Buying a number plate

[M22s]

I have had a read of the DVLA website and am still unsure if this is doable…

The personal plate I want is registered to a car that I suspect has been scrapped, as it has not been taxed or MOT’d since 2007 and is not the kind of car a collector would mothball.

Any ideas if there is a mechanism to request the plate, either direct from the DVLA if it has been scrapped or the owner if they have it on retention or the car is sat on a drive?

[AlwynMike]

The standard answer these days is "can't do it because of GDPR"
It won't be on retention as its showing as on a car.
I suspect if its on a drive somewhere it would be on SORN.
So it's probably lost on more than one count.

[hobnobbler]

If it has been scrapped (with the number plate still on) the number plate will have been lost and DVLA wont re-issue.

[M22s]

That’s a shame, but not unexpected. Thanks for the replies.