A DVLA Number Plate is a legal requirement for all road vehicles and is used to identify vehicles and aid the Police. The majority of vehicles must display a number plate on the front and rear of the vehicle with motorbikes as an exception. All the information regarding DVLA number plates is held on a central database. The offices of DVLA Swansea act as the headquarters for the agency with over 80 local offices spread across the country.

As you will notice during any journey, the desire to own a DVLA private number plate is growing all the time. A DVLA plate can represent a name or initials or even act as advertising for a company. The most commonly purchased registrations are prefix number plates however the current format of DVLA registration is beginning to catch up with this demand. When the new DVLA registration format was introduced it was feared that there it would create a suitable amount of personalised registrations and was criticised by many. However with a bit of thought it was clear that some classic personalised plates could be found. Love them or loath them, it is undeniable that a DVLA personalised number plate of any format is now one of the must have accessories for today’s motorists.

As each DVLA registration is unique, the race to find your perfect private number plate is on. Once a DVLA number plate is sold to someone else there is little chance of you ever owning it. The good news is that a DVLA number plate can be purchased from a number plate supplier on certificate and held for an unlimited amount of time until assigned to a vehicle. This option has been welcomed by thousands of people who find their ideal number plate but do not have a car to put it on. The certificates are valid for 1 year and can be renewed annually for a nominal charge. If the DVLA number plate that you are looking for has been sold you can contact a number plate dealer as they also act as agents for people looking to sell their registrations and who knows, you might get lucky!

When buying a DVLA car registration from your number plate supplier, you must remember that a vehicle can always be made to appear old but never newer. For instance, a T reg DVLA number plate could go onto a V (1999-2000) registered car as it would make it appear older but it could not be assigned to a S (1998-1999) registered car as it would make it look newer. When in doubt check with you DVLA number plate suppler who will advise on which marks can be assigned to your vehicle.

A DVLA cherished number plate is a term usually used to refer to older, dateless registrations however its use also now refers to most pre-owned registration numbers that are being resold. A dateless registration is a number plate that does not have an age identifier on it however to the trained eye it is possible to narrow when and where the registration was first issued.

If you are looking to purchase a DVLA registration plate, some of the best deals can be found at the DVLA auctions. These auctions are held every few months around the UK and offer people the chance to purchase a previously unreleased DVLA number plate. The auctions are open to anyone and are attended by many number plate dealers, most of whom offer an auction bidding service. Although these are the best places to pick up a cheap number plate, some of the most expensive DVLA registrations have been sold also. The record for this was the registration 51 NGH (Singh) which sold for £254 000 in 2006.