The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has released more than 150,000 new personalised registration numbers, in a rare opportunity for plate enthusiasts to snap up a one-off reg.
The prefix-style registration numbers are fixed price only, which means there won’t be any bidding wars when the plates go on sale.
Viewing commenced on Tuesday 24 September and the plates will be purchasable from Tuesday 1 October.
The registrations are brand new – they’ve never been assigned to a vehicle or been offered for sale before, which makes this a unique chance for plate hunters.
Unique opportunity: The new prefix number plates will go on sale 1 October and will be fixed price only, so there won’t any bidding wars
The prefix formats are highly desirable, featuring a letter from A to H, followed by 25 or 326, a space and then three more letters. An example of this would be A25 CAR.
New prefix registrations up for grabs include; A25 CYA, B25 TOM, C26 DAN, D25 OMG, E26 CAT, F25 CBR, F26 ORD, G25 GEM and H25 NRY.
These registrations are bound to be popular with motorists because there’s a chance to snap up a plate with your name on it, a funny saying or a word that has a personal connection with you.
And because these plates are being sold at fixed rates, and not by auction, with prices starting from just £250 (which includes VAT and the £80 assignment fee) they are much more accessible than auction private plates.
The DVLA holds monthly timed online auctions where bidders can battle it out to get their hands on covetable private plates.
But because there’s no price ceiling, the cost of plates can soar.
Prefix number plates were first issued on 1 August 1983, and they are the most popular type of plate across private number plate market.
The DVLA’s 10 most expensive plates of all time were all above £150,000 (excluding fees and taxes) and sold as far back as 1989 – the year the agency first put on auctions for private plates.
The most expensive DVLA registration ever sold was ’25 O’ which reached £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 instance put in your name and the search will give you the nearest hit
These personalised registration plates were sold by the DVLA for the highest amounts last year
In light of the forthcoming prefix plate sale, Jody Davies, head of DVLA personalised registrations, said: ‘Whether it’s your name, hobby, occupation or you’re a motoring enthusiast, why not give your vehicle that finishing touch by purchasing a personalised registration?
‘This exciting upcoming release is a great opportunity to get your perfect registration in the hugely desirable prefix style for a fixed price.
‘The vast majority of the 150,000 new numbers are priced at £250 each. There’s a huge selection to choose from and with Christmas just around the corner, you could snap up a bargain for you or your loved ones.’
From 10am on Tuesday 1 October, buyers will be able to get their hands on the prefix plates via the DVLA website.
You can use the DVLA search function to search for a word or a combination of numbers and letters.
Vehicle registrations explained:
How number plates are laid out and what the different elements mean (Source: DVLA)
There’s a format to DVLA registrations, which include information for the DVLA to track a vehicle in its systems.
The first few letters indicate the region where the car is registered.
Then a sequence of randomly generated letters concludes the end of the number plate, which is how the DVLA identifies the particular car as they are entirely unique to each vehicle.
Private plate market is big business
As of 2023, businesses operating in the sector valued the British personalised number plate industry to be worth over £2billion.
Jon Kirkbright, 45, is the founder of Plate Hunter
A total of 17,823 registrations were sold in last year’s DVLA auctions and buyers spent almost £49m (including fees and taxes).
Jon Kirkbright, sales director at number plate supplier Platehunter says: ‘The second-hand plate market keeps going from strength to strength and 2024 will be no different.
‘People are seeing worse plates sold by the DVLA go for the same price they paid for a better one at an auction years ago, and so are demanding two or three times the price for their plates now on the second hand market’.
Platehunter saw a 25 per cent increase in turnover by the first 17 days of January on last year, with valuation requests per day up 100 on last year already.
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