Download and complete form VTL301. You need to have motor trade insurance, and provide a copy of your Motor Trade Insurance Certificate with the form. If you have a different type of insurance, your application will not be approved. The name on your insurance certificate must match the name on the application form.
What are the rules? Trade plates must be used only for the particular business purposes for which they were issued. It is an offence to use more than one vehicle under a trade licence at any one time, and to keep a vehicle on a road when not in use except in certain emergency situations.
Trade plate policies exclude social, domestic and pleasure use, but does provide you with valuable movement cover on non-registered or taxed vehicles. Under the provisions of the policy, we can also include your everyday vehicles and can also provide social, domestic and pleasure use on your permanently owned vehicles.
You can apply for trade licence plates if you're a motor dealer, motor trader or vehicle tester. This means your business does one or more of the following: sells vehicles. manufactures or repairs vehicles.
Watch this before you apply for Trade Plate Licence.
Are trade plates insurance?
The Trade Plate itself does not provide any Insurance cover. It merely removes the need for Road Tax during the Motor Trade Business related journey. However, the Trade Plate number will be linked to your MID record.
As a sole trader you are registering yourself as a self-employed individual. Therefore you, as an individual, are personally responsible for anything your new business does. This is one of the big downsides of registering as a sole trader. With a limited company it is the company that takes on contracts and loans.
Named drivers can be added and removed at any time but notification is always required. While any of the named drivers can drive a vehicle with the trade plates, an unnamed driver cannot. The same occurs in respect of private cars of the proprietor of the insured party.
If your application is successful, you should be sent a confirmation letter and your trade plates within 4 weeks of applying. They will be sent separately. Contact DVLA after 4 weeks if you've not received your confirmation letter or trade plates.
You are only allowed to drive a SORN car if you are taking it to a pre-booked MOT. If you have trade plates then you can drive the car as long as the plates are being used correctly.
If you're a motor trader, trade plates can save you time and money. These plates are placed over a vehicle's original registration when it's out on the road for a test drive or inspection. By removing the need to tax each vehicle individually, you can legally drive any vehicle in your possession.
Trade plates save motor traders time, hassle, and expense. For instance, instead of having to complete paperwork when registering vehicles and taxing each one, simply place your trade plates onto the vehicle you're temporarily using. From there, you're good to go! Trade plates are handy for a range of circumstances.
Trade licence plates are number plates you can use on vehicles your business has for things like selling, repairing or testing. If you display trade licence plates on any vehicle, your employees and customers can drive the vehicle for certain purposes without having to pay to register and tax it.
A trade plate is a temporary number plate used by motor traders or vehicle testers to save them the cost and time to register and tax every vehicle temporarily in their possession.
Trade plate drivers have to be suitably skilled and insured to undertake the job, and a good trade plate driver is worth their weight in gold as the job requires flexibility, patience and a lot of travelling.
How to apply. Download and complete form VTL301. You need to have motor trade insurance, and provide a copy of your Motor Trade Insurance Certificate with the form. If you have a different type of insurance, your application will not be approved.
You can apply for additional licences if you want extra sets of plates. Follow the same process to apply for an additional licence as the initial licence - send in form VTL301 with a copy of your Motor Trade Insurance Certificate.
If we look at the Trade plate driver salary statistics in United Kingdom as of November 8, 2023, the represented employee makes £30,356; to be more precise pay rate is £2,530 per month, £584 per week, or £15 per hour. We have researched the job market for this profession in detail and derived average values.
Running a business without the right form of insurance can be extremely detrimental, especially if the worst were to happen and a claim has to be made. There are businesses out there that require Motor Trade insurance whom are unaware of the requirements.
It's not illegal to not have public liability insurance. But, without this protection, you're risking everything you've worked so hard to build. And while you don't need cover by law, some contracts and clients may require you to have this in place. So you'll be in breach of contract and at risk if you don't have it.
Although giving an exact premium with no details is almost impossible, we can tell you our road risk policies start from: Third Party £318* What does this cover. Third Party Fire and Theft £382* What does this cover. Fully Comprehensive £477* What does this cover.
Do you have to register with HMRC if you are a sole trader?
To set up as a sole trader, you need to tell HMRC that you pay tax through Self Assessment. You'll need to file a tax return every year. Register for Self Assessment.
How much can I earn before registering as sole trader?
You need to set up as a sole trader if any of the following apply: you earned more than £1,000 from self-employment between 6 April 2022 and 5 April 2023.
What are the advantages of becoming a sole trader? Along with being quick and easy to set up, it's easier to manage your own accounts when you're operating as a sole trader. At the moment, there's minimal paperwork beyond submitting your annual Self Assessment tax return.
