Private number plates offer the owner of a vehicle the chance to have a plate that reflects them or makes a statement about them. As of September 2001 private plates have gone to seven possible character combinations. This has not gone over very well with the general public, which has meant an increase in business for the auction houses. They auction off with lower number combinations. The lower the number of possible combinations on the plate, the more valuable the private number plate becomes.

Why people may want to get one

People would originally get a private number plate because it said something about them. Then it became a status symbol for the owner and now it has become an investment opportunity for the owner of the plate. Many people, and even businesses, are looking at their private number plates as an investment. The smaller the number of possible character combinations on the plate the more valuable they become.

Some suspect that some of the earliest private number plates could bring in well over 250,000 pounds at auction. The lure of the chance to make a lot of money is there, but there is a bit of caution. Not all private number plates have the same potential to gain value. Those that are are re-issues from the DVLA will not have the same potential as others will. Also, you will want to focus on the older private number plates as they will have a much better chance to increase in value over time.

Overview on history

The private number plate was first introduced in 1903 with the plate 'A1'. They are unique from any other type of plate because there is only one of each private number plate made. They do not get re-issued in subsequent years. Each private registration is only issued to one person and vehicle. There have been a number of increases in the number of possible character combinations over the last 100 years. They began with 2 possible character combinations and currently there are 7 possible character combinations.

DVLA's involvement

The DVLA is the official issuer of private registrations and they also auction off existing private registration plates. You will want to seek out professional help before attending a DVLA auction to be sure that the private number plates you are going to bid on at auction will be worth your money. You can also go to the DVLA website to search for and get your own new private number plate. One suggestion that has been made is that you will want to make sure that the private number plate actually says something, without adding anything to it. Private registrations that spell out a word increase in value more than those that do not.