The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency or DVLA is the official motoring body for the UK. With ever increasing revenues from the sale of personalised numberplates James Newell investigates the potted history of the DVLA
How the DVLA began
The DVLA (driver and vehicle licensing agency) actually began life as the DVLC (driver and vehicle licensing centre) in 1974 and was supported by regional taxing offices much as it is today.
In 1990 the DVLA was born and became an executive agency of the Department of transport- it was this transition which gave birth to revenue generating activities such as the sale of marks scheme- a seminal point for number plate enthusiasts.
DVLA Swansea
The DVLA is based in Swansea and supported by a network of regional DVLA local offices- The DVLA offices in Swansea oversee the DVLA local offices as well as enforcing large scale car tax enforcement schemes and issuing driving licenses.
Select registrations allowed members of the public the opportunity for the first time to purchase an unissued number plate combination.
DVLA select number plates were a turning point for the personalised number plate market and thousands of interesting and desirable number plates became available on a regular basis.
DVLA personalised registrations
The DVLA Select brand evolved to become DVLA personalised registrations or DVLA registrations- the dvlaregistrations.co.uk website has many millions of number plate combinations for sale at anyone time as well as information on DVLA auctions past and future.
DVLA auction
In addition to DVLA select and DVLA registrations, the DVLA hold 6 auctions each year to auction off number plates which have become available through other means such as repossession.
DVLA auctions are a valuable source of some of the most sought after plates- a mixture of all number plate styles, budgets and interests- there is a smorgasbord of choice- if you have the time and money to investigate.
It is the DVLA’s primary responsibility to generate and collect revenues for the department of transport- as ever increasing numbers of motorists take an active interest in personalised number plates; you can be sure that the ability to buy, sell and transfer number plates in the UK is here to stay and set only to improve.
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An introduction to numberplates
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