Two number plates sold for more than £17,000 each at the latest DVLA private registration auction. Four licence plates, with combined starting prices of just £950, fetched a total of £68,324 at the September 2026 sale.
Word-based plates drive prices
Analysis of the auction data by private registration specialist Regtransfers found some of the biggest prices came from registrations that could be interpreted as recognisable words, phrases or references. The standout was H80 RSE, which can be read as "HORSE". It sold for £17,644 despite starting at just £200, more than 88 times its starting price.
This was closely followed by P15 STA, resembling "PISTA", which sold for £17,396 from the same £200 starting price, almost 87 times its starting price. The plate could potentially appeal to Ferrari fans due to the manufacturer's 488 Pista model.
Meanwhile, MAF 71A, resembling "MAFIA", fetched £16,778 from a £300 starting price, while 533 YAA, which can be interpreted as "SEE YAA", sold for £16,506 after starting at £250. Together, the four registrations achieved almost 72 times their combined starting prices.
Expert comment on buyer sentiment
Mark Trimbee, CEO of private registration specialist Regtransfers, said: "Buyers will pay a serious premium for a registration with personality, and though we’d be guessing at best, we imagine that the new owner of H80 RSE is most likely an equestrian enthusiast to at least some degree."
"Plate combinations that read as a word or a name can end up worth many times its guide price simply because someone applies their own value to the combination based on sentiment - which is sometimes priceless. That's a very different kind of value to the traditional short or dateless formats, and it's one sellers sometimes underestimate."
Key plates in the September auction
- "Horse" (H80 RSE): sold for £17,644, up from a £200 starting price, more than 88 times its starting price
- "Pista" (P15 STA): sold for £17,396 against a £200 starting price, almost 87 times its starting price. The plate could be interpreted as a nod to Ferrari's Pista model, although it could equally be read as "Pasta"
- "Mafia" (MAF 71A): sold for £16,778, up from a £300 starting price, almost 56 times its starting price
- "See ya" (533 YAA): sold for £16,506 against a £250 starting price, 66 times its starting price
- 296 CS: sold for £31,301 against a £2,200 starting price, more than 14 times its starting price. The combination may be of particular interest to motoring enthusiasts
- 242 A: the highest price paid for any plate in the auction, selling for £42,116, nearly 17 times its £2,500 starting price. The combination could potentially be read as either "Zara" or "Zaza", illustrating how short, simple registrations continue to command significant prices
The expert added: "While the above is just a snapshot of the highlights of this month’s auction, you can see two different markets at work in the results. There are buyers chasing a short, clean format because it looks good on any car, and there are buyers chasing a plate that says something about them, whether that's a nickname, an in-joke or the make of car they drive. Both are pushing prices well past the guide price, which is why we always tell sellers not to under-value a registration just because it doesn't fit the classic short-format mould."
Strong overall auction results
The unusual registrations formed part of a strong September sale for the wider private plate market. Of the 2,000 registrations offered, 1,980 found buyers, giving the auction a 99% sell-through rate.
The auction generated £6.76 million, with an average sale price of £3,414 and a median of £1,946, showing that significant spending was not confined to a handful of headline lots.
Trimbee added: "A 99% sell-through rate is a strong result by any measure, and £6.76 million from a single sale shows there's real depth of demand in this market right now, not just at the very top end. For anyone sitting on a registration and wondering whether now is a good time to sell, results like this are a fairly clear signal."
