All UK prices are "all-in" costs, inclusive of any fees and taxes that may apply.
It's been an interesting year at the number plate auctions, both domestically and worldwide. Despite increasingly confused global economic and political conditions, people seem determined to pursue their hobbies and interests. Personal registrations enthusiasts have flocked to the auctions, whether they be real world events, or virtual, online sales.
Competition for the most coveted numbers has been fierce, and 2025 saw new price records set for the most expensive private registrations, both in the UK and internationally.
In this article, we take a look at some of the most notable registrations sold at this year's auctions around the world, and consider what makes people so determined and competitive when it comes to securing the plates they desire.
Motivations
In the UK, many people are hesitant to change their cars as electric vehicles are still relatively expensive and the country's public charging infrastructure remains underdeveloped. One of the ways people have chosen to preserve their dignity while driving older vehicles is to hide their cars' ages with dateless number plates.
Whereas UK number plates are often bought for aesthetic reasons, or simply as a bit of fun, around the world, many of the most spectacular private plate purchases, in terms of monetary value, seem to have been driven more by considerations such as status and the display of affluence. Many countries' licence plate systems don't enjoy the same degree of variety and flexibility as ours, and it simply isn't possible to contrive messages, words, names etc from their characters. In such places, the most expensive auction sales are of registrations bearing lucky numbers, or plates with single, low digits etc.
With all this in mind, let's see what's been happening in the world's plate auctions this year.
UK sales
DVLA Auction roundup
A few features of this year's auctions were particularly noticeable. The popularity of "O" numbers was very conspicuous. They were consistently strong performers, with 52 O and 101 O delivering the two best prices of the year.
The prominence of livestock - specifically goats - at 2025's DVLA auctions was amusing. Whether these registrations were bought by obsessive fans of the animal or by people wanting to spell the acronym "GOAT" (Greatest Of All Time) is anyone's guess, but there were several examples scattered throughout the auctions. Two of them managed to wander onto the list of the top 20 most expensive DVLA auction sales of the year.
Below you will find tables of the most expensive registrations sold at the DVLA auctions in 2025, and the top performing registrations by month.
Top 20 most expensive DVLA auction sales 2025
| Registration | All-in price | Month |
|---|---|---|
| 52 O | £131,061 | SEP |
| 101 O | £116,950 | MAR |
| 8 FU | £115,640 | JUN |
| ELL 10T | £103,840 | SEP |
| 95 A | £91,257 | JUN |
| 3 FU | £89,960 | FEB |
| 98 O | £81,100 | JUN |
| 9 OAT | £79,727 | SEP |
| 54 O | £72,639 | MAY |
| OAS 1S | £72,035 | JUN |
| TON 1S | £63,141 | NOV |
| 9 XN | £57,873 | JUN |
| 7 FU | £54,663 | MAY |
| FER 12C | £45,020 | JUL |
| 1544 C | £43,312 | JAN |
| 66 OAT | £39,897 | FEB |
| PO25 CHE | £39,897 | MAY |
| 200 OOO | £38,086 | FEB |
| AUT 15M | £37,172 | OCT |
| 303 O | £37,172 | OCT |
Most expensive DVLA auction sales by month 2025
| Month | Registration | All-in price |
|---|---|---|
| JAN | 1544 C | £43,312 |
| FEB | 3 FU | £89,960 |
| MAR | 101 O | £116,950 |
| MAY | 54 O | £72,639 |
| JUN | 8 FU | £115,640 |
| JUL | FER 12C | £45,020 |
| SEP | 52 O | £131,061 |
| OCT | AUT 15M | £37,172 |
| NOV | TON 1S | £63,141 |
Other UK Auctions
At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, on 11 July 2025, the registration number JB 1 was sold at auction for £608,600 including fees and taxes. This spectacular sale set a new record high price for a UK private number plate sold in a public auction. The record had previously been held, since 2014 when Ferrari dealer John Collins paid £518,440 for 25 O.
Just a couple of months later, in September 2025, another auction hosted at Goodwood saw auctioneers Bonhams sell two spectacular lots: DB 1, which achieved £195,500, and DB 1 at a whopping £437,000. DB 1 thus entered the rankings of the UK's top 10 most expensive private registrations at number seven.
Just as we began to think maybe we'd seen the year's most exciting events, a Sotheby’s London Motor Week auction on 1st November 2025 took things to a whole new level. The registration number 1 F obliterated the UK record for the most expensive private number when it achieved an all-in price of £926,000.
The question in everyone's minds is now, when will we be reporting the first million-pound number plate in a UK public sale?
On 8 November, a week after the record-breaking sale of 1 F, the Iconic Automobilia Sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 was the venue for the auction of JK 1. This number was previously sold in July 2024 at Goodwood where it commanded a price of £214,760. The price 18 months later at the NEC? £336,000. That's quite the profit margin, and enough to buy it a place at number 14 on our chart of the UK's most expensive plates.
Another auction result that made the headlines in 2025 was the sale of J35 TER. While it was never expected to set any records, J35 TER exceeded the auctioneer's estimate of £15,000 to £20,000 when it sold for £30,500 at an online auction conducted by Stags, a West Country company specialising in machinery and equipment auctions.
J35 TER's success was largely attributed to the fact that it had formerly been owned by Cornish comedian Jethro. Jethro, whose real name was Geoff Rowe, died in 2021.
International sales
UAE
Even with UK number plate prices chasing £1 million, there is still a wide margin between the UK price record and the international record. The world record holder for the most expensive number plate ever sold fought off challengers in 2025. The 2023 sale of Dubai number plate (P) 7 for the equivalent of £12 million seems likely to hold its position for some time yet, as the current second place entry lags behind by a margin of some £4.4 million.
Channel Islands
Close to home, in an auction held on Jersey in the Channel Islands in August, the registration number J5 achieved a price of £350,000, making it the second most expensive plate ever sold on the island. The current record holder is J4 which sold for £380,000 in 2020. J4 was once displayed on the car of the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.
The Channel Islands are not part of the UK and therefore do not share the UK's number plate system and regulations. One of Jersey's rules states that vehicle registration numbers may only be sold when displayed on a vehicle. For that reason, J5 was sold on a broken motor scooter, a detail the UK media seemed to find amusing at the time.
India
There was great excitement in November at an auction held in the Indian state of Haraya. The registration number HR88B8888 looked set to become India's most expensive "VIP" number plate when the lot was won by a bid of INR ₹11,700,000 (or INR 1.17 crore), which is approximately equivalent to £97,600. Unfortunately, a few days later, Indian media reported that the winning bidder had failed to pay within the allotted period and thus the sale was cancelled and the bidder's deposit forfeit.
