What will happen to my current number plate if I decide to buy a private one?

In the UK: When you apply to transfer a "cherished" registration number to your car, the original number goes back to the DVLA. If you then want to sell your car, you can put your "cherished" number on retention (you get a certificate, and then have up to two year to put it back on a car), and your car will be issued with an age-related number. 9 times out of 10 this will be your original number, but this is not guaranteed. When the transfer is approved, you will receive a new tax disc with your cherished number, along with a "right to display" letter. As soon as you receive this, you must change your number plates to the cherished number, put the new tax disc on the car, and inform your insurance company of the change of number. It is unlikely that your insurance will charge an increased premium, but they may charge a small admin fee for issuing a new certificate stating the new registration number. Read http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/PersonalisedRegAndNumberPlates/DG_4022576 for more information.

i think they are talking about usa laws.inform your insurance.the number will be kept on hold by the dvla.when you want to sell the car it's faster to go to your local dvla office to replace your origanal reg number.

The number will be retained by the DVLA for the vehicle, when you sell the vehicle and want to keep the private plate you would contact the DVLA who will re-issue the number for the car,

You will lose the current one, unless you wish to register another car with the older plates. Insurance laws vary greatly by state, it would be wise to contact your insurance company and find out what their procedures are, prior to your request to the DMV. I am not aware of any extra charges from your insurance company, because of the personalized plates. You will however pay a fee to the DMV for the customized plates.

Your original registration number will go back into the D.V.L.A. 'pool'. I bought a private registration number for my previous motorcycle. When I sold the bike, I put the number on retention, in order to sell it separately. The D.V.L.A. then reissued the original registration number for the bike to me, as it was still in the pool and hadn't been reissued. If your original plate is reissued before you want to change it back, the D.V.L.A. will issue you with a different age-related registration number instead. You are required by law to inform your insurance company that you have changed the vehicle registration number. If you don't tell them, you car will show up as uninsured and you will get stopped by the police. A private registration number does not affect the cost of your insurance.

Usually you have to surrender the old plates to DMV when you get your custom plates. Your Insurance Co does not care about your license plate #.