Welcome to our Private Number Plate Search Guide! Whether you’re looking for yourself, a unique gift, a professional touch for your business, or
simply want to hide the age of your vehicle, this guide will help you find the perfect option. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know to
make the process simple and enjoyable, ensuring you find a number plate that suits your needs and style. Let’s get started on your search!
This should be the main idea behind your plate (a name, word or initials). Find inspiration below.
Type this into our search bar to get started.
Tip- Entering PETER, for example, will get you better results than searching for P3T3R.
2. Review & Refine
Our Smart Search tool will generate many search strings and show sets of results from each number plate style for you to consider.
You can refine and combine ideas you like to further personalise your search (try adding a lucky number or a fun word)
3. Shortlist and Purchase
Click the heart next to a search result to add it to your Favourites shortlist. You can open the shortlist using the large heart in the bottom left of
the website and compare your choices. You can share ideas from here to get a second opinion.
Once you are ready to buy, simply click on the plate to start reviewing your purchase and payment options!
Need Inspiration?
Make the whole plate meaningful with these tips!
House Number
Pets
Hobbies
Lucky Number
Vehicle Model
House name
Birthday
Names
Anniversary Year
Significant Number
Numbers that replace words
Birthyear
Names & Words
Most people start with a name or word search.
WR71 GHT
XX54 LLY
ST73 FAN
SS12 NGH
CU73 LTDCute LTD - Business name
FA57 BKEFast bike - word plate
AN11 MALFor a vet
SP20 UTSFor a farmer
A name may take up the whole registration, or just part of it. Simply type a word into our search bar and let our Search engine find the closest
matches by swapping letters and numbers. You may wish to combine the name with other ideas such as important dates or filler words.
BO55 JENJen, who is a boss
XX24 ZACZac, married 2024
Initials
These initials can be from your name, your business, your sports team, etc.
DJ51 DANInitials, then name
DR22 SCLTitle then initials
M14 MLSName plus initials
YO10 FRGFun then initials
RWC 14Investment potential
H20 EPCOption for plumber
Lucky Numbers and Dates
As you’ve seen in previous examples, all UK registration marks include numbers. Many numbers look like letters (A=4 or S=5) but you can also use
numbers to represent significant dates or figures.
0018 PATPat, married in 2018
P77 RONRon, Lucky number 7
J22 DFRJanuary 22 + initials
ADZ 1984Adam's birth year
Partner Plates
These are plates that are either based on, or chosen for, a romantic partner. You can use two names if they are short, or two sets of initials. For
the number, you could use 04 as ‘for’, or a number that is significant to the two of you.
BR04 FBRBilly R for Frankie R
FR04 BSRFrankie R for Billy R
TE54 TOMTessa and Tom
N17 PLTWedding Anniversary 17th
Filler numbers and letters
For a plate that isn’t too personal and looks good, you can fill in the space with a fun word - we call these fillers. You’ve probably seen some
common fillers such as B055 and CU73. Enter your 3 initials and our search system will automatically show you some options with plate fillers under
the heading “Popular Choices…”
Tutorial
But how do you put all of this together?
In this example, we are looking for a plate for someone named GEMMA JONES - you can use these techniques to find a plate for you. Or, check out the video version here
We start with a simple search for the name Gemma.
Gemma’s car is from 2016, so we add the vehicle age check filter for a 16 reg.
When you find a plate you like, you can click the heart to add it to your Favourites area.
Then, we try a nickname search for Gem:
And, after saving some of our favourite plates, we complete an initial search for GKJ.
We look for plates that spell fun words, like this one.
We also look for plates with important numbers. Gemma was born in May, so a 05 plate is great!
Then you can combine ideas! Search for specifics using the style format search, which can be found by clicking Refine Search. You can change
individual characters this way, making searches easier.
For example, this plate is a gift for Gemma’s 18th Birthday, so you could try:
Or, you could do a search where the 6 and the 3 act as the G and the E, with G J at the start for Gemma Jones.
Then, you can view all of your selections in the Favourites tool, send them to friends for their opinion and decide on the best one for you!
We hope this helps!
You can find the Smart Search on our Homepage here to start looking.
If you want some help finding your plate, our search team is ready to assist. Just call us on 01792 477316. Whichever option you chose, you’ll have
access to our years of expertise, and helpful people who prioritise excellent customer service.
If you are looking for something more generic for privacy reasons, or to disguise the age of your vehicle, try a cover plate. These are also great for
keeping track of fleet vehicles.
Throughout the years, the Government has introduced various formats for registration marks. If you're looking for a specific format or “style”,
please select the relevant search option below.
MIG 6857Cover Plate, Ideal for hiding vehicle age!
Can be transferred to any age vehicle
Always have an I or Z in the registration
A cheaper alternative to a dateless number plate
Search results explained
Plate status descriptions explained
As you browse through your search results, you will notice that the private numberplates are listed with different descriptions such as AVAILABLE NOW’
or ‘CHECK IT NOW’. This guide will help you understand the differences between the different types of private number plate.
NEW – AVAILABLE NOW: You will be the first person to own the exclusive rights to use these private number plates.
You can purchase these over the phone or online, immediately, with a choice of transfer options.
PRE-OWNED – AVAILABLE NOW: These private number plates are already in private ownership but are available to buy
straight away over the phone or online. Some are held on certificates and some are being used on vehicles, so transfer options will vary.
PRE-OWNED – CHECK IT NOW: These private numberplates are already privately owned and we are acting for the seller
as their agent. If you enquire into one of these we will contact the seller to confirm availability and other details before proceeding.
NEW RELEASE – HOW TO BUY: These private number plates are new-series government releases which occur twice each
year. They have never existed before and will be released as part of the next registration mark sequence.
Click the View button to
See your chosen private number plate on a selection of example vehicles
Learn about and choose additional purchase options
See the full price for the private numberplate, including VAT and the Government Transfer Fee*
*As with all other private number plate transfer agents, prices are initially shown excluding VAT and Government Transfer fees by default.
A brief history of number plates
The UK number plate system was introduced in late 1903 with the registration ‘A1’, debatably, being the first. Registration marks were issued in
sequence and related to the geographic area they were issued. The registration system has undergone many changes since then. We have put together a
brief guide to the different private numberplate styles for you below.
Dateless Style number plates (Mainland UK) (issued between 1903 and 1963)
123 ABCABC 123
A 1The Ultimate Registration Mark
25 JRJanet And Ronald's 25th Anniversary
999 ROBRob The Fire-fighter
TOY 5Ideal For Toyota or Toy Store Owners
AJL 33April Jeanette Lee
4 CMPFor Christopher Michael Parkinson
ALF 45Alfred
XMA 55It's Christmas!
Can be transferred to any age vehicle
Very rare due to their age
Generally the most expensive style
No I, Q or Z in the registration
I wanted a Dateless plate to cover the age of my vehicle and that would hopefully act as an investment. Plates4Less
suggested BB 1967, BJB 808 and XOX 222.
Brett James Brown, DOB 1967, Accountant
Our Dateless Number Plates area is the most comprehensive in the industry, including lots of useful tools, check out these areas (these links open in
new window):
Your purchase options, our transfer services & compulsory government charges.
The number plate on a car.
Finance options (with no application or administration fee).
Filters allows you to change how you see your results
Price toggle (Base Price / Government Charges)
Most number plate dealers display the “base price” on search pages and, when you proceed to checkout, the VAT and government fees are added on which
can come as a shock.
We like to give our customers the option of viewing all fees at the point of searching for a registration mark.
The total price is determined by which transfer options you choose and as such, we cannot give you a total figure until you decide on these options.
Vehicle age filter
One of the most important rules regarding personalised registrations is that you cannot make a vehicle look newer than it is. The reason for this is
to stop fraudsters mis-selling vehicles to unsuspecting buyers, and in turn promotes the sale of new vehicles when the new age identifiers are
released. Because of this it is vital that when you are looking at purchasing a personalised registration you check the age of your vehicle.
The Vehicle Age Filter will grey-out number plates which are too new for the vehicle age you choose. You can still buy them and keep them on
certificates for later use.
You can find the age of your vehicle by looking on the V5C log book, or if you know the number plate then you can look online here.
Choosing your favourites
You will see a heart icon next to your search results. If you click this, it will turn red and the registration mark will be added to your favourites.
When you have selected your favourite options, you can view them all in your Favourites area by clicking the red heart icon on the bottom left of the
screen
In your Favourites area, you can easily compare multiple registration marks, view them on a wide range of popular vehicles, and share them on social
media or by email for later reference.
Plate status explained
AVAILABLE NOW
You can view more information about the registration mark and the purchase options by clicking the ‘View & Buy’ button. Here you will find your
transfer options, information about the extras you can purchase, and information about our finance options. You can also view the registration mark on
a wide range of popular vehicles.
CHECK IT NOW
If the registration mark is pre-owned, you can click the ‘View & Check’ button. To check current price and availability or to request a call back, you
can complete the enquiry form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Help finding results
If you cannot find what you are looking for or would like some help with your search results then simply complete the Search Assistance form and one of our friendly, expert sales team will contact
you with some ideas.
Any other Query
If you require any further assistance or need help with any other queries, click on a Request Help button to submit your details for our friendly, expert sales team to contact you. Alternatively call us on 01792 477316.
