DVLA's May 2025 auction was an online event that ran from Wednesday 18th June to Tuesday 24th June 2025.
As always, prices quoted in this report include fees and taxes.
June's top 5
This month's auction featured some great plates, and the top prices paid reflected that.
In the top spot was 8 FU which achieved a hefty £115,640. This is a very desirable registration: Fu is a common Chinese name. In fact, the English transliteration 'Fu' is used for several different Chinese names. Although those various names are spelt differently in Chinese, to English speakers they all sound similar to each other, and so the English spelling 'Fu' is used. In addition, the presence of the lucky number 8 makes this the perfect name plate for anyone with the name Fu.
The combination 'FU' used to be banned from UK plates as the letters can stand for a rather unfriendly phrase containing the F-word.
At number two in this month's ranking was 95 A which sold for £91,257. This one may not have such immediately evident appeal as 8 FU, but the letter A is much coveted, especially in a short combination such as this.
June's third place went to 98 O, which made £81,100. As we have said before, the DVLA auctions usually offer plenty of choice for Porsche owners, and this really would be the perfect combination for the owner of a Porsche 980.
Fourth position this month was taken by OAS 1S which sold for £72,035. This would be a terrific plate for a member or fan of the famous Britpop band, who reformed this year. Oasis is also the name of many businesses and establishments. As the perfect representation of the word, there would have been no shortage of people interested in this one.
Rounding off the top five we have 9 XN which made £57,873. It's a bit tricky to divine the appeal this one may have had for its purchaser, but it is a fine short combination that must have meant something to someone.
Words
Word representations don't get much better than OAS 1S, which we saw above, and words were not this auction's strongest aspect. That said, there were still some good representations to be had by those looking for a bargain.
Two possible contenders in the words category were 180 G (1 Bog perhaps?) which, at £20,637 might suit a plumbing company, and 810 B (Blob) at £20,008. 81 KES (Bikes) could make a great plate for the owner of a bicycle or motorcycle retail business.
Once again, there were a couple of evil combinations on offer. DEU 1L is, at £14,538, not a bad 'Devil' plate. The plural, DEV 11S, sold for £13,639, while yet another possible representation appeared in the form of DVC 1L, selling for £8,298. While it may be unusual to see so many demonic registrations in one auction, 'Devil' plates have been surprisingly popular at previous auctions, as we pointed out in our Auction Favourites article.
Other words for sale this month included BOO 813S (Boobies) at £12,933, 506 OOD (So good) at £9,723, HAT 6R (Hater) at £8,631, TOX 7C (Toxic) at £7,797, COW 880Y (Cowboy) at £5,999 and STA 711C (Static) at £5,319.
Names
8 FU was obviously the top name number plate this month, but there were plenty of others listed. JO25 HUA (Joshua) made a pretty good at-a-glance representation for £16,143, while MEL 133A (£15,231) made an equally effective 'Melissa' plate, despite the necessary spelling compromise.
544 NDU (Sandu) £11,649 may well have had potential buyers of Indian or Romanian heritage, as the name is common to both regions.
Another auction favourite, the name Singh, had a couple of decent showings: HK51 NGH sold for £9,068 and VR51 NGH for £8,439. Other names amongst this month's lots included JMM 1Y (Jimmy) and CLA 117E (Claire), each for £9,081.
Cars
Aston Martin and Porsche were both present in number plate form. We saw 98 O earlier: Porsche/initials plates that sold were 911 PEG (£7,835), 911 REJ (£3,508) and 911 TDM (£3,329). For Aston Martin, AML 1X went for £12,933 and AMZ 3 for £12,291.
Top 50 sales
| Plate | Price * |
|---|---|
| 8 FU | £115,640 |
| 95 A | £91,257 |
| 98 O | £81,100 |
| OAS 1S | £72,035 |
| 9 XN | £57,873 |
| XIG 1 | £23,205 |
| 180 G | £20,637 |
| 810 B | £20,008 |
| 81 KES | £19,956 |
| HRR 1S | £19,366 |
| HAM 34H | £19,353 |
| 96 HL | £19,340 |
| 450 AM | £19,301 |
| 1 OLB | £18,839 |
| 90 OA | £18,197 |
| 150 V | £18,082 |
| 241 M | £17,427 |
| 160 J | £17,414 |
| 1 RYY | £17,170 |
| DEO 1X | £16,977 |
| 125 Y | £16,913 |
| 110 PB | £16,785 |
| 90 VB | £16,772 |
| AAH 41L | £16,541 |
| TEM 3 | £16,464 |
| 757 P | £16,207 |
| JO25 HUA | £16,143 |
| AVI 6 | £16,143 |
| 2411 NN | £15,501 |
| 73 NY | £15,501 |
| 5 OCB | £15,501 |
| 3 YSF | £15,244 |
| MEL 133A | £15,231 |
| DEU 1L | £14,538 |
| 55 LV | £14,332 |
| 35 YA | £14,217 |
| VEK 1 | £14,217 |
| 44 WAN | £14,217 |
| 1 PVL | £14,217 |
| 350 MS | £14,217 |
| 103 T | £14,204 |
| DEV 11S | £13,639 |
| 992 XX | £13,575 |
| 1 VJG | £13,575 |
| AAR 12H | £13,575 |
| 1 MWU | £13,190 |
| 99 VA | £13,061 |
| 1987 DC | £13,061 |
| 73 GO | £12,946 |
| 170 E | £12,933 |
* Prices include fees and taxes.
The stats
June's DVLA online auction comprised 2,000 lots, 1,981 of which were sold and 19 unsold. Purchasers spent a total of £6,422,037, delivering £6,080,566 to the Treasury.
The next DVLA timed online auction will take place from Wednesday 23rd July to Tuesday 29th July 2025.
The Regtransfers auction
Buy and sell with our number plate auction. You can see what is coming soon or jump in to the listings.
DVLA Auction May 2025
Learn more about personal number plates that sold for great prices in the DVLA's previous auction.
