Private numberplates have long been a popular purchase in the UK - but you might not believe how much the most expensive numberplates go for.
For many drivers, they’re a way to present a message to other family, friends, or other drivers. Some use them to present their name, make jokes or relate to their car.
To others, they’re a luxury purchase or a symbol of vanity. Then there’s the section of the driving public who think they’re simply a waste of money.
While they might hold significant sentimental value to the driver, they can also be sold for some serious cash. Private registrations can be worth anywhere between a few hundred and several hundred thousand pounds.
The most expensive are usually the ones with a lower number of digits. Plates with a total of just two letters or numbers are usually the most valuable, with some auctioning off for some frankly outrageous figures.
So, which are the most expensive registrations ever sold in the UK? We list the top 10 here.
The most expensive numberplates sold in the UK
1. 25 O - £518,480
The reg 25 O is the most expensive ever sold in the UK, going under the hammer for a staggering £518,480 in 2014. It’s apt, then, that it was once fitted to one of the most expensive cars ever sold at auction, a Ferrari 250 GTO sold for £30,750,300.
According to the DVLA, the plate now resides on an altogether more modern Ferrari: a LaFerrari hybrid hypercar.
The price of the plate could get you ten Audi TT RSs, but personalised plate vendor Regtransfers reckons it’s now increased in value to £750,000 (or 15 TT RSs).
2. X 1 - £502,500
Taking a narrow second place is the reg X 1. Little is known about the owner of the plate, but based on DVLA records it is currently in use on a hybrid Mercedes purchased in March 2024. The plate fetched its £502,500 price in November 2012.
You could enjoy roughly ten Ford Mustangs for the amount paid for the X 1 plate, and estimates suggest it has almost doubled its value since being purchased in 2012 to £1,000,000.
As satisfying as it would be, we can’t confirm whether the plate has ever made its way onto a BMW X1…
3. G 1 - £500,000
G 1 was the country’s most expensive reg for a little over a year before X 1 was sold, pipping it by a mere £2500. It’s currently registered to a V8-engined Land Rover Defender, bought in 2024.
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Nice blog autocar.co.uk. Nice attempt at presenting very clean data of the top 10 most expensive plates in the UK. Anyone know what the current value of plate "SH1" is. Anyway, I read that plate "SH 1" sold for £415,143 in April 2019, as mentioned in a DVLA site like newreg.co.uk, this plate is not much popular than others. I want to know its present value is there any one who would like to answer this???
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