Tips to Find Personalised Number Plates

45TON number plate

So, you’ve decided that want to enrich your life and enhance your car, van or motorcycle by investing in a personalised number plate. Perhaps you want to make a classic car look more authentic, or you want to show off your name or hobby to the world. You may want to promote your business with a relevant private plate, or invest in a plate that will grow in value over time.

Whatever your reasoning, your decision to buy a personalised number plate is a sound one. Many of our customers have found a private number plate to be a wise investment, and they certainly enhance the look of any vehicle when the owner wants to stand out from the crowd.

But how do you go about finding the right number plate for your needs? It can feel a little overwhelming to be faced with so many number plate possibilities, so we have come up with a 5 step guide to help you to discover the best plate for your requirements

1. Carry out an online registration number search

On our website, we offer a number plate search feature that lets you enter words, letters or numbers that you would like to see in the number plate of your dreams.

Try it out with words you would like to incorporate into your private number plate, such as a name, nickname, age or keyword (such as a hobby or passion).

You can use the general search to find any and all matching plates, or you can use our ‘prefix style’ search to search for plates that end in three letters of your choice, but have any combination at the start.

Alternatively, the ‘current search’ will allow you to specify two letters at the start and / or the age identifier numbers in the middle, and / or the final three letters at the end of the plate.

A final option for searching for your dream number plate is to use our ‘dateless search’ option, where you can find number plates that do not have a date identifier. These cherished plates are especially popular for vintage and classic cars, and are often the most prized of all personalised number plates.

Through this range of search options, you can go a long way towards finding your perfect personalised number plate. You could search for a Bob, a Tim, a Lou or a Ted, or you could include numbers that are meaningful to you in some way, such as your age, year of birth, or the year you got married. Do remember that drivers are not legally allowed to use a registration plate that makes a car look younger than it actually is (so a car built in 2012 can’t have a 2014 registration number).

2. Check out our exclusive number plates

We have a wide selection of personalised number plates that are exclusive to us, that you can buy and have dispatched and delivered within days. You can browse this section of our website, or conduct an online search to find exclusive deals and really special number plates that you are unable to get anywhere else.

To find the right personalised number plate for you, start by scrolling through some of our exclusive private plates – are you looking for a 3D or an OI 10? What would look spectacular on your car, van or bike?

If you find the number of exclusive plates overwhelming to scroll through, or if you have a specific word, letter or character combination in mind, try the search box at the top of the page to find what you are looking for.

Perhaps you’re a 5 TUD or you’re the number 1 GUV. You need the plates to tell the world!

3. Look for your name

Many people, when they’re buying a personalised registration number plate, really want one that incorporates their name. Perhaps a Natalie would love a N47 ALE plate, or an Elizabeth would relish a personalised plate reading EL53 BTH.

On our website, we have a page dedicated to personalised number plates that incorporate names, so you can take a scroll through the plates we’ve got to see if we already have the registration number you’d love to cherish.

Consider looking for the names of your loved ones, too. Why not buy your partner, your parents or your child a private number plate for a special birthday, too? It’s something they can enjoy forever and will always associate with your generosity.

4. Create your own personalised number plate

If you have a clear idea of the letters and numbers you would like in your number plate, you can carry out a specialised search that covers over 42 million combinations of number plate registrations.

Choosing between current style number plates and prefix style number plates gives you a wider range of options, so you are more likely to find a private plate that includes the letters and numbers you prefer. All you need to do is fill in two of the three search boxes at the top of the page and then let our website do its magic. You will be presented with options you can purchase for yourself, or as a gift.

5. Attend a personalised number plate auction

Personalised number plate auctions take place every three months, selling an average of 1,600 private registration numbers each time. They are a great opportunity to get hold of number plates that have never been on sale before, as they come with the new issues of each year’s plates.

If you are unable to attend the auction yourself, you can rely on us to bid on your dream personalised number plate – which will also help to prevent you from getting carried away and bidding far more than you had intended to!

We have the experience and expertise to be able to offer you advice and guidance about the kind of price range a particular plate might go for, and you can trust us to place your bids for you. We can even call you during the auction so you can keep track of whether you’re on a winning streak or not.