Cherished Number Plate Information

Information about cherished number plate NTL 1.

This combination was issued from 1958

This plate would have been issued by Lincolnshire (Kesteven) (currently Lincoln).

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.

When choosing a personalised number plate, one must be aware that the selected registration plate must not be newer than the vehicle it is being paired with. This is because a newer plate on an older car would give the impression that the vehicle is newer than it truly is. This applies to all registration numbers that have age-identifiers (introduced in 1963 to today). However, dateless registrations are also available. These are popular because they are concise, extremely scarce, and can be displayed on any car.

The popularity of personalized car numbers has given birth to a very healthy marketplace. Whereas the majority of owners purchase their numbers for pleasure, there are an increasing number of investment-conscious purchasers 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.