Cherished Number Plate Information

Information about cherished number plate 234 ALF.

This combination was issued from 1960

This plate would have been issued by London C.C. (currently Stanmore London NW).

Flashy or decorative fonts are not allowable on Car Registration Plates, and only UK national flags are allowed: any other symbols, such as soccer team logos or religious symbols may not be displayed on private car number plates. The only variant font allowed on cherished number plates (such as 234 ALF) as an option by the regulations is a 3D version of the standard font. The size and spacing of characters on registration plates is also dictated. More information on cherished number plates character spacing is to be found elsewhere on this website.

As crime increases, it is now more important than ever to display easily distinguishable number plates. All car registrations must use the standard ‘Charles Wright 2001’ font and, apart from the options of a 3-D effect on the typeface and a non-reflective, coloured border, no alterations to plates are permitted in the UK. This includes the addition of logos or sporting emblems, as well as the misrepresentation or incorrect spacing of characters – these are all illegal.

The popularity of personalized car numbers has spawned a very healthy marketplace. Whereas the majority of owners buy their numbers for pleasure, there are an increasing number of investment-conscious buyers who acquire their plates with a view to selling them later at a profit. A former BBC Top Gear presenter is widely quoted as having said that a well chosen private number can be better than money in the bank. Certainly some of Britain's most astute business people are converted to the personal registrations cause. Sir Alan Sugar, Duncan Bannatyne, Theo Paphitis - they all own carefully chosen cherished numbers.