You don’t have to be an oil sheikh to collect expensive number plates - but it helps. After all, most of the world's most costly plates were bought in oil-rich nations such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi - where even the police drive Lambos.
According To RegTransfers, the most eye-wateringly expensive number plate is "D 5", purchased for 33m AED - or £7,324,207 - back in 2016. The next most expensive is simply "1", bought for the equivalent of £7,250,000 in 2008.
According to the list, the "7" plate has had several owners, changing hands in 2008, 2010 and 2016 - appreciating from £1.58m in 2008 to £3m in 2016, suggesting some plates are a great investment.
The highest ranking (30th) UK plate is "25 0", which sold for £518,480 in 2014, including fees and taxes.
A very costly and unique personalised number plate may be regarded as a status symbol - or a (very expensive) expression of individuality. They may also be bought as an investment (see “7” plate above). For those who only have a few hundred pounds to spend on one, they might simply be a way to “pimp their ride” - as they would with a new set of alloy rims or some go-faster stripes.
Others regard them as an ostentatious waste of cash.
Credit: Maksim Denisenko - stock.adobe.com
Most costly personalised number plates sold globally
Rank | Plate | Cost | Cost in GBP | Date sold | Location |
1 | D 5 | 33m AED | £7,324,207 | 08/10/2016 | Dubai, UAE |
2 | 1 | 52.2m AED | £7,250,000 | 17/02/2008 | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
3 | O 9 | 25m AED | £4,363,000.00 | 07/07/2015 | Dubai, UAE |
4 | 5 | 25.2m AED | £3,500,000 | 01/02/2007 | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
5 | 7 | 16.8m AED | £3,000,000 | 20/02/2010 | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
6 | 7 | 13.4m AED | £2,958,057 | 19/11/2016 | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
7 | 9 | 15.4m AED | £2,153,846 | 10/05/2008 | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
8 | 2 | 10m AED | £2,061,850 | 18/11/2017 | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
9 | 9 | 10m AED | £1,720,000 | 01/09/2010 | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
10 | 28 | 18.1m HKD | £1,616,000.00 | 02/02/2016 | Hong Kong |
11 | 7 | 11.4m AED | £1,583,333 | 16/02/2008 | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
12 | 18 | 16.5m HKD | £1,513,372 | 23/02/2008 | Hong Kong |
13 | NSW 4 | 2.4m AUD | £1,500,000 | 28/08/2017 | New South Wales, Australia |
14 | 11 | 6.1m AED | £1,346,578 | 19/11/2016 | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
15 | V | 13m HKD | £1,341,589 | 12/02/2017 | Hong Kong |
After "25 0", the most expensive UK number plate is "1 D" (£285,000), followed by "51 NGH" (£201,000). While UK plates are not as costly as those sold in the Middle East, British number plate buyers at least seem to have a little more creative sensibility, with "K1 NGS" having sold for £185,000 in 1993. "KR15 HNA" is another playful one, which fetched £180,000 in 2015.
Registration | Price | Date |
25 O | £400,000 | November 2014 |
1 D | £285,000 | March 2009 |
51 NGH | £201,000 | April 2006 |
1 RH | £196,000 | November 2008 |
K1 NGS | £185,000 | December 1993 |
KR15 HNA | £180,000 | May 2015 |
1 O | £170,000 | January 2009 |
1 A | £160,000 | December 1989 |
1 OO | £156,000 | April 2006 |
2 O | £115,000 | March 2009 |
6B | £101,700 | September 2008 |
250L | £100,500 | November 2014 |
Credit: ifeelstock - stock.adobe.com
While the above prices are outside the scope of most motorists' pockets, you can actually pick up a personalised number plate for a few hundred pounds. According to the DVLA, the average final price for a plate sold through its auctions is £877, although for the pricier plates this rises to £3,225.
You can visit the DVLA auction site to see which plates are going under the hammer soon. The site also displays the reserve price, so you have an idea of how much to budget for.
From the Treasury's viewpoint, selling personalised number plates is a highly lucrative business, adding around £2bn to the nation's coffers since 1989. In the last three decades, more than 5.9 million plates have been sold by the DVLA.
