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Information and Video About Finding The Perfect DVLA Number Plates

The DVLA creates and records vehicle registrations and so has a key role to play in the provision of number plates. See our explanation video below - How to find DVLA number plates and DVLA registrations, they make ideal personalised gifts.

Millions of DVLA number plates are offered directly from an enormous database of stock, comprising over 50 million previously unissued registrations which are available to purchase from us immediately.  The Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency whose head quarters are in Swansea, South Wales, are a Government Agency set up who act on behalf of the Department for Transport and began commercially selling personalised registrations (now more commonly called DVLA number plates or DVLA Registrations) in 1989.

This stock mainly includes age related Current and Prefix plates. You can browse and buy unissued DVLA stock using our Make Your Own Number Plate service.  We also provide acrylic plates and an easy transfer service.

A Sample of DVLA Number Plates currently held in stock

Within the industry, the term ‘DVLA Number Plates’ or ‘DVLA Registrations’ identify, unissued registrations sourced directly from the DVLA as opposed to those from private sales.

The DVLA have been selling unissued combinations of personalised registrations directly and through its official auctions for more than thirty years, which began with the sale of A and H prefix number plates for £250.  However some short, highly desirable numbers made significant sums of money with some registrations resembling words or names. 

The first DVLA auction of registration numbers was at Christie’s and later Bonhams, selling numbers like ‘1 J’, ‘1 A’ & ‘K1 NGS’ (for £240,000). ELL 1E sold for a big price back in 1991 for £35,000 and in 1996 both N1 CKY & P1 LOT sold for £55,000 and £66,000 respectively. 1 D went under the hammer and sold for a record £285,000. 1 RH made £196,000 and 1 O sold for £170,000.  More recently in December 2014 the record was broken once more with registration “25 0” making £400,000 on the hammer (for the valuable classic Ferrari 250).

Other expensive numbers sold at a DVLA number plate auctions include; DAV 1D, S1 MON, N1 GEL, ANN 1E, as well as short numbers like 1 0, 1 A, 1 00, 6 B all made significant sums when sold at the time. 51 NGH raised £245,000, whilst S1 NGH “only” made £86,000 during a similar auction! Names seemed to be the highest achievers in past years. Now we are finding that single numbers and single letters like “A1” or “1A” are by far more sought after and of course more expensive!

Since then DVLA have played an enormous role within the personalised registrations industry releasing millions of new DVLA number plates into the UK vehicle registrations system every year. It was reported in the media that DVLA have raised over £2.5 Billion for the Treasury over the last 30 years.  DVLA had a record year in 2017 raising over £111m

The next auction will be held on Oxford Belfry Hotel, Thame, OX9 2JW on 13th-15th May 2020. Find more Auction information here.

DVLA Number Plates A Typical DVLA Number Plate

CarReg Are Registered DVLA Number Plate Suppliers

By law, every company in the UK that supplies actual perspex number plates has to be registered with the DVLA under the RNPS (Register Of Number Plate Suppliers). This Government scheme was introduced in 2003 to help combat vehicle related crime.

All companies accepted within the scheme have to adhere to the laws;

  • The number plates must conform to British standards or the supplier can be fined up to £2,500 and/or be banned from supplying number plates.
  • The supplier must keep records of the number plates supplied or the company can be fined up to £1000 and/or be suspended from the register.
  • Records must include: The registration number the customer’s name and address and entitlement to the number plate a number that can be used to trace a customer and is taken from an original document from an accepted form of ID, such as a driving licence or V5C or V750/V778.
  • The supplier must keep records for 3 years.
  • The supplier must let DVLA, the police and Trading Standards see these records if they ask.The supplier must report changes to register details to the DVLA within 28 days of the change or be fined up to £1,000. This includes if the supplier stops supplying number plates.

We Are A DVLA Registered Number Plate Supplier (No: 27154).

CarReg Are Recognised Resellers Of DVLA Registrations

Registration Formats from DVLA

There are now two different formats of DVLA registration, “Prefix” style which are of the A12 ABC format and the “Current” style which are of the AB** ABC format.

Today, you can buy a DVLA registration number “off the shelf” from only £155*. You can browse the different combinations available or make your own DVLA number plates here with CarReg.

Would you like to make your own Prefix DVLA number (Example: T222 JWR) OR would you like to make your own Current style DVLA number plate (EG: AB18 ABC)? Choose either from only £155+Vat & £80 (£266 all-inclusive), they make great gifts. If you are unsure which one to buy, we can supply a gift voucher for any pre paid amount.

Choose which type of DVLA plates you would like in three easy steps from our Make Your Own Number Plate page:

  1. Select a prefix letter; A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,J,K,L,M,N,P,R,S,T,V,W,X,Y (excluding I,O,Q,Z)
  2. Select a number; 1 to 20, you can also choose multiples of ten (20, 30, etc + 22, 33, etc) and higher numbers like 100, 200, etc and 111, 222, etc.
  3. Select the letters you require, most people go for initials here but you may be lucky and find an abbreviation of your name like CRG for Craig, RUS for Russell or JAS for Jason.

It is easy to make your own DVLA registration, if the number plate is a gift we suggest you buy online and also select to buy the actual perspex number plates. We will then we send you the number plates ready to gift wrap and the official DVLA V750 Certificate of Entitlement ready to insert into a card!  We have sold thousands of numbers this way as gifts, it really is that simple.  (* prices are subject to VAT and £80 DVLA assignment fee).

Questions And Answers About DVLA Number Plates;

Q. Will the DVLA buy my number plate?

A. No, DVLA will not buy back or re-sell number plates. DVLA only sell previously unissued stock.

Q. Can I buy the number plate I like directly from the DVLA?

A. Yes, the DVLA do sell number plates however, the main sales are the current style (EG. AB11 ABC). All the sought after investment and collectable number plates have long been sold or issued and only available from private individuals and dealers like CarReg.co.uk .

Q. Where can I find a DVLA number plate?

A. There are many different names for number plates sold by the DVLA. DVLA number plates is mainly a term used for prefix and the current style of registration, as this denotes the point of origin.

Q. Is it easy to transfer to a vehicle?

A. Yes, the number can be transferred online within a few minutes. (Assign Online)

Q. Will my plates expire?

A. When you buy a number plate it is supplied on a Government Certificate of Entitlement which is valid for 10 years. You can then transfer to a vehicle at anytime. If you wish to leave the number on the certificate for longer than 10 years, the certificate will need to be extended before the expiry date.

Make your own plate

Looking for a unique and stylish gift idea? Buy unissued Prefix or Current style number plates directly from us using our simple Make Your Own Number Plate service!

Learn more

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