Pick your number – for a price…

Friday 29 August 2014

Drivers will be able to get special “vanity” car number plates over the counter at DVS instead of at annual auctions under a new trial scheme.

Transport Minister Kevin Lewis has approved a trial scheme as his department tries to hit a target of making £100,000 a year from selling special number plates.

The trial scheme at the Driver and Vehicle Standards department at La Collette will see drivers able to buy four-digit, five-digit and six-digit number plates over the counter, as well as plates following the format “JSY***”.

Three-digit plates, as well as plates following the format “JSY**” and “JSY*” will only be available by auction.

The most expensive vanity plate on record is owned in Dubai, where businessman Saeed Abdul Ghafour Khouri, paid the equivalent of £8.5 million for the number plate that read “1”.

Fortunately, Jersey drivers aren’t going to have to spend quite that much.

The average cost of a “JSY***” plate at the 2013 auction was £5,318, while four-digit plates went for £2,271. The  J111111 plate was sold for £9,700.

The standard fee for a random plate number, which might be five or six-digits, is £25.40.

The report that went to the minister said: “Demand is difficult to estimate but from enquiries received, there appear to be customers who would be keen to have this service available.

“It would seem reasonable, therefore, to introduce a trial scheme to gauge customer demand and the effect on the business unit.”