Written by Oliver Wright, Private Registrations Specialist at Right Reg — over 25 years buying, selling, valuing and transferring UK number plates.
Last updated: 23 October 2026
TL;DR: The September 2026 DVLA timed online auction (B285) sold 1,949 of 1,999 registrations for £5,308,980 in hammer prices, a 97.5% sell-through rate. No plate reached £50,000; the top lot was 242 A at £34,010, the lowest top price of any DVLA auction this year. The rest of the sale held up well. 81 plates sold for £10,000 or more, the second-highest count of 2026, and all ten of the top ten were dateless. Dateless plates took 54% of the money from 26% of the lots, and their median price rose 12% on July.
Contents
- What happened at the September 2026 DVLA auction?
- Which plates sold for the most in September 2026?
- Why were all ten top plates dateless?
- How did September compare with July?
- How does September fit into the 2026 auction year?
- Which plates beat their reserve by the most?
- What should you take from September if you plan to bid?
- Frequently asked questions
What happened at the September 2026 DVLA auction?
DVLA's September sale, reference B285, was a timed online auction. Bidding opened on 2 September 2026 and lots began closing on 8 September. The catalogue listed 2,000 previously unissued registrations, and one was withdrawn before the close.
| Measure | September 2026 result |
|---|---|
| Auction reference | B285, September Timed Online Auction |
| Bidding window | 2 – 8 September 2026 |
| Registrations offered | 1,999 (2,000 listed, 1 withdrawn) |
| Registrations sold | 1,949 (97.5%) |
| Registrations unsold | 50 |
| Total hammer value | £5,308,980 |
| Average sale price | £2,724 |
| Median sale price | £1,520 |
| Highest single sale | 242 A, £34,010 |
| Plates sold for £10,000 or more | 81 |
All figures in this article are hammer prices, the winning bid. They come from DVLA's own published lot results for all 2,000 lots, not just the highlights. What a buyer actually pays is higher; see the cost section below.
As usual, the gap between the average and the median tells the story. Half of everything sold went for £1,520 or less, almost a third (32%) went for under £1,000, and 63% went for under £2,500. A DVLA auction is mostly a mid-market event. The few five-figure lots pull the average up.
Which plates sold for the most in September 2026?
| # | Registration | Hammer price | Reserve | Above reserve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 242 A | £34,010 | £2,500 | +1,260% |
| 2 | 440 O | £26,550 | £2,500 | +962% |
| 3 | 296 CS | £25,260 | £2,200 | +1,048% |
| 4 | 26 OD | £25,010 | £2,200 | +1,037% |
| 5 | VFF 1 | £25,010 | £2,400 | +942% |
| 6 | 244 AR | £22,810 | £2,200 | +937% |
| 7 | 1 OJO | £20,210 | £2,400 | +742% |
| 8 | 180 M | £20,010 | £2,500 | +700% |
| 9 | 99 SV | £19,310 | £2,200 | +778% |
| 10 | 2222 L | £18,810 | £2,500 | +652% |
Between them, the ten carried £23,600 of reserves and sold for £236,990, almost exactly ten times their guide prices.
242 A, £34,010. It was lot 1 and the top seller. It is the classic "number plus single letter" dateless format. September had 13 plates in this format, and they averaged £14,792 each, more than five times the auction average.
440 O, £26,550. "O" plates have been the story of 2026. 110 O made £67,010 in March, 57 O £68,010 in May and 97 O £90,010 in July. A three-digit O doesn't reach those prices, but it still came second here. The O reads as a zero, which suits Ferrari-style model numbers. The best-known example is 25 O, which DVLA sold for £518,480 in 2014 and which was once fitted to a Ferrari 250 GTO.
VFF 1 and 1 OJO, £25,010 and £20,210. These are "number 1" plates with three letters. Both sold for eight to ten times their £2,400 reserves.
2222 L, £18,810. Repeated digits are a niche of their own. Four identical digits with a single letter is uncommon, and it was enough to put this plate in the top ten.
Why were all ten top plates dateless?
Dateless registrations have no age identifier, so they can go on a vehicle of any age. DVLA will never issue any new ones, so supply only shrinks. That makes the format the most collectable in the UK, and September showed it more clearly than any sale this year. In July, two of the top ten were not dateless. In September, all ten were.
| Format | Lots sold | Share of lots | Value | Share of value | Average | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dateless | 507 | 26% | £2,849,350 | 54% | £5,620 | £4,520 |
| Suffix (ABC 123D) | 732 | 38% | £1,534,570 | 29% | £2,096 | £1,410 |
| Prefix (A123 BCD) | 491 | 25% | £549,080 | 10% | £1,118 | £630 |
| Current (AB12 CDE) | 111 | 6% | £184,850 | 3% | £1,665 | £1,010 |
| Northern Ireland style | 108 | 6% | £191,130 | 4% | £1,770 | £1,195 |
Dateless plates averaged £5,620, about 3.3 times the £1,706 average for every other format in the sale. Their median rose to £4,520 from £4,030 in July. That is a 12% rise, at a sale where prices across the whole auction slipped slightly. The middle of the dateless market got stronger even with no headline plate.
From behind the counter: if you are buying a plate partly as a store of value, the dateless figures are the ones to watch, not the top lot. A single £90,000 sale tells you that one bidder wanted one plate. A rising median across 500 dateless sales tells you about the whole market. For the background, see our guide to dateless vs dated private number plates.
How did September compare with July?
Both columns below use DVLA's final lot statuses, collected on the same day for both sales, so the comparison is like for like. July's figures here are slightly lower than in our July 2026 auction results. That article was written from provisional results on the day, and a small number of July lots were later marked unsold.
| Measure | July 2026 (B284) | September 2026 (B285) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registrations sold | 1,951 | 1,949 | −2 |
| Sell-through rate | 97.6% | 97.5% | −0.1pp |
| Total hammer value | £5,487,280 | £5,308,980 | −3.2% |
| Average sale price | £2,813 | £2,724 | −3.2% |
| Median sale price | £1,610 | £1,520 | −5.6% |
| Top lot | 97 O, £90,010 | 242 A, £34,010 | — |
| Plates sold for £10,000+ | 85 | 81 | −4 |
| Dateless median | £4,030 | £4,520 | +12.2% |
The two sales were close to identical in size and demand. Almost the same number of plates sold, the total moved by 3%, and four fewer plates passed £10,000. The difference is at the very top. July had two plates over £75,000, and September had none over £35,000. A sale can lose its headline plate and still post a total within 3% of the month before, which suggests the market is deep and is not relying on a few big buyers.
How does September fit into the 2026 auction year?
DVLA has held seven timed online auctions so far in 2026. Taken together, they show a remarkably steady market.
| Auction | Dates | Plates sold | Hammer total | Median | Top lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B279 January | 14 – 20 Jan | 1,947 | £5,216,210 | £1,510 | 15 LAM, £156,010 |
| B280 February | 11 – 17 Feb | 1,953 | £5,003,130 | £1,510 | ATL 4S, £41,110 |
| B281 March | 18 – 24 Mar | 1,946 | £4,850,450 | £1,410 | 110 O, £67,010 |
| B282 May | 13 – 19 May | 1,940 | £5,048,750 | £1,510 | 57 O, £68,010 |
| B283 June | 17 – 23 Jun | 1,933 | £5,452,640 | £1,540 | BEA 5T, £111,120 |
| B284 July | 22 – 28 Jul | 1,951 | £5,487,280 | £1,610 | 97 O, £90,010 |
| B285 September | 2 – 8 Sep | 1,949 | £5,308,980 | £1,520 | 242 A, £34,010 |
| 2026 so far | 13,619 | £36,367,440 |
Every 2026 sale sold between 1,933 and 1,953 plates, and every median sat between £1,410 and £1,610. September was the third-highest total of the year, behind June and July. Its £34,010 top lot is the only real outlier, and it says more about which plates were in the catalogue than about demand. For a longer look at what these seven auctions say about plate values, see our guide to number plate valuation.
Which plates beat their reserve by the most?
The aggregate picture first. The 1,949 plates that sold carried £1,047,200 of reserves and made £5,308,980, which is 407% above reserve overall. Only 146 lots, about 7.5%, sold within 10% of their guide price. 14 plates with reserves of £350 or less sold for £10,000 or more.
| Registration | Format | Reserve | Sold for | Above reserve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H80 RSE | Prefix | £200 | £14,210 | +7,005% |
| P15 STA | Prefix | £200 | £14,010 | +6,905% |
| 533 YAA | Dateless | £250 | £13,290 | +5,216% |
| H44 MMA | Prefix | £200 | £10,000 | +4,900% |
| AAD 4L | Suffix | £350 | £17,000 | +4,757% |
| MA25 HAL | Current | £250 | £11,510 | +4,504% |
| DAN 111S | Suffix | £250 | £11,260 | +4,404% |
The pattern is the same every month. DVLA sets reserves by format, not by meaning. H80 RSE reads as HORSE and MA25 HAL as MARSHAL, yet each started at the same low reserve as any other plate in its format. The market noticed, and the reserve didn't. A low reserve on a plate that reads as a word or name is not a bargain. It is the start of a bidding war.
What should you take from September if you plan to bid?
- Work out your all-in cost before you bid. On top of the hammer price you pay a 3% buyer's premium, VAT and DVLA's £80 assignment fee (auction terms). September's median £1,520 plate costs about £1,960 all in, and a £5,000 hammer price costs about £6,260.
- Value plates from past sales, not from the reserve. DVLA publishes past hammer prices in its previous auction registrations search. Look up similar plates before you set a limit.
- Expect competition on anything readable. If you can spot the word or name in a plate, so can everyone else. Decide your ceiling before bidding opens.
- Look where the crowd isn't. A third of September's plates sold for under £1,000. If you want a personalised plate rather than one specific plate, the middle of the catalogue is where the value is.
- Check the plate can go on your car. A plate can't make a vehicle look newer than it is. Dateless plates are the only format that fits anything. Our guide to prefix number plates shows how the age rule works for older formats.
- If it's your first sale, read up first. Our first-time DVLA auction guide covers registering, deposits and spending limits, and how DVLA plate auctions work explains how the sale itself runs.
From behind the counter: winning a plate gets you a V750 certificate of entitlement, not a plate on your car. You don't have to assign it straight away. See keeping a private plate without a car for how the certificate works, and the DVLA transfer guide for when you are ready.
An auction gives you a fixed catalogue, a fixed date and an uncertain final price. A dealer gives you a known price today. You can search our private number plates, browse dateless number plates, or see upcoming DVLA auction registrations. If you already own a plate and want to know what it might fetch, ask for a free number plate valuation.
Frequently asked questions
When was the September 2026 DVLA number plate auction?
The September 2026 auction, reference B285, was a timed online sale. Bidding opened on 2 September 2026 and lots began closing on 8 September 2026.
How many plates sold in the September 2026 DVLA auction?
1,949 of the 1,999 registrations offered sold, a sell-through rate of 97.5%. 50 went unsold, and one of the 2,000 listed lots was withdrawn before the sale closed.
What was the most expensive plate in the September 2026 DVLA auction?
242 A sold for £34,010 against a £2,500 reserve. It is a dateless registration in the "number plus single letter" format. It was the lowest top price of any DVLA auction in 2026.
How much did the September 2026 DVLA auction raise?
The hammer total was £5,308,980, an average of £2,724 per plate sold and a median of £1,520. Buyers also pay a 3% buyer's premium, VAT and an £80 assignment fee on top.
Were DVLA auction prices lower in September 2026?
Only slightly. The total and the average were both 3.2% below July, and the median was 5.6% lower. The difference was at the very top: July's best plate made £90,010, September's £34,010. The dateless median actually rose 12%, and 81 plates still sold for £10,000 or more.
Why do dateless number plates sell for more?
Dateless plates have no age identifier, so they can go on a vehicle of any age, and no new ones will ever be issued. In September 2026 they made up 26% of the plates sold but 54% of the money, at an average of £5,620.
Does the DVLA reserve price show what a plate is worth?
No. Reserves are set by format, not meaning. In September 2026 the plates that sold made 407% more than their combined reserves, and 14 plates with reserves of £350 or less sold for £10,000 or more.
How much does a DVLA auction plate cost in total?
Add a 3% buyer's premium to the hammer price, VAT, and DVLA's £80 assignment fee. A plate with a £1,520 hammer price, September's median, costs about £1,960 in total.