Pete Gent couldn’t believe his eyes. He had wandered into a car showroom and saw a white VW Beetle in the forecourt. However, this was not just any VW Beetle, it was the most famous VW Beetle in Britain. Why the fame? Well, this was the very car that had featured on the cover of The Beatles’ Abbey Road album. Gent, owner of a music shop, recognised it straight away and, realising that the salesman was unaware of the car’s famous history, snapped it up.

The vehicle had a distinctive registration plate, which had been the subject of many rumours and conspiracy theories that claimed Paul McCartney was dead. An American Radio Station began reporting that McCartney had passed away and that the plate, LMW 281F, contained a hidden message. LMW was believed to represent Linda McCartney as a ‘W’idow and 281F was supposed to signify Paul being 28 if he had lived. Of course, as we all know, the rumour was completely false.

Gent eventually sold the plate at Sotheby’s in 1986, where it fetched £2,300. At that time it went to America, but he believes that it is now on display at the VW factory in Germany.

Gent admits that he regrets not hanging on to the number plate for longer, “I was hoping to get more for it at the time, but there were only two people bidding. I should have kept it really, but I didn’t realise that their popularity would grow again. It would have been great publicity for my guitar shop.”

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Some people build up amazing collections of private number plates in the course of their lives. Once such collection is the SAW plates, which were purchased by Midlands saw blade supply company, Dynashape Ltd. The entire collection consists of SAW 1, SAW 2, SAW 3, SAW 4, SAW 5, SAW 6, SAW 7, SAW 8, SAW 9, SAW 10, SAW 11, SAW 123 and SAW 1T. It is believed that the company’s owner has amassed the largest known collection of consecutive personalised registration plates in the entire country.

SAW 6 was actually the first of the plates to be purchased, back in 1972 and over the following years the owner continued to seek out the others by answering ads and speaking to auto-numerology experts. The prices of the plates varied considerably, with some costing just a few hundred pounds while others have cost several thousand. The seller of one plate was able to purchase a new car with the proceeds.

The owner of this collection always believed that the number plates were an investment for his retirement and that when that day came he would sell them on. His belief is that the money he can make from the sale of the plates will provide a comfortable life for him in his later years.

Now that the company is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, the owner has made the decision to retire and finally sell this amazing collection of personalised registrations.

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Suffix registrations came into effect in 1963. They follow a specific format of three letters at the start, followed by one, two or three digits and are completed by a suffix letter at the end, which acts as an age identifier. It is the final year identifying letter that earns this style of registration its name. An example of a typical suffix number plate is RMS 27D and this particular plate identifies the year of manufacture as 1966. Originally, the first three letters of a suffix plate identified the area where the vehicle was registered. The numbers on suffix registrations only act to differentiate between vehicles with the same prefix and suffix letters.

The suffix registration system commenced with A in 1963 and changed annually, all the way through to Y, which indicated 1982. The suffix letters I, O and U were not used as age identifiers, while a Q registration indicates that the year or origins of a vehicle are uncertain.

It is possible to transfer a suffix registration onto your vehicle, but as with all age identifiable registration plates, you can only assign a suffix registration mark to a vehicle manufactured in the same year or before. It is not possible to use a suffix registration to make your vehicle appear more recent than it actually is. You can, of course, use a private number plate to make your vehicle appear older than it is. With regards to the example registration mark, RMS 27D, this could only be assigned to a vehicle manufactured from 1966 onwards.

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Vehicle registration plates came into existence in the United Kingdom in 1904. The majority of vehicles are required by law to display a valid plate. The legislation that first required the carrying of number plates was the Motor Car Act 1903, which came into force at the start of 1904. This statute required all vehicles to be registered and as such, each vehicle was assigned a specific identifying number. This law came into being in order for vehicles to be traceable should they be involved in an accident or criminal activity.

UK registration plates are square or rectangular in shape and the law dictates the exact dimensions of the lettering contained within them. This includes the spacing between the characters as well as the width and height of the characters themselves. From 1st September 2001, it became mandatory for licence plates to be printed using one specific typeface. All plates must be in accordance with the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001. For all vehicles manufactured from 1973 onwards this means that the plates must be made from reflex-reflecting material. Front plates should be white while rear plates are yellow and both contain black characters only. Only vehicles manufactured prior to 1973 are permitted to carry black plates with silver, grey or white letters and numbers.

The standard size for front number plates is 520mm x 111mm. Most rear plates are the same size, but they can also measure 285mm x 203mm or 533mm x 152mm.

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The purpose of the retention scheme is to allow a registration mark to be held, without being applied to a vehicle, for a period of 12 months prior to being re-assigned to another vehicle. You can make an application for retention if you are the registered keeper of the vehicle to which the registration mark is currently assigned. Applications are made using form ‘V778/1 Retention of a Vehicle Registration Number’. The total charge is £105, which includes a £25 application fee and an £80 assignment fee.

If your application is granted, you will be issued with a ‘V778 Retention Document’, which is valid for twelve months. This document provides details of the registration plate, the name of the applicant (grantee) and the name of any nominated person who will own the plate, if different from the grantee. The nominee details can be changed by the grantee, within the twelve-month validity period, by returning the retention document along with the £25 fee.

The terms of the retention document have been fully exercised when the registration plate is assigned to a vehicle. This can be a vehicle registered to the grantee or the nominee. Entitlement to the registration mark then transfers to the registered keeper of the vehicle to which the mark is assigned. This will be detailed on the V5. If the vehicle receiving the registration mark is already registered, its assigned registration mark will become void unless an application to either transfer or retain it is made simultaneously.

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The Cherished Transfer Scheme is used to transfer a registration mark from its assigned vehicle to another. The registered keeper of the assigned vehicle is the only person authorised to make this application, using form V317 ‘Application to Transfer or Retain a Vehicle Registration Mark’. The fee for this process is £80 made payable to DVLA.

It is important to note the benefits and restrictions, which are specific to this scheme. For example, only testable vehicles can participate in the Cherished Transfer Scheme. This means that vehicles such as milk floats and tractors are exempt. Motorcycles and mopeds are, however, eligible to participate.

With regards to MOT testing, a valid certificate must be held if the vehicle is more than three years old. In addition, the vehicle from which the registration mark is being transferred, known as the donor vehicle, must be available for inspection to confirm its authenticity.

It is possible to make an application to transfer the registration mark from a donor vehicle that has an expired tax disc, as long as the tax expired less than 12 months beforehand and there was no gap between the expiration of tax and the SORN declaration.

The recipient vehicle for the private registration plate must also hold a valid tax disc. If the registration mark is being transferred to a vehicle, which is already registered, its assigned mark will become void unless an application to transfer or retain the mark is made simultaneously.

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The DVLA personalised registrations hold a number of auctions which amounts to around six a year at selected locations throughout Greta Britain. These auctions are fun and there is a friendly atmosphere at them where you can have a great day out, often making it a family occasion. Of course with modern technology you do not have to be at the auction in person, it is possible to bid for a cherished number plate through a free telephone number or by using the internet.

The numbers that are being offered can be searched through the DVLA website as well as the prices currently available, again this can be done online or by telephone. For commercial users it is possible to buy this data for a fee of £137 and anyone interested should write to the DVLA Registrations at Swansea SA99 1DN. The forthcoming sales and the registration numbers available are advertised on the website.

When buying a private number plate, for example you can make your vehicle look as old as you wish but you cannot make it look newer than it actually is for instance you cannot put a Y registration number on a T registered vehicle but you could choose any prefix from an A to a T.

A question often asked by people who may have had a vehicle which has been scrapped and would like to use the registration number that was on it, unfortunately this is not possible at present. The situation could change, in which case this will be advertised on the website. If you want to be advised of any change to this decision, you can email your details and you would be contacted should the position change.

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Sometimes people choose to purchase a car because the registration includes their initials or the number is special, as it indicates a memorable date, for example a birthday, anniversary or special age. Others purchase a car but are just not happy with the registration plate. However, many people still do not realise that they do not need to keep the registration plate that was assigned to their vehicle. There is actually an abundance of possibilities for the creation of personalised number plates, the only restrictions are those imposed by the regulations that govern the format of UK licence plates. With a bit of imagination though, the possibilities are almost endless.

Personalised number plates are usually produced by using a combination of letters and numbers, which are used to represent letters. The reason for such combinations being required results from the formatting rules, which disallows more than three consecutive letters on UK registrations. This is where imagination plays a huge part; for example, B16 AL could easily be read as ‘BIG AL’.

Obtaining the entitlement to display a personalised registration plate is a simpler process than many people may think. Certainly there are costs involved, but depending on the plate, these can very from a few hundred pounds to several thousand. Plates can be purchased through the DVLA personalised registrations website or there are a number of on-line dealerships.

Once you have selected your private number plate, you need to apply to the DVLA who, for a nominated fee, will issue you with a certificate of entitlement, which is valid for twelve months. Once you put the plates on your car, you automatically retain entitlement to that registration as the registered keeper of the vehicle.

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The registration plates used on cars in the UK are unique in many ways and are very distinguishable from registration plates used in most other countries of the world. The history of UK number plates goes back to 1903 when they were first issued to the “Horseless Carriage” which came into being on British roads around this time. This was as a result of the Motor Car Act which came into force on the 1st January 1904 which required that all motor vehicles had to be entered on an official vehicle register and to carry a plate denoting the number issued to it. This act of parliament was passed in order that vehicles could be easily traced in the event of an accident or contravention of the law. Vehicle registration number plates in the UK are rectangular or square in shape, with the exact permitted dimensions of the plate and its lettering set down in law.

Since those early days and with the ever increasing numbers of vehicle on the road the styling of the UK Number plate has had to change in order to accommodate these increasing numbers. Currently the UK number plate has a method by which it is easy to identify the age of the vehicle although it is possible to put an older UK number plate onto a newer vehicle. This simple rule has meant resulted in an explosion in demand for older style UK number plates as many car and motor bike owners wish to “personalise” their vehicles will a private number plate which can be transferred from one vehicle to another as they acquire them.

The newer style of UK number plate has also meant that would be buyers of private registration plates can make up their own UK number plate to show their initials or to spell out the name of themselves or a company. There are restrictions of course and many combinations are not allowed, they may be in use, or the DVLA considers them unsuitable. The easiest way to make up your own UK private number plate is to use the tool which is specially designed for the purpose and accessible through the DVLA website.

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