Most Expensive Private Registrations Sold at DVLA Auctions

The most expensive private registration DVLA has ever sold at auction is 25 O, which went for £400,000 in November 2014. Second is 1 D at £285,000 in March 2009, and third 51 NGH at £201,000 in April 2006. Those are not estimates: DVLA published its twelve highest sale prices itself, and every one can still be checked, plate by plate, on its own sold-price search. The full table is below, along with what those figures do and do not include, and what private number plates actually cost at the other end of the market.

Where these figures come from

DVLA published the list in a press release marking thirty years of personalised registration sales, which put the running total at nearly 6 million registrations sold and around £2 billion raised for the Treasury. We checked each of the twelve marks against DVLA's live Auction Sold Search, and both sources agree to the pound. Where the sold search and the press release differ on spacing we have used the sold search version, because that is what the tool matches if you go and look a mark up.

DVLA auction sold prices: the top 12

These are hammer prices, in the order DVLA published them.

• 25 O — £400,000, sold November 2014
• 1 D — £285,000, sold March 2009
• 51 NGH — £201,000, sold April 2006
• 1 RH — £196,000, sold November 2008
• K1 NGS — £185,000, sold December 1993
• KR15 HNA — £180,000, sold May 2015
• 1 O — £170,000, sold January 2009
• 1 A — £160,000, sold December 1989
• 1 OO — £156,000, sold April 2006
• 2 O — £115,000, sold March 2009
• 6 B — £101,700, sold September 2008
• 250 L — £100,500, sold November 2014

What the hammer price does not include

This is where most reporting of these numbers goes wrong. DVLA is precise about it: the price shown is the hammer price, and it excludes VAT, the assignment fee and the auctioneer fee. So the amount that actually left the buyer's account for 25 O was higher than £400,000, and the same is true of every line in the table. DVLA makes the same point about its own revenue figures, noting that its reported totals are hammer prices and do not include the varying VAT or auction fees that applied over the years. If you are budgeting for an auction, budget above the hammer.

How to check what any registration sold for

DVLA keeps a public record of past auction results, and it goes back a long way. You search a mark and it returns the hammer price and the month it sold. A search for 1 D, for instance, returns £285,000 in March 2009 alongside a long list of far more ordinary 1 D-series marks from the 1990s. It is the best reality check before you bid, because it shows what similar registrations actually made rather than what sellers are asking.

How DVLA auctions work now

The auctions in that table were held in rooms, with a live auctioneer. They are not any more. DVLA now holds nine auctions a year, all online, each running for seven days, and anything that does not sell may be offered again at a future auction. The dates and catalogues are on DVLA's auctions page. If you are planning to bid, our guide to DVLA auction strategies covers budgeting, registering and bidding tactics.

Why a registration sells for six figures

Short and unrepeatable is the pattern in the table. Eleven of the twelve are not in the current registration format, which GOV.UK describes as two letters, two numbers and three letters chosen at random; they are older or dateless marks DVLA is not issuing again, so supply is fixed and the only way to get one is to buy it from whoever holds it. Seven of them are a single digit with one or two letters. DVLA's own research points the same way on motive: in a survey published with that release, 69% of respondents said they would buy a private registration because of a personal connection, a name or an initial, 17% saw them as an investment, and 6% bought for their business. Rarity sets the ceiling; a personal connection is what makes someone reach it.

What most private registrations actually cost

Nothing like this. Alongside the six-figure headlines, DVLA's 2019 release put the average price at £877 for a timed auction, £3,225 at a live auction and £342 for a registration bought directly from its website. Those averages are seven years old and are the most recent DVLA has published, so treat them as the shape of the market rather than today's price. Our own cheapest registration is £250, including the £80 DVLA fee and VAT, and our cheap private number plates page is where to start if the budget is the deciding factor.

What your own registration might be worth

The other side of a sold-price list is what you already hold. If you own a registration and want to know where it sits, we will value it for nothing: ask for a free valuation, and if you decide to sell, listing it with us is free and we handle the marketing, the enquiries and the handover. Start with DVLA's sold search for comparable marks, then come to us with a number in mind.