Many people love the idea of having personalised number plates on their car. It can be something that some people have already done, but many people are put off by the expense. When the DVLA was the only organisation which sold them, then it was expensive and they would tend to auction off the plates which would force the prices up really high.

Although they do still sell them, there are other companies that sell them now. This has started to lower the prices because of the competition. It means that more people than ever are able to afford private number plates, which is great. It is also worth knowing that there is a big selection of numbers and so you should easily be able to find something which you like.

You will find that there will still be some very expensive registration plates and some cheaper ones and you can choose which one you want according to the budget that you have. Online retailers have a database of numbers and you can search for ones containing certain letters that you want. It is fun and easy to do and you should easily be able to find something that you like and want and hopefully that you can afford as well.

It would be great to be able to fulfil that dream of having personalised number plates and so it is a great idea to investigate and find out how much it will cost as you may be surprised and find out that you can actually afford it, even if you thought that you would not be able to.

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DVLA registrations are now easier than ever.  Almost all the information you need and many of the services have moved to the Internet.  The DVLA now hosts a comprehensive website.  All you need to do is visit the site, and you can find information about DVLA registrations, including transferring, selling and buying a vehicle.

Should you wish to inquire through the DVLA for a personalised number plate, this service is also available on their website, at http://dvlaregistrations.direct.gov.uk/ .  Under ‘Vehicle Information’, click the link regarding Personalised Registrations and you’ll find information about the auctions of DVLA personalised number plates held throughout Great Britain. 

Have a collector vehicle, kit car, or electric vehicle?  Answers to licensing options for these vehicles are at your fingertips.  And if you need to update your name or address, report alterations to your vehicle, the sale of your vehicle or the purchase of another, most of that can be done electronically now.  The only exception would be, of course, the in-person driving test required to licence new drivers.  But the knowledge portion of the test can now be taken electronically!

Plate registration is one of the most popular services on the DVLA website because of the time and petrol saved taking all the documents to the local DVLA office.  Many of the forms can now be filled out electronically, saving you both time and money.

Try the DVLA website to register your plate, pay your tax, or search for a personalised or cherished plate.  You’ll save yourself both time and money.

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Many people look toward purchase of a prefix number plate when looking for a personalised plate.  This is a relatively inexpensive way to put “special” registration plates on your car, and appeals to many people, especially if they’ve just purchased a new car or the car of their dreams.

With a prefix number plate you create a combination with the year identifier at the beginning of the first letter/number combination.  Most combinations are available, although on the A to H prefix, the number range 1 through 20 was withheld for each letter for later auction by the DVLA.  For the prefixes from J onward, even more digits were withheld.  See the website http://www.newreg.co.uk/services/registration_types/ for details of the combinations withheld for auction.

By choosing a prefix that is the starting letter of a word you want, you may be able to use a combination of letters and numbers to cost-effectively create your own personalised plate.  For example, S73 VEN (Steven) and R4 NDY (Randy) would be a valid way to spell your name.  M55 ANN (Miss Ann) is another potential combination.  Since there are now more numbers and letters on plates than ever before, the number of potential combinations has increased greatly, as has interest in finding that perfect plate for your car.

Using the search functions on any of the number plate registration websites is a quick, easy way to see what’s available.  Many of them will allow you to put in the word or phrase you wish, and if an exact match isn’t available, the website will return suggestions for alternatives.  In short order you could be zipping down the road with a new prefix number registration plate, and bringing smiles to those who see you.

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For years now, people have been “personalising” their car registration plates by having them made with strange fonts, different height letters, and even using large, black screws to affix the plates to the car.  The round, black head of these screws may be positioned so it creates a new letter or number, thereby creating, perhaps, a word or phrase that was already sold.

To be legal, UK plates must now be sold only with the modified Charles Wright font, which must be a minimum of 79 mm in height (64 mm for motorcycles), and black font on a white plate at the front, black font on a yellow plate on the rear.  There are a few other requirements such as minimum spacing between letters, but if your plate does not adhere to these standards, set in 2001, you could face a fine of up to £1,000 and withdrawal of your registration plate.  If you have paid for a personalised or cherished plate, that could be quite a loss.

Part of the reason for this rule change is loss of revenue.  The police are using Optical Character Recognition, or OCR software much more frequently these days, and these machines cannot read the non-standard fonts that are used on “fancy” or “show” plates. 

The OCR software can tell in an instant to whom the car is registered, whether there is insurance on the car, and other information – as well as whether or not you are travelling too fast on the road.  Fancy plates circumvent this, and now the police are cracking down.

If you have a vehicle that you take to shows, by all means keep your show or fancy plate.  Display it proudly at the show.  But if you plan to drive that lovely car on a UK road, put a legal plate on it for the trip.  Otherwise, that car could land you in a whole lot of trouble.

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If you own a cherished number plate or personalised number plates, the time may come when you think about selling them.  There are several options for this, depending on how much you wish to ask and how long you can wait for a potential buyer.

Several websites advertise number plates for sale.  You can sell your plate outright to a private party or a company.  The company will probably turn around and try to sell it for a profit.  This may be a good choice for you if you need money quickly or don’t want to deal with the paperwork and DVLA reporting that will need to accompany the transfer.  The company that you sell to will usually take care of all of that for you, but because of the speed of the sale and the company’s work on your behalf, you’re not likely to get the highest prices. 

Other companies can agree to sell your plate on a commission basis, where they take a commission on the total sale price of your registration plates.  The company will of course then be interested in selling the plate for a higher price, but keep in mind you may net less with this scheme, depending on the final selling price and the commission percentage.  However, there is often a chance that you can request a “reserve” or minimum price, below which you will not accept an offer. 

When selling your private number plate or cherished plate through a company; make sure to read all the fine print so you know what is expected of each party.  Don’t allow yourself to be rushed through the transaction – remember, your plate is worth something or the company wouldn’t be interested.

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The popularity of cars has been steadily increasing, since the steam engine was replaced by the internal combustion engine in the late 19th century. At first there were merely thousands of cars on the road, but as car numbers increased into tens of thousands and more, the Government realised that some sort of tracking system was needed, to link a vehicle to its owner.

In the UK, car registrations became mandatory with the passing of the Motor Car Act in 1903. Initially registration was managed on a local level, but by 1919 the Government realised that the tens of thousands of car registrations needed to be managed by a central authority, and established a Ministry of Transport to deal with this process.

The earliest registrations that started in 1903 were dateless registrations where the first letters of the number plates were associated with the local authority. These began running out quickly, and in 1932 the second dateless system was installed with a different configuration. The 1950’s introduced another system as car registrations again ran out, but by 1965 the system had to be changed again, illustrating how the popularity of cars increased exponentially during this period.

1983 brought on the prefix system but these also ran out, and in 2001 the Government introduced the number system we use now, which is again more complex than the previous system. Currently plates consist of 2 letters followed by 2 numbers and then ending with 3 letters. The DVLA believes this new system will be sufficient until 2050.

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Your vehicle will remain subject to the laws of the UK when you are taking it out of the UK on a temporary basis, meaning for a period of 12 months or less (according to the DVLA).  As the legal “keeper” of the vehicle, you are required by law to keep it taxed while it is out of the country, as is the case with all DVLA registrations.  You will be able to keep the vehicle taxed provided that you have a current insurance policy on the vehicle and a MOT certificate.

If you fail to have your vehicle taxed and then return it to the UK, you will need to have it transported and not drive it back into the country.  You will also need to declare a “Statutory Off Road Notification” or SORN right away.  Taxing the vehicle or declaring a SORN can be completed by phone or online.  However, you cannot declare the SORN while the vehicle is still out of the UK.

If, by some chance, you do not have a DVLA registrations certificate, and you are planning on taking the vehicle overseas temporarily, you can obtain a replacement car registrations certificate from the DVLA by either applying by mail or over the phone.  Just be aware of the fact that it could take up to a month to receive it.  So if you need to be travelling within that time period, you will need to obtain a V379 temporary registration certificate.

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The car registrations plates on your vehicle are used to display the registration number or mark of a vehicle.  They are mandatory for all vehicles in the UK, and can be obtained through the DVLA, or Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. 

UK car registrations were changed in 2001 by including a new character style and two-digit year identifier in the majority of plates and registrations.  The numbering and registration system is slightly different between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, yet the basics of the two schemes are very similar.

The post-2001 Great Britain plates should have seven characters consisting of two letters, two numbers, and then three random letters.  Newer plates issued in Northern Ireland currently have a pattern of three letters followed by four numerals.

Both of these schemes lend themselves to plates that have significant patterns—for example, the last four digits of a Northern Ireland registration that has four 1s, or four of any other numeral.  These plates are generally withheld from the DVLA (DVA in Northern Ireland) as they are considered “cherished”.  The registration agency then submits various letter and numeral combinations for auction at various times throughout the year.

The various schemes were enacted partly because of the upswing in the theft of vehicle plates by criminals anxious to avoid being identified at the scene of a crime.  In addition to the new numbering system, the organisation producing the plates is required to place their name and postcode on the plate, usually near the centre and toward the bottom.  Since these requirements make it much harder to produce a legal-looking fake plate, theft of legitimate plates is on the rise.

Should your registration plates be stolen, the theft should be reported immediately to the DVLA and local authorities.

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Temporary car number plates are issued by national licensing agencies, such as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in the UK, so that cars can be used until the permanent car registration number becomes available. This often applies when a vehicle has been imported or has been built from a kit.

Temporary car number plates have the same legal characteristics as do regular registration plates. That is, they have to identify the car and its owner by being on the DVLA database. Temporary car number plates have to be clearly legible, with the code consisting of a combination of numbers and letters. Unlike regular number plates however, temporary number plates can be displayed in the window of the car, rather than on the bumper at the front and back of the vehicle.

Temporary number plates, as the name indicates, are only legally valid for a short period of time. National licensing agencies will send out regular number plates without much delay, so that the vehicle can quickly become more standardised from the point of view of registration. In some countries, the particular time limit of a temporary number plate is clearly indicated on the plate itself, meaning policing authorities can verify this. Failure to replace a temporary number plate within the specified time can lead to a fine.

Temporary number plates should not be confused with personalised number plates.  These are completely different and are legal throughout a car’s length of life on the road.

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Obtaining a private number plate for your car can often be done at auction if the plate number you desire is one that has been withheld by DVLA for later sale as a cherished plate.  The prices obtained for some of these plates has been astounding, while other go for a quite reasonable price.  As with all auctions, the price a given plate sells for will be determined partly by the letters and numbers on the plate, as well as how many other people are bidding on that plate.

Recently a new world record for UK number plates was set when the plate number M 1 sold for an amazing £331,500.  Even more amazing, the plate was purchased by a doting grandfather on behalf of his six-year-old grandson!  It may be a while until we see this plate actually on the road, but when we do, we’ll see a legacy passed down from one generation to another.

When the Pope visited Ireland, number plate VIP 1 was auctioned for £285,000 and affixed to the ‘Popemobile’.  Another high price was commanded by personalised plate number F1, which sold for £144,500 in 2009. 

Should you not care for the auction format or not need a plate quite that expensive, remember that there are also websites dedicated to the search for and purchase of private number plates.  Input a combination of letters and numerals you would like and the search engine will tell you if it’s available. 

A personalised plate is a wonderful alternative to a cherished plate, especially if you cherish your money.  You can obtain a special plate and still have money left in the bank!

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