Personalised Number Plate Information

NUMBER PLATES:

More than seven million people tuned in to watch the Queen’s speech on television on Christmas Day - but thousands also logged on to the Swansea-based DVLA’s online services.

Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Morriston reveal that despite it being December 25, many still found time to keep on top of their vehicle administration, from taxing cars to buying personalised registrations.

So, in addition to the estimated 10 million turkeys eaten on the big day, 8,550 vehicles were taxed or declared off road online, 521 people informed the agency online they had bought or sold a vehicle, and more than 1,600 people applied for their first provisional driving licence.

Oliver Morley, chief executive of the Swansea-based DVLA, said: “Giving customers choice in how, where and when they use our services is at the heart of what we do.

“We are committed to creating digital services that meet the needs of our customers and clearly, these services are allowing people the opportunity to fit their admin into their lifestyle – 365 days a year.”

Other figures for online activity on Christmas Day include 136 people paying a fine, 621 people buying a personalised registration number, 456 people applying for a duplicate licence, 727 telling the DVLA of their new address and 11,343 viewing their driving licence.

THERE are a number of mistakes that can be made on personalised number plates that could see drivers land a £1,000 and also fail their MOT. Here is what they are and how to avoid them.

Illegal number plates could see thousands of Brits face fines and even make them fail their MOT.

Certain personalised number plates have the potential to be costly errors for drivers.

While a personalised number plate can be, to some people, a nice form of expression, they could also be costly.

Personalised number plate firm Regplates.com encourages drivers to use a degree of imagination and interpretation while designing one, but sticking to the traditional number plate formats.

According to the company, however, 15,000 drivers across the UK have been fined for having an illegal plates over the past three years.

The worst offenders come from London with 3,058 offences clocked while North Wales and Norfolk also totted up over 1,100 each.

This includes plates that did not conform to regulations, cars without a front or back plate or ones with indistinguishable/obscured plates.

It is a legal requirement for a car’s numberplate to be clear and legible and failure to meet these criteria can result in £1,000 fine, loss of the personal registration number and/or a failed MOT.

There are other modifications that drivers can also be penalised for.

These include using the wrong colours for the lettering or for the background of the plates.

Number plates should have black characters on a white background at the front of the car and on a yellow background on the back of the car.

Spacing is also crucial and drivers should ensure that the characters on their plate are correctly spaced.

Non-confirming backgrounds or stickers that could interfere with the legibility of a plate are also factors that carry a fine risk.

The standard font used on all number plates is ‘Charles Wright’ and it is the only one deemed acceptable for motorists to have.

Similarly, the flag on the left hand side of the plate must also be correct.

Acceptable flags include: The EU flag, The Union Jack, The St George Cross, The Scottish Saltire (St Andrew Cross) and The Red Dragon of Wales.

The transport department has clarified that all vehicles registered in the state must have High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) fitted by January 15, 2018. The department has plans to impose a fine of Rs 500 on those who fail to comply with the requirement.

The state government had in November 2012 made it mandatory for all new vehicles to have HSRP number plates. But the vehicles registered before 2012 were given exemption. That exemption has now been done away with and the transport department, following a Supreme Court order has mandated HSRP for any and all vehicles registered in the state. The apex court had in November this year issued notices and sought response from five states on a contempt plea alleging non-compliance of the order related to ensuring high security registration plates (HSRP) for all vehicles. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the governments of five states and sought their response in eight weeks.

It was contended that despite the apex court directive earlier in 2017, the five state governments - Gujarat, Assam, Delhi, Haryana and Bihar had not complied with the directions.The transport department stated that it has also come to their notice that several vehicles registered after November 2012 are moving without the HSRP number plate.

---

As a company we sponsor sporting events such as the 'White Gold Cup', and many local events for clubs, charities and schools.

We also sponsor the Generation FMX freestlye motocross team.

So let the experts take the stress out of buying or selling your registration mark. Why not browse this site, and if you need any further assistance, we are on hand from 9am until 7pm Monday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm Sunday.

---

Most of the time, the agency successfully eradicates any plates that may shock or offend the British public.

But every now and then, one slips through the net.

While they may possess the largest number plate database in the UK with millions of conventional registrations, the website also holds some of the most hilarious and outrageous licence plates DVLA-approved to roam Britain’s roads.

And considering their comical value, some of the best plates carry with them an unbelievable price tag – close to half a million pounds in one instance.

Naturally, the Sun Online Motors team sifted through their archives to compile a list of the top 10 most outrageous number plates in the UK – but don’t be surprised if your favourite shocking plate has an equally outrageous asking price.

10. TTII TTS – £8,499
9. F4 KKA- £16,800
8. 69O MY – £6,999
7. PUII HER – £3,499
6. OR64 SAM – £40,000
5. OO04 OOK – £10,472
4. I5 EXY – £95,000
3. B4I FKU – £9,999
2. MRI3 UTT – £495,000
1. PEN 15 – £110,000

ormerly the most outrageous number plate in Britain, the infamous CUII NNT registration has been banned.

Despite resembling one of the most explicit words in the English language, the licence plate slipped through the DVLA prohibited list in 2016, and was given a value of £6,000.

Some of the country's rudest number plates have been revealed - and could be yours for the cool price of £495,000.

Outrageous plates such as TTII TTS, F4 KKA and PEN 15 are available to buy online for those inclined to splash out on an expensive joke.

Each year, new plates are approved by the DVLA, with a cheeky handful slipping under the invigilators' noses and finding themselves onto Britain's streets.

The list will normally include personalised plates spelling out rude words or potentially offensive messages, as well as religious or homophobic terms.

The list of personalised plates the DVLA believes to be in poor taste runs into many pages.

For the 2016 registration year, the DVLA's censors refused a large number of plates, including B16 COX, CR16 PLE, PR16 CK and BU16 ERY.

Some of the more vulgar terms to be outlawed by the licensing agency include B16 NOB, FA16 OTS and TT16 TTY.

But plenty of new number plate combinations will be allowed, and names are expected to be a high seller.

The private number plate market in the UK is worth around £2.3billion a year, and some number plates can sell for astonishing amounts of money.

In 2014, the plate '25 O' sold for a record-breaking £518,000 at a DVLA agency auction, beating the previous record by nearly £100,000.

A publicly-funded committee meets twice a year to decide which number plates are unsuitable for Britain's roads.

The Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, says the Ghanaian public is increasingly becoming intolerant of perceived corruption and poor service delivery at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).

According to him, many of the authority’s clients consider it to be the worst in terms of service delivery, thereby creating avenues for middle men, popularly known as ‘goro boys,’ to take advantage of the stifling bureaucratic system at the place.

He has therefore asked management of the DVLA to quickly deal with the ‘goro boys’ syndrome at their various offices.

---

Eric Morecambes Cherished Number Rescued!

Eric Morecambe's 1971 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow has been spared from the scrapheap at the last minute.

Peter Yates, who runs a wedding car firm in Morecambe, spotted the car in a Shrewsbury junkyard just 24 hours before it was due to be dismantled.

He said finding the car - which had the number plate EM100 when Morecambe owned it - was a 'miracle'.

The car was owned by the comic from 1971 and 1974 - as shown by the original order note - and Yates says it still smells of cigar smoke.

How the car came to be in a scrapheap is unknown. Seven years ago the car, including the personalised number plate, sold for £36,000 at auction.

---

Are you a cat lover with a few hundred quid to spare? How about a huge Dennis the Menace fan keen to show your appreciation via the medium of your motor? Well you’re in luck as the DVLA – the body in charge of car registrations in the UK – is holding 2017’s first live auction of registration numbers this week and among the plates on offer are WH15 KER ( yours for a starting price of £700) and BE11 ANO (a mere £400). The event – which starts on Wednesday – will see a total of 1,500 personalised registrations being auctioned to members of the public. The registrations on offer have been chosen by DVLA to suit all tastes, styles and budgets and range from plates that reflect names such as EL17 OTT, HA15 RRY and PA14 ULA through to quirkier offerings such as OUR 848Y, OLD 800K and YOU 105E. And fans of Harry Potter could find themselves spellbound by POT 110N which carries a reserve of £250. The agency will be aiming to build on the success of its live auction programme in 2016, which raised £25.6 million through five sales – setting a new record for a second consecutive year. Last year, the total sales of personalised registrations by the DVLA surpassed £147m, taking the total amount raised since the sales began in September 1989 to £2.4 billion. Sales by the agency suggest that interest in personalised plates has soared in recent years with a 150 per cent increase of registered bidders for its live sales since 2011. On average 9,500 customers com[pete for lots per auction. Adam Griffiths, of DVLA Personalised Registrations, said: “It’s been nearly three months since our last live sale, and I am really excited by our first sale of 2017 where some really great registrations are available to bid for. We have experienced two successive record-breaking years and, when you look through the catalogue at the registrations we have compiled for this sale, I am very hopeful that this success will continue.” He added: “Bidding in person is by far the most popular way to buy a registration and it is at the auction where you will find the real atmosphere – it’s a great day out and we make the experience as enjoyable and friendly as possible. If you can’t make it to the auction we offer free telephone, internet and absent bidding facilities”.

---

Sharjah: Fierce bidding at a Sharjah Police licence plate online auction raked in Dh3.4 million for a single plate numbered “15”, said Sharjah Police.

In total, Dh9.8 million was raised from the auction of 100 unique number plates.

Organised by Sharjah Police in collaboration with Emirates Auction from March 27 till April 1, the auction attracted the attention of bidders from across the UAE and beyond.

The online auction witnessed intense bidding on 100 unique number plates, including a pair of two-digit plates: 15 and 66, nine three-digit plates: 120, 121, 200, 202, 221, 313, 660, 801, 888, and 44 four-digit plates, featuring unique combinations such as: 2222 and 5000, in addition to 45 five-digit plates.
The highest bid on two-digit number went to plate number 15, which recorded Dh3,4 million, while plate number 66 recorded Dh1,2 million. The highest price for three-digit numbers went to plate number 888, which recorded Dh700,000.

The four-digit plate number 2222 was sold for Dh600,000 and the highest paid for a five-digit plate (66666) was Dh559,000.

Plate number 200 sold for Dh382,000, while the lowest bid went to plate number 89100 which sold for Dh6,000
The auction was viewed by 500,102 people via Emirate Auction’s mobile app and website.

---

A NUMBER plate sold to raise money for Tatton Park has fetched a world record price of £331,500 at auction.

The M1 registration mark was bought by an anonymous north west-based bidder - for his six-year-old son's birthday.

Officials at auctioneers Bonhams and Tatton Park were stunned by the final selling price for the unique plate, which quickly reached and overtook the previous world record.

And they were even more amazed to learn that the owner is a boy who cannot legally drive for another 11 years.

The youngster is the son of a wealthy Cheshire businessman who refused to reveal himself and made his bids by phone.

---

T’S happened again – and set a record: Someone paid $745,000 for the numerical NSW plate ‘29’, eclipsing the previous auction record of $689,000 paid for NSW ‘2’ back in 2003.

It also set an Australian auction record for a double-digit number plate, topping the $530,000 paid for the Victorian plate ‘21’ at Shannons Melbourne Winter Auction last July.

Other strong number plate sales were $82,000 paid for NSW ‘9191’ and $35,000 for NSW ‘85758’, taking total sales on the night for the six heritage plates on offer to $956,000.

Classic motorcycles were also hot property, topped by $37,000 paid for an ‘as new’ 1975 Norton Commando Mk3 850cc with just 29km delivery on its odometer, and a 1950s Austin J40 pedal car sold for $9300.

Other impressive results from the auction included a restored 1964 Porsche 356C Coupe which went for $137,000, a restored 1949 48-215 ‘FX’ Holden which commanded $46,000, a 1962 MGA 1600 sports car fetched $52,000 and a stately and exceptionally low mileage Mercedes-Benz 300B ‘Adenauer’ limousine first owned by the Victa lawnmower family sold for $50,000.

As well, a superbly-restored 1970 Ford XY Falcon GT sedan sold for $180,000.

Other News:

A shortage of vehicle number plates has hit the Kenyan market, causing a backlog in the clearance of cars at Mombasa port.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) attributed the shortage that started two weeks ago to increased registration of cars that has outpaced supply of number plates.

“Demand is far much higher than supply. There are just too many vehicles being imported into the country, especially second-hand cars,” NTSA director of registration and licensing.

She added that the supply issue will ease after Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, where the number plates are manually made, increases supply.
The law mandates the prisons department to make the plates.

Official data shows that Kenyans bought 15,858 used vehicles in the first quarter of the year, compared to 14,346 units in a similar period of last year, representing a 10.5 per cent growth.

It is mandatory for imported second hand vehicles to be fitted with number plates before leaving the port.

The country imports about 6,000 second hand cars monthly, according to dealers.
Dealers said that the shortage had hit them hard as they were forced to incur storage charges at the port amid cash flow hiccups due to delays as some had taken loans.

“We are incurring heavy storage charges as the cars are detained at the port despite having paid duty and customs clearance cash in advance,” said Charles Munyori, the secretary-general of Kenya Auto Bazaar Association, a lobby for second hand car dealers.

The storage charges are based on the volume of vehicles and the number of days they take at the Mombasa port or at container freight stations.

Industry insiders, however, said the number plate problem normally occurs every time a new registration number comes up as importers delay registration to take advantage of the newest numbers.

---

The first series of number plates were issued in 1903 and ran until 1932, using the series A 1 to YY 9999. The letter or pair of letters indicated the local authority in whose area the vehicle was registered, for example A - London, B - Lancashire, C - West Riding of Yorkshire. In England and Wales the letter codes were initially allocated in order of population size (by the 1901 census) whilst Scotland and Ireland had their own sequences incorporating the letters S" and "I" respectively, which were allocated alphabetically: IA = Antrim, IB = Armagh, etc. When a licensing authority reached 9999, it was allocated another two letter mark, but there was no pattern to these subsequent allocations as they were allocated on a first come first served basis. There are three interesting anomalies where a zero has been issued - The Lord Provost of Edinburgh has S 0 and his Glasgow counterpart has G 0 while the official car of the Lord Provost of Aberdeen has RG 0. In addition the Lord Mayor

---