DVLA's October 2025 auction was an online event that ran from Wednesday 15th October to Tuesday 21st October 2025.
This was the first DVLA auction conducted by auctioneers John Pye, a general auctioneer established in 1968. In addition to online auctions, John Pye has six regional UK hubs, 14 dedicated vehicle sales sites and a site in Spain.
We were a little surprised to see a few plates that could easily have been caught up in the DVLA's censorship net. The checking process does seem to err on the side of caution where there is a chance of controversy or offence but these passed unscathed, as we'll see.
As always, prices quoted in this report include fees and taxes.
October's top 5
This month's joint chart-toppers were AUT 15M and 303 O, both of which sold for £37,172. AUT 15M is a very clear representation of "autism". We hope the plate will be used to promote awareness of neurodiversity. Such a perfect representation could be a powerful tool for a good cause.
303 O showed that "O" plates remain popular. They are a frequent feature of auction top fives and 'O' registrations have topped the chart several times so far this year.
Third place was taken by HMZ 4, achieving an all-in price of £31,178, which we would guess may have been chosen for its near-spelling of the Arabic name "Hamza".
In fourth position was 296 X at £30,992. While X numbers do seem to have a certain intrinsic appeal, it seems likely that this one was intended to refer to the Ferrari 296 plug-in hybrid.
Finishing up this month's top five we have PAD 5L (£30,980). Registrations appearing to spell "Padel" seems to have become more desirable in parallel with growth of interest in the racket sport of that name. In November 2013, PAD 3L was sold for just £500, but so far in 2025 we have seen the sales of PAD 6L for £32,180 and PAD 9L for £14,281.
Words
BAS 55H ("Bash") at £13,688 could be a synonym for beat or hit, but it could also refer to the Bash programming language.
94 GUN at £13,194 needs little explanation, but GUN 80Y ("Gun boy"), which sold for £12,205, seems like something that could have been withheld in the past due to possible crime or violence connotations.
GOA 444T ("Goat") isn't the most accurate version we've seen, but the best ones have already been sold in previous auctions. Whether it was purchased as an acronym of "Greatest of all time" or simply acquired by someone who's very fond of goats, the buyer deemed it worth £12,452. We wonder if there is any rivalry with the purchaser of GRE 475T ("Greatest") at £5,185.
NOT 64D at £6,804 was a very affordable bit of fun that could be used in many contexts. We quite liked that one. "Not bad" at all.
Names
The highest priced name plate was, as we saw above, HMZ 4 for "Hamza". Football team names also appeared in October's sale. No prizes for guessing the allegiance of the person who paid £24,825 for HO75 PUR. Amusingly, the other most prominent football name in the auction was AR25 NAL at £10,166. Where price is concerned, Tottenham won this game.
3 HOW at £20,004 would be a perfect spelling of "How", a name with primarily English and German origins. HAR 4D ("Harad") at £15,023 is another name that occurs in a number of cultures. In addition to Anglo-Saxon origins it is also seen in some parts of Japan. Lord of the Rings geeks will also recognise it as a name for the region of Middle Earth south of Harondor and Mordor.
KR75 HNA ("Krishna") sold for £21,055. In an auction in May 2015, KR15 HNA was sold for £233,360. The price disparity shows the power of a perfect spelling vs a slight compromise.
Other names seen included ANN 31E ("Annie") at £13,750, AH24 MED ("Ahmed") at £12,452, A135 SHA ("Alesha") at £12,156, LLL 15A ("Lisa") at £11,241 and AN51 NGH ("AN Singh") at £7,471.
Cars
As always, there were plates for Porsche 911 owners. P911 FUN at £9,980 was a nice example. Others included 911 TSO at £6,260 and 911 JCM which sold for £4,418.
Others
Many of the other numbers in the October auction were probably purchased as initials plates, but there were some interesting registrations that stood out.
The joint first place registration, 303 O, wasn't the only "O" number to be seen this month. 9115 O sold for £20,177.
TEM 11 at £15,295 makes a pretty effective spelling of "Temu" but, as the online marketplace of that name is owned by a Chinese gentleman who probably doesn't live in the UK, we can't think who'd buy the plate for that reference. What do you think?
Another number with overseas relevance was OAN 15H (£7,496). Potential buyers would include proud Danish ex-pats living in the UK and people with an irrationally strong love of bacon.
Top 50 sales
| Plate | Price * |
|---|---|
| AUT 15M | £37,172 |
| 303 O | £37,172 |
| HMZ 4 | £31,178 |
| 296 X | £30,992 |
| PAD 5L | £30,980 |
| 11 BUX | £27,581 |
| 106 A | £25,430 |
| JSK 8 | £24,948 |
| HO75 PUR | £24,825 |
| 520 BB | £24,812 |
| 11 YSF | £21,722 |
| 1 VRK | £21,228 |
| KR75 HNA | £21,055 |
| AVZ 1 | £20,610 |
| 9115 O | £20,177 |
| 3 HOW | £20,004 |
| AYD 9N | £19,868 |
| 26 DJM | £18,694 |
| 111 RJS | £18,645 |
| 1 YSC | £18,014 |
| 104 H | £17,730 |
| XXX 123 | £17,396 |
| 121 JT | £16,902 |
| 321 AS | £16,766 |
| 1 LVV | £16,482 |
| 722 W | £15,666 |
| 3 RYN | £15,604 |
| TEM 11 | £15,295 |
| HAR 4D | £15,023 |
| 9999 JP | £14,949 |
| 280 G | £14,924 |
| 98 OC | £14,121 |
| 1 OWD | £13,812 |
| 8 ADX | £13,787 |
| ANN 31E | £13,750 |
| 110 YA | £13,738 |
| BAS 55H | £13,688 |
| 94 GUN | £13,194 |
| HUK 9M | £13,070 |
| EKK 4M | £13,058 |
| MCK 6Y | £12,860 |
| 145 P | £12,823 |
| 8 JSN | £12,576 |
| 80 BF | £12,576 |
| 88 AX | £12,452 |
| 8000 B | £12,452 |
| AH24 MED | £12,452 |
| 992 JN | £12,452 |
| GOA 444T | £12,452 |
| 99 YP | £12,452 |
* Prices include fees and taxes.
The stats
October's DVLA online auction comprised 2000 lots, 1977 of which were sold and 23 unsold. Purchasers spent a total of £6,325,639, delivering £6,175,943 to the Treasury.
The next DVLA online auction will run from Wednesday 19th November to Tuesday 25th November 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 September 2025
Learn more about personal number plates that sold for great prices in the DVLA's previous auction.
