A good plate ...

[Gyp]

I had looked at that page, but it days "Your original number plate will usually be reassigned to your vehicle automatically, if your application is successful."

Since its the original number that I want to keep, that's why I came to ask here.

That is if you decide to put a number that's on retention onto a vehicle. The number that gets displaced doesn't go on to retention, it kind of disappears.

When you then decide to take that number back off, the number re-issued by the DVLA will likely be the original for the vehicle.

This doesn't apply in your case.



Scenario 1 (as per the example you quote)

Lets say you have a bike bought with AB12 CDE and splash out on DE12 AMF. You receive the retention cert in the post for DE12 AMF. When you apply that to the bike, AB12 CDE disappears.

Then a couple of years later you put DE12 AMF onto retention, you pay the £80 fee and get a retention cert for DE12 AMF. The DVLA issue you back AB12 CDE.


Scenario 2 (what you want to achieve)

You buy a bike with AB12 CDE on it and decide you like that. At a later point you put AB12 CDE onto retention, you pay the £80 fee and get a retention cert for AB12 CDE. The DVLA issue a brand new age related number you'll not have seen before, maybe FG12 HJK.

That way you retain the AB12 CDE to use on another vehicle

- - - Updated - - -

So the DVLA will identify my having created a registration vacuum and will automatically dig up some random unused 2023 plate? Smashing. Cheers :)

Yes!