Personalised number plates or private number plates as they are often called are increasing in popularity. In years gone by you would have to pay thousands for personalised number plates but as the amount of possible combinations to create private number plates has increased significantly since the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, DVLA introduced two new registration changes year in 1998.
The value of personalised number plates has certainly not reduced in fact the reverse is true. The fact that personalised number plates can be more affordable is because the price range has widened with private number plates starting at below £100, this makes them affordable for most motorists.
Older styles of personalised number plates are generally more valuable with single digit single letter combinations attracting the highest prices. In 2008 at separate auctions two such personalised number plates each sold for around £400,000. The vehicle registration numbers were F 1 sold by Essex Council and S 1 which was First issued in Edinburgh and sold by auctioneer Bonhams.
There are a multitude of ways that people choose to personalise their registration numbers. Initials are always popular and for folks with two forenames and a surname then this can be very economical way of creating personalised number plates, depending on the popularity of your initials. Combinations such as MJB, JMB, MJS are highly sought and therefore command higher prices.
If you don’t have a middle name then two letter combinations originating from earlier dateless style registrations are still available for many combinations. Prices for dateless personalised number plates continue to grow and securing a registration of this kind will require a larger outlay initially however they prove time and time again to be a canny investment.
It’s not just initials used to make personalied number plates, Names, Football Teams, hobbies, occupations, qualifications, children's or grand children's initials are also very popular. There are lots of combination and reasons to make something personal for your registration number. That is not to say anything goes, there are very strict rules concerning the display of vehicle registration numbers. The regulations specify the size, colouring and the British standard that number plates must conform to.
It is an offence to misrepresent letter or numbers in order to create words or names also the spacing of the letters cannot be altered. The Police and the DVLA have powers to impose fines of up to £1000 and in extreme cases can remove the vehicle registration number. There are plenty of ways to get attractive personalised number plates without misrepresenting the number.