Exclusive: the good and the banned 24-reg number plates
February 16, 2024 by John Rawlings
Car changing is a big deal
Those changing to a new car from 1st March will be sporting the new 24-plate registrations, but did you know some of the new number plates are more valuable and sold via auction, while others are banned by the DVLA?
- Carwow freedom of information request reveals banned 24-reg number plates
- Banned 24-plates include: TE24 ROR and *C24 ASH
- New 24 plates available at DVLA auction include: MY24 BMW and AD24 DMS
With the new ‘24’ number plates arriving from 1 March 2024, Carwow has revealed the good and the banned number plates that will and won’t be made available to new car buyers by the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency).
Before the number plate changes in March and September, the DVLA carefully considers combinations of the new numbers that car buyers will either like enough to pay extra for, and those it decides are inappropriate and could cause offence or embarrassment.
Some of the best ‘good’ 24 registrations are then auctioned by the DVLA. For the 24 plates these include: ‘MY24 BMW’, ‘LO24 TUS’, ‘HA24 RRY’ and ‘AD24 AMS’. These (and many more) will be available in the DVLA’s online auction from Wednesday, 20 March until Tuesday 26 March, 2024: https://dvlaauction.co.uk/auction/B263. Bids start from £250.
The list of banned 24 number plates revealed by carwow’s Freedom of Information request to the DVLA includes some inappropriate combinations of letters and those where the number 4 in 24 resembles the letter ‘A’.
Some of these might appear relatively harmless, such as, ‘*C24 ASH’, ‘TE24 ROR’ and ‘**24 RSE’, while many were too offensive to even publish here. Some required a knowledge of common slang definitions, such as ‘*D24 UNK’ and ‘SL24 GGS’; similarly, the letter W was banned immediately before ‘**24 NKR’, and ‘**24 NAL’ was not permitted either. Also crossed off the list were the more childish ‘*F24 RTS’ and ‘BB24 STD’.
The war in Ukraine is still having an impact on the banned number plates, with NO24 RUS, EU24 WAR and FK24 RUS also blocked from use, along with NO24 LEZ for anyone unhappy with their local low emissions zone.
If you want a personalised number plate, the DVLA has over 50 million registrations available to buy at www.dvlaregistrations.dvla.gov.uk
“Getting a brand new car is always a treat, but that would be spoiled if you discovered its number plate was attracting attention for all the wrong reasons,” said John Rawlings, Consumer Editor at online car marketplace Carwow.
“Spotting the first of the latest number plates is always an exciting novelty each March and September, but having seen the full list of banned 24 number plates, we’re glad the DVLA uses some discretion so that we won’t be seeing these on the road,” he added.
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