11.—(1) A registration mark may not be assigned to a vehicle in pursuance of a right of retention unless the conditions specified in paragraph (2) are satisfied.
(2) Those conditions are—
(a)where the registration mark contains a single letter of the alphabet, the assignment of that mark would not indicate that the vehicle was first used more recently than is the case;
(b)a vehicle licence issued under the 1971 Act is in force for the vehicle or a valid application for such a licence has been made;
(c)the vehicle is one to which either;
(i)section 45 of the 1988 Act applies or would apply if the vehicle had been registered under the 1971 Act more than three years before the date of the assignment or if no certificate of a type mentioned in regulation 10(2)(c)(ii) were in force, or
(ii)section 49 of the 1988 Act applies;
(d)the Secretary of State is satisfied as to the origins of the vehicle and the date on which it was first used; and
(e)the vehicle is recorded as being a registered vehicle in the G.B. records, or a valid application has been made for the vehicle to become a registered vehicle in the G.B. records.