Some believe that a vehicle can speak a thousand words about the person behind the steering wheel. But what about the license plate? Some personalised plates receive severe scrutiny, but thankfully, in the UK, license plates regularly change, and they will be changing once again. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has announced a huge change that will be hitting license plates, and it officially started this week. Find out today what this huge change entails and how it will impact a certain group of drivers.
DVLA confirms huge change hitting license plates
License plates in the UK change more often than most may realise. According to a report by Cuvva, the reason for these periodic changes is to introduce a change to the number series every six months. This enables the manufacturing of new vehicles and assists in tracking when a vehicle was first registered. It could also be seen as a strategic approach to increase the demand for the latest models and to increase their prices.
Since December 2020, license plates have been released with a green strip on the side to identify battery-electric vehicles. This change increased clean vehicle visibility and encouraged councils to offer the public incentives such as free parking and zero-emission vehicle zones. Now, a huge license plate change has been confirmed by the DVLA once again, and it officially started this week. Find out what these changes entail, as well as which drivers will be impacted.
This group of drivers will be impacted
If you are a fan of expressing individuality, then this huge change to license plates will intrigue you. The DVLA announced that drivers can obtain new, unique registrations for their license plates. The agency added that a name or word could be searched for or that drivers could select the numbers and letters to be used in the registrations for prefix plates.
The latter typically features a letter followed by up to three numbers and then three letters, and has been known to be the most popular personalised license plate format. According to the Independent, the DVLA’s latest release will provide drivers with the following options to choose from:
- Letters from A through H
- Number pairings with 27, 28, or 29
Some drivers may miss out on the new personalised license plate registration numbers. According to a report by Birmingham Live, several drivers had their licences confiscated after these compulsory tests for over-70s confirmed conditions, which pose safety risks to other road users.
The change will be official from this date
The agency allowed drivers the chance to search for new combinations on its official website before the official opening of sales, which officially started this week. This is what the DVLA announced on its website:
“Thousands of new prefix registrations will be made available to buy direct from our website at 10am on Tuesday 7th October 2025. Prices will start from £250, and all prices include VAT and the £80 assignment fee.”
Drivers can expect these costs for the new license plates
- Plates with the letter A will cost £599
- Plates starting with C or H will cost £499
- £699 for D-prefix plates
- £399 for F-prefix plates
- Registrations with a B-prefix have a base price of £799
For those interested, you can view the official information on prices from the DVLA on the website.
Besides its typical sales, the DVLA also operates several online registration auctions annually, which offer a selection of dateless, current, and more “old-school” registrations. Bidding normally starts at a mere £70, and each auction lasts for seven days. Interested parties can register and bid on the official DVLA website. In other news, license plates are not the only change hitting UK drivers, as this new gatekeeper at testing bays will have us bid goodbye to ‘ghost’ MOTs.
