DVLA auction results: May 2026

What these results cover

Our checked May dataset contains 1,984 records for DVLA event 7812678. Of those, 1,940 are publicly visible, non-sample sales; 44 duplicate or review records are excluded. The visible records total £5,032,130 in hammer prices, with a median of £1,510. These figures describe Plate Circle’s clean recorded dataset, not an independently reconciled count of every lot offered or sold by DVLA.

The official results spreadsheet is linked below, but its download currently blocks our automated access. We have therefore not claimed to recheck the complete file or calculate a sell-through rate. Any missing May sales will be reconciled against the official sheet before being added.

Short registrations lead the table

57 O combines two digits with one letter, while 849 T and 122 A each combine three digits with a single letter. These compact dateless formats have no year identifier. Their prominence at the top of this sale is consistent with interest in short registrations, but does not establish the buyers’ identities or motives.

Other high results show how personal meaning can sit alongside format. BUL 1T, recorded at £22,450, offers a possible “BULIT” visual reading; 930 TBO at £21,500 may interest enthusiasts who connect its digits and letters with a Porsche 930 Turbo. Those are possible interpretations, not evidence of a vehicle assignment or a confirmed reason for the winning bid. 1 LRV at £21,510 also illustrates the appeal that a number-one registration and a recognisable group of initials can have.

Headline prices are not the typical result

The £68,010 leading hammer price is more than 45 times the £1,510 median. The median is the midpoint of the visible records, rather than an average distorted by a handful of expensive lots. For May’s 1,940 clean records, the two middle prices are both £1,510. October’s recorded median also happens to be £1,510, but equal medians do not mean the auctions had the same registrations, demand or total sales.

For a useful comparison, look for similar letter combinations, character counts and registration formats. A result for a short dateless plate is not automatically a guide to a longer prefix or current-style mark. An auction result records one transaction on one date; it is not a guaranteed resale value.

Compare prices on the same basis

Every figure in this May table is a hammer price. It is not the buyer’s final invoice: premium, applicable VAT and assignment charges may sit on top. We have not applied October’s B286 fee calculation to May without checking May’s own terms. When comparing with a marketplace asking price, check which charges are included on each side rather than treating a winning bid as an all-inclusive purchase cost.

Source: official May DVLA results spreadsheet, and Plate Circle’s stored event records checked on 21 October 2026. Duplicate and review records remain excluded; no existing sale has been overwritten for this article.

Read the October 2026 DVLA auction results for a separate analysis with checked October fee-inclusive totals.