Vehicle number plates with virus connotations banned

PERSONALISED numbers plates that refer to Covid-19 and the pandemic have been banned by the DVLA, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.

Such vehicle registrations will not be created or sold in case they cause “offence, embarrassment or are in poor taste”, particularly for those who have lost loved ones to coronavirus.

But sales of plates celebrating the NHS and healthcare services have increased with many seeing a dramatic rise in price.

Unique plates can change hands for millions of pounds and are regarded as investments. ‘1 NHS’ sold for £120,000 last year. That is up for auction again after the buyer mysteriously withdrew.

While the DVLA has always blocked combinations of letters and numbers that could be seen as swear words or having a sexual or offensive connotation, the decision to ban words linked to a health crisis is unique.

The ban on registrations such as ‘COV 1D’ followed a similar move in Australia, where a BMW with ‘COVID19’ was seen at Adelaide Airport last year. CarReg.co.uk, which trades personalised plates, has been told that Covid related numbers “would be insensitive to those who have suffered”.

Jason Wilkes, founder and chief executive of CarReg, said: “Number plate buyers bored at home during lockdowns have really caught on to buying unique registrations. NHS plates are now collectors’ items and have a real value. The entire number plate reseller market is ablaze.”

CarReg now gives 10 per cent of such sales to NHS charities. One which read ‘WHO5 NHS’ is on for £11,000, despite previously having little value.

Generic words that have become linked to the pandemic are still being traded. ‘SH18 LD’ is on sale for £5,174, while ‘PAN 11C’ is £5,799, and ‘PPE 1’ has an asking price of £25,000.

The DVLA added: “‘1 NHS’ was available to buy in our July 2020 auction and the buyer cancelled the sale. It will be offered again at a future auction.”

The DVLA began selling private plates in 1989, more than 80 years after car registrations were first introduced. Thirty years later nearly six million private plates have been sold, generating around £2 billion for the Treasury.