DVLA releases new personalised registration numbers, over 150,000 to be won

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has issued more than 150,000 new personalised registration numbers, a rare opportunity for number plate enthusiasts to get their hands on a unique number.

The prefix-style registration numbers have a fixed price. This means that there will be no bidding wars when the plates go on sale.

The viewing started on Tuesday 24 September and the signs will be available for sale from Tuesday 1 October.

The registrations are brand new: they have never been linked to a vehicle or offered for sale before. This is a unique opportunity for license plate hunters.

Unique opportunity: The new license plates with prefix will go on sale from October 1 and have a fixed price, so there will be no bidding wars

The prefix formats are highly desirable, with a letter from A to H, followed by 25 or 326, a space, and then three more letters. An example of this is A25 CAR.

New prefix registrations available include: A25 CYA, B25 TOM, C26 DAN, D25 OMG, E26 CAT, F25 CBR, F26 ORD, G25 GEM, and H25 NRY.

These license plates are undoubtedly popular with motorists, as you have the chance to win a license plate with your name on it, a funny saying or a word that has a personal connection to you.

And because these boards are sold at fixed prices rather than by auction, with prices starting from just £250 (including VAT and the £80 allocation fee), they are much more accessible than private boards sold by auction.

The DVLA holds monthly online auctions where bidders can compete for sought-after private number plates.

But because there is no maximum price, the cost of signs can quickly add up.

Prefixed license plates were first issued on August 1, 1983 and are the most popular type of license plate on the private license plate market.

The DVLA’s top 10 most expensive number plates of all time were all priced at over £150,000 (excluding fees and taxes) and were sold back in 1989, the year the body first started holding auctions for privately owned number plates.

The most expensive DVLA registration ever sold was the ’25 O’, which reached a value of £400,000 (excluding fees and taxes) on 27 November 2014.

You can use the DVLA search function to search for a word or a combination of numbers and letters. For example, enter your name and the search function will give you the nearest match

These personalised number plates sold for the highest amounts last year by the DVLA

Speaking ahead of the upcoming number plate sale, Jody Davies, Head of Personalised Registrations at the DVLA, said: ‘Whether it’s to represent your name, hobby, profession or because you’re a car enthusiast, why not give your vehicle the finishing touch by purchasing a personalised registration?

‘This exciting upcoming release is a great opportunity to get your perfect registration in the highly sought after prefix style for one fixed price.

‘The vast majority of the 150,000 new issues are priced at £250 each. There’s a huge selection to choose from and with Christmas just around the corner, you can grab a bargain for yourself or your loved ones.’

Buyers will be able to obtain the prefix plates via the DVLA website from 10am on Tuesday 1 October.

You can use the DVLA’s search function to search for a word or a combination of numbers and letters.

Vehicle registrations explained:

How number plates are classified and what the different elements mean (Source: DVLA)

There is a format for DVLA registrations, which contains information that allows the DVLA to track a vehicle within its systems.

The first few letters indicate the region in which the car is registered.

The registration number is then completed with a series of randomly generated letters. This is how the DVLA identifies the specific car, as these letters are completely unique to each vehicle.

The private record market is a big business

Companies active in the sector estimate the UK market for personalised number plates to be worth over £2 billion by 2023.

Jon Kirkbright, 45, is the founder of Plate Hunter

A total of 17,823 registrations were sold at DVLA auctions last year, with buyers spending almost £49 million (including fees and taxes).

Jon Kirkbright, Sales Director at number plate supplier Platehunter, said: ‘The market for used number plates continues to grow and 2024 will be no different.

‘People are seeing inferior plates being sold by the DVLA selling for the same price as a better one would have sold at auction a few years ago, which is why people are now asking for two or three times as much for their plates on the second-hand market.’

Platehunter saw its turnover increase by 25 percent in the first 17 days of January compared to last year. The number of valuation requests per day was already 100 higher than last year.