Cherished registrations is the generic term used to describe registration marks that have value.
This can be anything from a standard registration plate that may have letters that have some meaning to you, for example P123 XXX, to the high value "dateless" plates such as VNM 3.

Cherished registrations are also known as a cherished registration number, private number plate, private plate, private registration plate, personal plate, personal car number plate and personal registration plate.

In general, the shorter the cherished registration mark, and the lower the number involved, the higher the value.

There are exceptions. For example the registration mark K1 NGS is one of the most valuable plates sold because of the word it spells. It was purchased in 1993 by the Sultan of Brunei for £231,000

Duplicate numbers or letters can also increase the value of a cherished plate. For instance, the registration 888 P sold for £11,200 (plus costs) on 6th June 2008.

Investing in personal registrations is big business. In 2004 the DVLA is reported to have earned £75m from sales.

Some other expensive cherished registrations include 1A which was sold in 1989 for £200,000 and S1 NGH which was sold for £108,000 in 1998.

So who buys cherished registration plates? A wide range of people, that's who!

A recent survey by Admiral insurance found that surgeons were most likely to own a private registration. Around 9% or surgeons were found to own a private plate. This is far higher than the average - 2.9% of British drivers as a whole have private registrations.

Other occupations likely to own a private plate are people in the oil and gas industry (8.43%) and haulage contractors (8.28%). Followed by company directors, police inspectors, property developers, airline pilots and wedding photographers.

So who did Admiral find were least likely to own a private plate? Ecologists. Only 0.6% of ecologists are likely to own a private plate the Admiral survey found.

Are personalised plates just for poseurs? Definitely not! Although some people see a private plate as a status symbol, there are many other reasons why people choose to adorn their vehicle with a private plate.

More and more businesses are using private plates as a powerful marketing tool. For example, 5 NOV was purchased by the owner of a fireworks business. What better plate to have on a company car belonging to a fireworks company that 5 NOV.