DVLA Number Plates
The DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) is the organisation responsible for maintaining a database of drivers in Great Britain and a database of vehicles for the entire UK. Key amongst the vehicle records it keeps are details of the unique number plate registration that each vehicle is assigned.
National Numbers are a DVLA recognised reseller and have access to the vast range of previously un-issued government stock of the following formats.
DVLA Dateless and Cherished Number Plates
The DVLA makes number plates available through auction, typically these are high prestige, cherished registrations that are the best matches to particular names or words, or are dateless DVLA cherished plates that have never previously been issued. The golden rule here is that they will only auction those that have never previously been made available. So if you're looking for a specific car registration, and it's ever been used on UK roads, it won't resurface at auction - even if the vehicle has long been off the road and the car registration unused. Private number plates sold at auction are 'fresh', never having been on vehicles before, whilst dateless plates currently available for sale will have a history attached to them - perhaps dating right back to 1903 when number plates were introduced.
DVLA Prefix Number Plates
Prefix number plates have a year letter at the front, 1, 2 or 3 numbers followed by 3 letters indicating the area of issue. The A prefix started in 1983 and this format of car registration ran until 2001 with the Y reg. From each letter of release, the DVLA withheld a selection of combinations - initially those with numbers between 1-20 and the double and triple digits (e.g 22, 33, 44, 111, 222, 333 etc.) - the rest of the number plate combinations being made available for standard general issue to vehicles on the roads. They also held onto number plates that clearly spelled words or names (these would typically surface at a DVLA auction), and, of course, withheld those combinations that could cause offence or number plates that resembled rude words!
National Numbers currently have 6,702,536 DVLA prefix registration plates available for you to choose from.
DVLA Suffix Number Plates
The reversal of prefix number plates, with the year identifying letter at the end of the reg plate (3 letters, 1, 2 or 3 numbers, then a year identifying letter), this format begin with A reg back in 1963, and ran until 1982 when they were superseded by the prefix car registration plate format. These number plates can also fall under the bracket of DVLA cherished numbers and are now only available via auction, from private sellers or from the stock that National Numbers have.
DVLA New Style Number Plates
The latest DVLA number plates, often described as 'New style' plates, are now well established having been the default type of registration issued to new vehicles since 2001. These newest style plates consist of 2 area identifier letters followed by a 2 digit number that represents the year they were issued, lastly, 3 random letters are allocated. With each new number plate series making available around 7 million new letter/number combinations, and one of these being released every 6 months, the pot of available car registrations has swollen massively! You can make your own number plate in this format - we have 64,703,174 DVLA number plates currently available.
Beyond The DVLA
Looking for personalised options? Check out our make your own number plate service to create a unique plate that stands out. We also have a variety of stock number plates available for immediate purchase, ensuring you can find the perfect match for your vehicle.