September 2026 DVLA Auction roundup
The latest DVLA timed online auction ran from 2nd-8th September 2026, offering 2,000 registrations. With 1,980 sold and total spending reported at £6,759,888, the sale achieved an impressive 99% sell through rate.
For buyers and sellers, the results offer a useful snapshot of what people are prepared to pay for distinctive registrations. Short combinations took the leading positions, while further down the results there was room for humour, names and memorable number patterns.
All prices below include fees and taxes and are rounded to the nearest pound.
The Five Highest Selling Registrations
Registration Total price
242 A £42,116
440 O £32,896
296 CS £31,301
26 OD £30,992
VFF 1 £30,992
26 OD and VFF 1 shared fourth place. The next registration was 244 AR at £28,273.
242 A takes the Top Spot
Leading the auction was 242 A, with a hammer price of £34,010, bringing the total to approximately £42,116 after the buyer’s premium, VAT and assignment fee. DVLA identifies it as a dateless registration suitable for a vehicle of any age.
Our view is that its appeal starts with the format: four characters, a single letter and a balanced number sequence. It does not need a complicated explanation to make an impression.
The buyer’s reasons are not public, so any personal meaning would be speculation. What we can see is a compact registration that attracted the highest price of the sale.
440 O Continues the Interest in O Registrations
440 O reached £32,896 including fees, against an official hammer price of £26,550.
Visually, the combination has an uncluttered appearance, with repeated fours followed by the rounded shapes of zero and O. For a buyer choosing primarily on appearance, that gives it an obvious point of difference.
More Than One Route to a Strong Result
The leading results also included 296 CS, 26 OD and VFF 1. Each offers a different combination of numbers and letters, but all fit into just four or five characters.
For sellers, this is a useful way to think about a registration. Start with its visible strengths: length, initials, number sequence and readability. A possible personal or vehicle connection can add interest, but it should not be treated as proof of why someone bought it.
Personality Still Finds Buyers
Among the other notable results were 7007 OO at £18,632, H80 RSE at £17,644, 533 YAA at £16,506 and MA25 HAL at £14,306.
These combinations give buyers something different to respond to a number pattern, a suggestion of a word or a personal association. Our reading is that a registration’s character can matter just as much as its length to the right person.
What Does This Mean for Your Plate?
An auction result is a useful reference point, but a similar looking registration will not necessarily achieve a similar price.
The best comparisons consider the complete combination. Do the letters match popular initials? Is the number memorable? Is there an obvious audience? And, crucially, is the comparison based on an actual sale or simply an advertised asking price?
September’s results provide plenty of evidence of buyers spending on distinctive plates. For an individual seller, realistic pricing and reaching the right audience remain the practical priorities.
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