Trade plate glossary

Trade plates are the plates a licensed motor trader displays when driving a vehicle that is not showing its own taxed number plates. They let stock be collected, demonstrated and delivered without taxing a car that is only passing through the business. OVM fits its own trade plates on every job, and our driver is in charge of the car or van on the public road. Trade plates do not replace a valid MOT, and they cannot make a non runner, a salvage vehicle or a car without keys legal to drive. GOV.UK publishes the rules for using trade plates, which say the vehicle must be roadworthy, insured and hold a valid MOT unless it is exempt. If it cannot be driven, a transporter is the answer. Read more about what a driven trade plate vehicle movement involves.

A release code is the instruction an auction issues once the buyer has paid and the lot is cleared to leave. Without it the gate will not let the vehicle out, however long the driver waits. OVM only dispatches to BCA, Manheim, Wilsons or an independent compound once the release is confirmed, with the code, account name and named collector all matching what the gate expects. If finance, a hold or an unpaid balance is still on the lot, the office pauses the job before anyone sets off. Storage charges keep running until a released, roadworthy vehicle leaves the site, so read auction collection after release to keep things moving.

A compound is the secure yard where auction stock waits until it is released and collected, at BCA, Manheim, Wilsons or an independent site. It is not a public car park or your forecourt: the gate has opening hours, a process and a list of who may collect. OVM treats every compound collection as a gate job. Our driver arrives with release details the office has already checked, photographs the vehicle before it moves and only then drives it away on trade plates. If the lot is not released or not roadworthy, it is too soon for a trade plate driver. Book trade plate auction collection when the vehicle is ready to leave.

Road risk is the motor trade insurance that covers driving a vehicle on the public road under trade plates. It is separate from the owner's private motor policy, which usually stops applying once a car becomes trade stock. OVM moves only roadworthy cars and vans with a valid MOT, so our road risk cover always sits on a legal drive and never on a recovery job. To see the service this cover supports, read when trade plate delivery is the right move.

A driven movement is one roadworthy car or van taken from collection to delivery by a driver on trade plates, on its own wheels. It never waits for a space on a transporter or for a truck to fill. Every OVM job is one vehicle with a valid MOT and digital proof at both ends. A driven movement is not possible when the vehicle cannot legally be driven, when there are no keys or when several vehicles need to travel as one load, because those jobs need a different method. If you are choosing between a driver and a truck, read trade plate delivery versus a transporter. If you already know you need a driver, send the registration and both postcodes for an instant quote.

POC stands for proof of collection, the record that the vehicle left the collection address or compound in a stated condition, with the mileage, photographs and a signature taken before the drive begins. OVM captures it on the device at collection, so it is never a paper docket left in the door pocket or a text saying the driver has arrived. Your POC arrives with the proof of delivery when the vehicle is handed over, so the office and the customer close the job together. At an auction, POC is still taken at the compound after release and before the drive. Find out more about vehicle collection and delivery with POC and POD.

POD stands for proof of delivery, the record that the named person received the vehicle at the delivery address, with condition, mileage, photographs and a signature captured on the device. OVM sends it together with the proof of collection when the job closes. On a retail handover the POD shows the dealer that the customer walkaround took place, and on a site transfer it confirms the stock arrived as described. A POD closes the movement but does not transfer legal ownership on its own. If the named person is not there, the driver calls the office rather than leave the vehicle unsigned. Read more about dealer to dealer vehicle movements.

An MOT is the test showing a vehicle met the legal standard on the day it was tested. For OVM it is essential: no valid MOT means no driven job. Trade plates do not replace an MOT, and a car booked in for a test at the other end is still not legal to drive today. If the MOT has expired or is missing, or you expect the vehicle to fail, a transporter is the right choice and we will tell you so. Check the MOT status before you ask for a driver, especially on auction stock. The service this rule applies to is trade plate vehicle movements.

A trade seller is a motor trader selling to another trader rather than to a retail customer. The vehicle still travels as a driven car or van on trade plates, but the handover is site to site and invoice to invoice, with no customer demonstration. OVM handles the physical move and the condition record, while the sale contract stays between you and the buyer. Give us the sites, the registration and who can release and receive the vehicle, and remember it still needs to be roadworthy with a valid MOT for us to drive it. To see how we move stock between traders, read about dealer delivery.

A dealer transfer, also known as a site transfer, is stock moving between two of your own locations on trade plates. It is different from a retail handover or an auction collection. We record the condition at both ends, so an internal move never turns into an internal dispute. Every vehicle is its own driven job rather than one of a block of registrations on a truck, and each must be roadworthy with a valid MOT. Someone at each site needs to be able to release and receive it. If the car is going to a retail customer instead, that is a different kind of handover, explained in site transfers and retail handovers on trade plates.

Storage charges are what an auction or compound bills for a lot that is still in the yard after the free period ends. They are not an OVM fee, and if collection is late they can easily cost more than the driven movement. Depending on the auction's own rules, the clock usually starts after the hammer falls or after release. The best approach is to confirm the release and get a driver to the gate while the vehicle is still cheap to keep there. We will not send a driver before the lot is released, because a wasted visit to the gate does not stop the storage clock. Read auction collection after release and the auction collection checklist before the charges start to build.