Free tool
DVLA auction checker
Don’t get carried away at an auction. Before you bid on anything in the Nov. 2026 DVLA auction, see what each lot really costs, what similar registrations already sell for, and what the same letters fetched at earlier auctions. I check every lot again each day until bidding closes.
Search the DVLA auction catalogue
- Free
- Every lot priced in all
- Checked every day
On this page
- Next auction
- Nov. 2026
- Bidding opens
- 18 Nov. 2026
- First lots close
- 24 Nov. 2026
- Lots
- 2,000
DVLA auction calculator: what you would really pay
The winning bid is not what you pay. On top of it come 20 per cent VAT, a 3 per cent buyer’s premium with VAT on that as well, and the £80.00 assignment fee, so a winning bid of £1,000.00 costs you £1,316.00. Put in a bid to see what you would pay, or the most you want to pay in all to see the winning bid that matches it.
Our DVLA auction calculator page has the sums worked out for common bids and budgets.
The 20 lots to watch
These are the lots I expect to fetch the most, in that order. The order comes from a model trained on every DVLA auction since Jan. 2025, which weighs the starting price, my score for each registration and what the same letters fetched before. It ranks the lots; it says nothing about what any of them is worth. When I tested it on the last four auctions, between 4 and 7 of its 20 finished in the real top 20, and 14 to 17 in the top 100. Why each one is there, and how the picks have done.
- Lot 1327, £3,170.00
- Lot 740, £3,170.00
- Lot 673, £3,170.00
- Lot 200, £3,170.00
- Lot 1105, £3,170.00
- Lot 1278, £1,563.20
- Lot 1747, £3,170.00
- Lot 1790, £1,563.20
- Lot 1586, £3,170.00
- Lot 1433, £1,563.20
- Lot 1257, £3,170.00
- Lot 1, £3,170.00
- Lot 299, £3,170.00
- Lot 825, £3,170.00
- Lot 1832, £3,170.00
- Lot 1026, £2,799.20
- Lot 1861, £3,170.00
- Lot 539, £3,170.00
- Lot 1384, £3,170.00
- Lot 1943, £574.40
The 10 words and names to watch
The lots that read best as a word or a name, the best first by my score.
- Reads Boney
- Reads Saila
- Reads Exon
- Reads Arco
- Reads Mafic
- Reads Asper
- Reads Baler
- Reads Sensa
- Reads Numen
- Reads Boost
This auction at a glance
- 2,000 lots, with bidding from 18 Nov. 2026 and the first lots closing on 24 Nov. 2026.
- 355 have something similar on sale for less than the lot costs at its starting price.
- 1,258 cost less at their starting price than the cheapest similar registration on sale.
- 387 have nothing similar on sale, so the auction may be the only way to own one.
Every lot
Here are all 2,000 lots by number, 100 to a page; these are 1 to 100. Each price is what the lot costs at its starting bid once VAT, the premium and the fee are added. Open a registration to see what it is compared with, what its letters fetched before and how it looks on a car. Open an On market price to see registrations with the same letters on sale; for a dateless, suffix or Irish lot, that opens in a new tab.
How the check works
I compare each lot with registrations of the same style that carry the same letters in the same place. The closest match has as many digits; where there is none, I widen it to any number and the lot tells you so. The year letter on a prefix or suffix mark is left out, because any year letter reads the same. I compare what the buyer pays in all, so the auction’s charges go on a lot’s starting price first.
Prices and stock change, so the check runs again every day until the auction closes, and the lots are read afresh from the DVLA’s auction site, most recently on 21 Oct. 2026.
Questions
How much does a DVLA auction registration really cost
More than the winning bid. On top of it you pay 20 per cent VAT, a 3 per cent buyer’s premium with VAT on that as well, and the £80.00 assignment fee, so a winning bid of £1,000.00 costs £1,316.00 in all.
How do I compare an auction lot with what is on sale
Put the lot’s full cost next to what a similar registration costs to buy outright today. This checker does that for every lot. How much to bid is your decision and nobody else’s.
What counts as a similar registration
The same style, with the same letters in the same place. The closest also has the same number of digits; after that, any number will do. I leave out the year letter on a prefix or suffix mark, because any year letter reads the same.
What did registrations with the same letters fetch before
Each lot shows the latest winning bids for the same letters in the same style. Our DVLA auction results go back to Dec. 1989, and you can search them by letters.
How are the 20 lots to watch chosen
A model trained on every DVLA auction since Jan. 2025 puts them in order, from the starting price, my score for the registration and what the same letters fetched before. It ranks the lots and does not price them, and after each auction I publish how it did.
How often is the checker updated
Every day until the auction closes. Prices and stock change daily, so a lot’s comparison can change from one day to the next.
Is the checker a valuation
No. It shows the market on the day, not what to bid. No two registrations are the same, and only you know what one is worth to you.
Would you rather buy outright, with no bidding? Search our private plates; every price includes VAT and the £80.00 fee. If you have one to sell, ask what yours is worth.