where expressly stated, we act as an intermediary and agent for the seller in concluding the sale and in handling payment and the DVLA transfer. We are not the owner of the registrations listed and we do not guarantee the accuracy of seller-provided information beyond the verification we carry out.

5. Listings, reserves and how the auction works
Sellers create a listing, providing accurate details of the registration and uploading the required documents (see clause 10). We review and verify listings before they go live; we may decline or remove any listing at our discretion.

A seller may set a reserve — the minimum price they will accept. If bidding does not meet the reserve by the close of the auction, the registration does not sell. We indicate on each auction whether the reserve has been met.

Auctions run for the period shown on the listing. Where a bid is placed in the final moments of an auction, we may extend the closing time by a short period to allow fair competing bids.

A seller may request to lower the reserve while an auction is live. Any reduction is subject to our approval and, once applied, is binding and cannot be reversed; we may indicate on the listing that the reserve has been lowered. A reserve may not be increased once an auction is live.

We aim to ensure listings are accurate, but errors can occur. Where a listing contains an obvious error — for example the wrong registration, a clear pricing or reserve error, or an error caused by a technical fault — we may correct it, suspend or remove the listing, or cancel or annul any resulting bid or sale, even after the auction has closed. Where we cancel a sale for this reason through no fault of the buyer, any buyer premium charged will be refunded.

6. Bidding
You place a bid by entering your amount on the auction page. You may also set a maximum (proxy) bid, and our system will bid automatically on your behalf up to that amount, in the minimum increments needed to keep you as the highest bidder.

All bids are binding and cannot be retracted. A bid is a legal commitment to purchase the registration at that price if you win, together with the buyer premium. Please make sure you are happy with your bid before confirming it. You must not place bids you do not intend to honour, and you must not bid on your own listings or arrange for others to inflate bids ("shill bidding").

7. Service availability and auction interruptions

While we aim to keep the platform available at all times, we do not guarantee that access will be continuous, uninterrupted, error-free or secure. The platform may be unavailable during maintenance, or as a result of events beyond our reasonable control (see clause 21). 

In the event of a system failure, outage or other significant technical disruption - particularly during the closing stages of an auction - we may, at our discretion: extend the closing time of an affected auction; pause; cancel and re-run an affected auction; or annul any bid placed during the period of disruption. We will act reasonably and in good faith to preserve a fair outcome for buyers and sellers when we do so. 

We are not liable to any buyer for a bid that could not be placed, was delayed, or was not registered because of an interruption, outage or other technical issue, nor to any seller for any lower price, lost bids or failure to achieve a higher price arising from such an event. 

Where an auction closes during or following an interruption with a valid bid at or above any reserve, the sale stands and remains binding at that price, unless we exercise our rights above to annul, cancel or re-run the auction.

8. Winning an auction
If you have the winning bid when the auction closes and any reserve has been met, a binding contract of sale is formed between you (the buyer) and the seller, and you must complete the purchase in accordance with these Terms. We will notify you by email and SMS.

9. Buyer payments and fees
Winning buyers pay in two parts:

Buyer premium — 10% of the winning bid, subject to a minimum of £300, including VAT. The buyer premium is our fee, is charged in addition to the winning bid, and is payable immediately after winning by debit or credit card via our payment provider, Stripe.

Winning bid balance — the amount of the winning bid itself, payable by bank transfer to our client account within 7 days of the auction closing. Payment details and a unique payment reference (in the form AR-XXXXXXXX) are provided after you win. Please quote the reference so we can identify your payment.

The buyer premium is non-refundable once charged, except where required by law or where we cancel the sale through no fault of the buyer.

Buyer premium payments are made by debit or credit card via Stripe. Where you have validly been charged the buyer premium, you must not initiate a chargeback or payment dispute in breach of these Terms. Doing so is a default under clause 14, and we may recover the disputed amount together with any fees, charges and reasonable costs we incur as a result, and may suspend or close your account.

10. Selling: your obligations

To list a registration you must lawfully hold the entitlement to it. We currently accept registrations held on a V750 Certificate of Entitlement or a V778 Retention Certificate. Registrations currently assigned to a vehicle (held on a V5C) may also be accepted at our discretion, following additional verification of entitlement and ownership. You must provide accurate information and, on request, supporting documents (which may include your V750 or V778, proof of identity and proof of address). You confirm that you are entitled to sell the registration and that it is not subject to any third-party rights, dispute or restriction. Misrepresentation of ownership or entitlement is a serious breach of these Terms.

11. Seller fees and payouts
Absolute Reg charges sellers no fees. Our only charge is the buyer premium, paid by the buyer. Sellers receive the full winning bid amount. The winning bid is the total amount payable for the registration. Where VAT is chargeable on the sale, it is treated as included within the winning bid, and it is the seller's responsibility to account for that VAT to HMRC. Sellers may not add VAT, or any other charge, on top of the winning bid, and should reflect any VAT liability in the reserve they set.

Once the buyer has paid in full (buyer premium and winning bid balance) and the DVLA transfer has completed, we release your payment to your verified bank account within 7 working days. It is your responsibility to provide and maintain accurate bank details; we verify bank details before a payout.

12. Completion and DVLA transfer
After the buyer has paid in full, Absolute Reg submits the transfer application to the DVLA on the seller's behalf. Once approved, we either dispatch the buyer's retention certificate or, where the buyer has chosen and provided the required V5C logbook, arrange for the registration to be assigned to the buyer's vehicle. DVLA transfers typically take 2 to 4 weeks, and we keep both parties updated. Timescales are dependent on the DVLA and are not guaranteed by us.

13. If a registration does not sell
If the reserve is not met, the registration is listed as unsold. The seller may relist it at any time, with the option to adjust the reserve.

14. Non-payment and default
If a buyer fails to pay the buyer premium or the winning bid balance within the required time, we may cancel the sale, charge reasonable costs, suspend or close the account, offer the registration to the next-highest bidder or relist it, and pursue the outstanding amounts as a debt. Sellers who withdraw a registration after a sale has been concluded, or who fail to complete, may likewise be charged reasonable costs and have their account suspended.

15. Cancellation rights
Sales concluded at public auction may be exempt from the usual consumer cancellation ("cooling-off") rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations. Because bids are binding, you should not bid unless you intend to complete the purchase. Nothing in these Terms affects any rights you have that cannot be excluded by law.

16. Prohibited conduct
You must not: place bids without intending to pay; engage in shill bidding or otherwise manipulate auctions; misrepresent ownership or the registration; use the platform for any unlawful purpose, including money laundering or fraud; or attempt to interfere with the security or operation of the platform. Breach may result in cancellation of transactions, suspension or a permanent ban, and we may report unlawful activity to the authorities.

17. Our liability
The platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Absolute Reg excludes all liability to you, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, arising out of or in connection with these Terms, the platform, any auction, listing, bid, sale, payment or DVLA transfer.

In particular, and without limiting the above, we are not liable for: the acts, omissions, solvency or default of any buyer or seller; the accuracy, completeness or legality of information or documents provided by users; any failure by a buyer to pay or by a seller to complete; the condition, validity or entitlement to any registration; delays, decisions or actions of the DVLA or any other third party; any interruption, unavailability, error or security incident affecting the platform; and any indirect, special or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of opportunity or loss of data.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, and for any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law. If and to the extent we are found liable despite the exclusions above, and that liability cannot lawfully be excluded, our total liability to you in respect of any transaction shall not exceed the buyer premium paid or payable on that transaction.

18. Intellectual property
All content on the platform, other than user-submitted content, is owned by or licensed to Absolute Reg and may not be copied or reused without our permission. By submitting content (such as listing details) you grant us a licence to use it for the purpose of operating the platform.

19. Data protection
We process personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy. By using the platform you acknowledge that processing.

20. Changes to these terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. The current version is always available on this page, and your continued use of the platform after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

21. Force majeure
We are not liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations under these Terms where that failure or delay results from events beyond our reasonable control. This includes, without limitation, acts of God, fire, flood or severe weather, epidemic or pandemic, war or civil unrest, strikes or industrial action, failure or delay of the DVLA or other public authority, failure or interruption of payment providers (including Stripe), banks, hosting, telecommunications or internet services, power outages, and cyber-attacks. Where such an event occurs, the time for performance will be extended for the duration of the event.

22. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found by any court or competent authority to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, that provision will be severed from the remaining provisions, which will continue in full force and effect. Where possible, the invalid provision will be replaced by a valid one that achieves, as closely as possible, the intended commercial result.

23. Entire agreement and no waiver
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and us in relation to your use of the platform and supersede any prior agreement or understanding. No failure or delay by us in exercising any right or remedy under these Terms will operate as a waiver of that right or remedy, and no single or partial exercise of any right or remedy will prevent any further exercise of it.

24. Assignment
We may assign, transfer, subcontract or otherwise deal with our rights and obligations under these Terms, including to any successor of our business, without your consent, provided this does not adversely affect your rights. You may not assign or transfer any of your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent.

25. Third-party rights
Except as set out in this clause, a person who is not a party to these Terms has no rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any of their provisions. This does not affect any right or remedy of a buyer or seller under a contract of sale concluded through the platform, which we conclude as agent for the seller in accordance with clause 4.

26. Governing law and disputes
These Terms and any dispute arising from them are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. If you have a complaint, please contact us first at [email protected] so we can try to resolve it.