Welcome to our Blog! Stay informed with the latest private plate and motoring news. Our interesting articles reflect our dedication to great value and honesty, so we're always covering the latest relevant topics. It's not all serious though - we also post fun games and quizzes!
Stay tuned for regular expert insights into cars, important DVLA updates, and number plate laws.
With the UK's personalised registration market reaching record levels, experts are urging owners to look beyond AI, Facebook and online opinions by understanding how professional valuers assess a registration’s true market value.
VRM Swansea | Plates4Less Business' experts share their insights, having worked with everyone from driving schools to bus operators and share that private plates are increasingly being used as long-term branding assets and investments.
Learn about which private number plates are best for businesses, featuring our favourite plates and our survey results.
The March 2026 vehicle registration release is almost here, and as always, the bi-annual banned list from the DVLA has grabbed headlines. More than 400 '26' combinations have been blocked from release, deemed too offensive, inappropriate or controversial for the display on UK vehicles. Examples include AS26 HOL, AN26 NUS, FU26 GAY. Our article includes the list and information about the rise in searches for fun themed private plates.
As the UK's number one private number plate agent, our team sees and values thousands of registrations every single week. Every day, we come across plates that make us pause, smile, or look twice. In 2025, a select few genuinely stood out, from exceptional registrations we handled through sales and valuations to those spotted out on the road and online that simply stopped us in our tracks.
The UK private number plate market has reached new heights, with a small number of Ultra-Rare car registrations now commanding six-figure prices. Here we explore the rise of the Hyper Plate, the most expensive plates ever sold, linking to our carefully curated listings showing a live view of the highest-value registrations currently available.
With MPs warning this week about the explosion of 'ghost plates', cloning, and illegal number plate sellers, the timing of a proposal to ban certain plate styles has raised concern across the industry. Experts warn that while illegal plate crime is surging, a ban on compliant plates could unintentionally strengthen the underground trade already highlighted in Sky News and Independent investigations.
Looking for a Christmas present they’ll never forget? A private number plate is thoughtful, unique, and lasting...a personalised gift that continues to bring joy long after the festive season. Whether it’s for a car enthusiast, someone with a sense of humour, or the person who 'has everything', a cherished registration is a meaningful reminder of your thoughtfulness.
At Plates4Less, we’re proud to have reached more than 25,000 Five-star Excellent reviews on Trustpilot. This achievement makes us the first private number plate supplier in the UK to reach this milestone, and more importantly, it reflects the trust, confidence, and satisfaction our customers have in our easy to use service.
We've covered number plate theft and cloning before, and over the years we’ve helped countless victims, advising them on how to clear their names and providing a quick, affordable way to change their registration if it’s been cloned. Now there’s fresh hope for real change.
Uncover the story behind Driving Wizards' perfect plate 'WI24 RDS' and their seamless Plates4Less experience. From precision driving in blockbuster films to finding the ideal registration, see how personalised plates can elevate branding!
At Plates4Less, we're passionate about private number plates that bring smiles, start conversations, and show off your unique personality. Whether it's something funny, clever, or custom to you, we've seen thousands of amazing plates and stories over the years - and we love helping people find the perfect match for their jobs, vehicle, business, hobbies or even pets!
As the DVLA's 10-Year Renewal Deadline Approaches, Thousands Could Lose Their Cherished Personalised Registration Marks - Our New Guide Shows You How to Protect Yours.
Discover how Carpet Bright UK turned personalised number plates into a viral marketing success! Learn how their creative, humorous plates boosted brand visibility, sparked customer engagement, and helped drive business growth. Get inspired to make your marketing unforgettable!
"King John" brings Duck named Dog to medieval reenactments and nursing homes! He comments on his new private number plate AD06DUK
When we sell private number plates, we donate a portion of the proceeds to good causes. Learn about these charities and how you can help.
This and other important questions answered as UK Number Plate Crime Is on the rise! UK drivers may be breaking the law by removing their number plates. Could they face fines of up to £1000? Our FOI requests reveal number plate crime statistics.
Looking for a great Valentine's day gift? It's never too late to go searching for a Partner Plate, as we offer Gift Presentation Certificates as great last-minute Valentine's gifts.
Many speed limits have been reduced to 20 MPH in Wales - will the UK follow? As a private number plate supplier, we're looking into the war on motorists.
The Hub is home to a series of guides that will walk you through the gift-shopping process, to ensure you have a fun and easy gifting experience.
At Plates4Less, we've been working with businesses since 1997. As a result, we've become experts in helping companies find the right private number plates and now, we're passing that expertise on to you!
We recently featured in the Daily Express , providing advice on number plate scams to their readers. Since this information is proving to be so crucial, we also wanted to make sure that our readers are aware of the risks involved with buying or selling private number plates on Social Media sites.
We are thrilled to announce the winner of our Summer Number Plate Contest 2023 - Jon Davies with the registration number SD04 JFD. We chose our winner based on their reasons for wanting a personalised plate and we loved Jon's answer. To get to know our winner a bit better, we interviewed him about his plate, and we've included some of his responses here.
We recently put out a press release on the issue of number plate cloning, a crime which makes victims of innocent motorists. With the London ULEZ zone expanding, cloning is unfortunately on the rise, stressing out motorists who are being sent ULEZ charges and speeding fines for offences they have not committed.
In the United Kingdom, displaying number plates on your vehicle is a legal requirement. The purpose of the number plate is to identify the vehicle and its owner, and to help enforce road traffic laws. Every day we have clients ask us if they can mis-space or alter their number plates to their liking and wish to further customise their Private Plates so that they have more meaning to them. We wanted to put together this handy guide of answers to the most-asked questions on this subject to help you understand the do's and don'ts when it comes to displaying a vehicle number plate on the UK roads.
We often get asked 'I used to own a private plate, can I get it back?' In our experience it really depends on the situation. Below we answer the most common questions and we hope this guide helps drivers understand their options.
As the most popular supplier of private number plates we often get asked this question by our customers, as they wonder what happens to their existing registration mark once the transfer of their new private plate is complete.
We've noticed, especially on social media, that many people flaunt or unknowingly display illegal private number plates, so here at Plates4Less we've created a quiz to see if people can recognise these potentially expensive mistakes.
At the end of last year, vehicle registration mark DEV 1L managed to fetch over £300,000 at auction, qualifying as one of the UK's top 20 most expensive plates. (We wrote about the top 10 expensive sellers).
There will probably be no interest in your physical number plates, but if you own a personalised registration mark OR have an interesting registration mark that came on a vehicle then it is very likely that you'll be able to sell it, should you be able to find a buyer.
Heycar are reporting a 857% increase in cancelled Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) from April 2021 to April 2022. With car cloning on a high, more and more people are receiving fines through their door for offences they have not committed.
While Private Plates are a very affordable way to customise your vehicle, there are always a few people who like to spend a little more for the perfect registration mark.
Did you know that you could face a hefty £100 fine if your number plate is dirty?
They're proving popular overseas in the USA, but so far the DVLA says digital number plates won't be welcome in the UK any time soon.
We like competitions at plates4less, be it our annual Christmas draw or simply to celebrate those who choose to name their vehicles, and over the years we've given away a fair few personalised registration marks.
There's been a substantial rise in the number of cloned number plates on our roads this last year and it's led to hundreds of thousands of speeding fines being cancelled.
In order to ensure we all stay safe on the roads, The Highway Code often needs to change so as to better protect those deemed most vulnerable, such as pedestrians, horse-riders, and cyclists. With this in mind, some major new changes came into effect from 29 th January, 2022.
We've all called our car a name or two when it won't start, but have you given it a proper name? Well apparently 1 in 6 of us have, with those aged between 35 and 54 the most likely to have done so. This statistic comes from a recent survey carried out by the DVLA*, which also revealed some of the most popular and the most unusual.
James Bond is as synonymous with style and sophistication as he is with action and espionage; his tailor kits him out well, Q ensures he has the most cutting-edge gadgets, and there's always a very fine car or two for him to use on his mission. Whether it's a classy Aston Martin, a sporty supercar, or a more robust off-roader, Bond never fails to use his licence to thrill, driving the action from one film to the next.
Bond (James Bond) has driven many cars in his career. From a missile-launching Aston Martin to a fully submersible Lotus Esprit or a change-to-a-plane AMC Matador, Bond's vehicles always come with a license to thrill, so fasten your seatbelts and prepare yourself for some of Bond's best drives...
A look at some fun games to play to pass the time on a road trip
If you happened to read our article on road-trip movies it might be that you've been inspired to go on one yourself. Or maybe it's the lockdown cabin-fever setting in that's inspired you. Tricky to do at the moment, of course, what with Brexit and COVID restrictions bringing their own complications when it comes to travel, but thanks to today's technology you can still go virtually anywhere. Emphasis on the virtually.
He's known by his surname, likes his martinis shaken (not stirred), and travels all around the world on Her Majesty's Service. He also tends to dress well, drives the best cars, and is never short of romantic attention. He is 007. He is Bond… James Bond.
If you read our article on films you might have been inspired to go on one yourself. Tricky to do under the current lockdown rules, of course, with hitting the road reserved for essential travel, but you could always start planning for when this is all over, seeing the sights you always told yourself you'd see, or finally visiting friends and family you've not seen for a while.
With a country in lockdown and travelling restricted, you might not be thinking too much about fuel...
At VRM Plates4less we are frequently asked if 4D plates are recognised as legal plates on UK roads. The short answer to this question is YES, but let us explain 4D plates in a little more detail.
After an amazing response to our recent Christmas competition we selected not one but two winners
You may remember a while ago we wrote about the proposal for 'green' number plates, an incentive designed to promote an awareness of electric vehicles and those producing zero CO2 emissions while also making these cleaner vehicles more instantly recognisable
We had such a great response to our Christmas competition that we decided to announce two winners, rounding off 2020 with something positive!
Thanks to the coronavirus, most of us are self-isolating and refraining from travel that isn't absolutely necessary. But don't worry; just because you're stuck indoors doesn't mean you can't go on a road trip, there are plenty of films that'll take you on just such a journey, many of them available on streaming services such as Netflix and Prime Video. Such as these…
With so many parts of our country currently exceeding the legal limits of toxic air pollution, it's obvious we have a serious pollution problem in the UK. One contributing factor to this is the large number of vehicles on our roads, with the average car emitting somewhere between 4 and 6 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
With COVID-19 affecting businesses worldwide, and with many of us worrying what the financial future might hold, it's understandable to think we're doomed to dark times ahead.
Northumbria police have recently posted on their website that there is a crackdown on illegally modified private plates and that they are leading the charge on the problem. A team of 15 hand-picked Special Constables have been assembled to join their Sergeant in stopping vehicles with illegal private plates.
There are a but a few large purchases we make in life. One is a home. You might spend a lot on a wedding or an expensive holiday treat. Another often-high expense is your vehicle. (or vehicles, if you are fortunate enough to have more than one) New ones simply don't come cheap!
A no-deal Brexit looks set to change car prices, so should you buy now to get a better deal?
The DVLA has now launched a new online service for changing the address details on your V5 Registration Document (also known as a logbook). This should significantly reduce the time it takes, meaning you could receive your updated logbook in just 5 days.
People buy private plates for a variety of reasons. But what should you do when you want to sell your cherished number plate?
Not so long ago, we created a game to test your knowledge of private plates, challenging you to spot the illegal ones amongst those allowed on the roads. It proved to be very popular, with more than 15,000 people taking part!
Want to sell your personal registration mark? Check out the Seller's area of our website for help with how
The new series of 70s number plates have been released, and you can place your order now with us at plates4less.
People buy private registration marks for various reasons - displaying a name, perhaps, or promoting a business - and with a whole range of combinations to choose from, there's no shortage of plates to fit any purpose.
Correcting A Newspaper's Inaccurate Claims…
Calling all isolated motorists… Stuck indoors, trapped in isolation, while avoiding unnecessary travel? We know the feeling. That's why we'll be sharing a series of articles thematically linked to cars and driving - including how to drive from the comfort and safety of your own home!
In a recent article we told you about one of our customers, Mr 'Jones' (real name withheld for safety), who found himself the victim of number plate cloning, receiving several fines as the result of someone else's motoring offences. Well, we're pleased to say he was able to prove his innocence and is now the proud owner of a new private registration mark.
You may have noticed that we recently ran a Christmas competition, giving away a private registration mark! We asked those entering the competition to pick the perfect plate and let us know why it was so suited to them.
These days, Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology (or ANPR) is everywhere. In fact, there are more than 8500 such cameras around the UK, able to capture up to 35 million registrations per day. It is used to help combat crime, and to issue fines to those guilty of motoring offences. However, as a result of this new technology a new crime has emerged number plate theft and vehicle cloning.
You'll need new number plates to match your new registration mark so why not order them from us?
When it comes to vehicle registrations, there's more to the numbers on your plate than you might think.
Private registration marks make the perfect, unique gift. You can secure a registration mark for your loved one now - we have provided the following advice to help you further.
If you grew up in the 80s, chances are high you loved Knight Rider, memorable for its wonderful talking car K.I.T.T. which was equipped with enough gadgets to put a Bond car to shame.
You may have recently seen (and even played!) our number plate game to see if you could spot an illegal number plate. Many vehicles these days are displaying illegal personal number plates, so we challenged people to test their knowledge, identifying from amongst a number of real UK number plates those that were legal and those that were not.
Warning This article contains naughty number plates!
You told us what you thought in a recent poll and we've presented the results below...
We've noticed, especially on social media, that many people flaunt or unknowingly display illegal personal number plates, so here at Plates4Less we've created a quiz to see if people can recognise these potentially expensive mistakes.
At Plates4Less, we're always keen to keep up to date with the motor industry. Lately, many of the news articles we've been seeing have focused on closures and job losses and reduced investments, with opinions varying as to whether the looming threat of Brexit is at fault, or if other factors within the industry are to blame.
In the time the DVLA has been providing personalised registrations it has put a staggering £2 billion in the coffers of the Treasury. Last year alone, an impressive £116 million went to the Treasury as a result of the sale of personal registrations.
Today marks a special day at Plates4less as we're the first company in the private number plate industry to achieve more than 10,000 five-star reviews on Trustpilot!
People often ask about why we have number plates, if they can "create their own" and if they can alter the spaces between numbers and letters.
These days, the importance placed on data protection means many of us can rest easy regarding the handling of our personal information, while CCTV and other technologies help to make us feel safe. But as anyone who's had a speeding ticket can testify, cameras and databases can identify who and where we are
One question always on our customers' minds is how to purchase a registration as a gift, and what we can offer as a part of our gift service.
Most people are unaware of Transfer Rules Age Restrictions, and we understand that other websites can sometimes be unclear about the legal transfer rules (or not even mention them), so that's why Plates4Less have developed a new tool that can check whether the private registration number plate you want, is suitable for the intended vehicle!
Many people who ask us for assistance have already got their perfect registration mark in mind and they wonder what we can do to locate it.
As of April 2019 the DVLA are issuing a newly styled V5C logbook. Let's take a look at what the new logbook looks like.
Hi! My name's Charlotte and I'm part of the sales team at Plates4Less, and I'm here to explain our new and improved Smart-Search system to help customers find the perfect private number plate.
