Most Expensive License Plates In The World 2023

A number plate is a gateway to prestige and swagger. This list represents the most expensive license plates in the world, with some going for millions of dollars. In the United Arab Emirates, a single-digit plate can say more about your social standing than a garage full of expensive rides. And of course there’s always the cool factor.

1. MM – USA: $24.3 Million

MM takes the top spot for the most expensive license plate in the world. This particular plate is also dished up with an NFT, making it more valuable still. If you’re treating yourself to a $24 Million license plate, you should probably make sure you have a cool ride.

2. F1 – England: $20 Million 

The plate F1 is being offered for sale for $20 Million in an attempt to unseat 25 O’s (coming up below) as the top spot in the UK.  The licence plate is currently adorning the Bugatti Veyron owned by the present owner, Afzal Kahn, an entrepreneur and automotive designer. Khan first acquired the licence plate from the Essex County Council in 2008. Khan paid $619,771 for the previously owned vehicle, which was on a councilman’s Volvo, and donated the money to charity.

3. New York – USA: $20 Million

This one should go without saying. You guessed it, “New York” is the name of the most expensive licence plate in New York. One unnamed family was fortunate enough to obtain the only street-legal “New York” plate in existence when the state of New York began issuing vanity plates in the late 1970s. Remember that the family is including the decades-old Volvo that is currently carrying the plates if you think the $20 million price tag is a bit excessive.

4. D5 – Dubai: $9.6 Million

Balwinder Sahni, a real estate developer, returned in October 2016 and purchased the D5 plate for one of the aforementioned Rolls-Royces for $9.6 million. Why D5? D is the fourth letter in the English alphabet, and 4 + 5 equals 9, which is also the number of his previous appearance on this list.

5. 1 – Abu Dhabi: $9.5 Million

When asked why he paid $9.5 million at the 2008 auction for plate No 1, property mogul Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri replied, “I bought it because it’s the best number.” In the car-centric environment of Abu Dhabi, your car and its adornments are statements of power and position. By hanging 1 from his fenders, Khouri boldly let the world know that he was a man of confidence and prestige. 

6. 09 – Dubai: $5.7 Million

There isn’t much information available about plate 09, which was sold in Dubai on July 7th, 2015, for $5.7 million. The same number may be issued more than once in the UAE because plates can have multiple categories. However, it is generally accepted that this plate is distinct from plate No. 9, which we previously mentioned.

7. 5 – Abu Dhabi: $4.6 Million

Abu Dhabi No 7 has sold for an extraordinary amount not once, not twice, but three times. The biggest of the sales took place on Feb 2, 2010 for a breezy $3.9 million. The single-digit plate has a bonus significance attached to its number – there are 7 emirates in the UAE.

8. 7 – Abu Dhabi: $3.9 Million

Abu Dhabi No 7 has sold for an extraordinary amount not once, not twice, but three times. The biggest of the No 7 sales took place on Feb 2, 2010 for a breezy $3.9 million. The single-digit plate has a bonus significance attached to its number – there are 7 emirates in the UAE.

9. 9 – Dubai: $2.8 Million

The first of our entries from the United Arab Emirates, 9, actually sold twice for astounding sums. Property developer Balwinder Sahni, the proud owner, claims that the large purchase is a way for him to help improve the city’s infrastructure. The first sale took place in 2008 for $2.8 million, and the price dropped to a pitiful $2.7 million in 2010. The proud owner, property developer Balwinder Sahni, claims that the large purchase is a way for him to contribute to charity and toward improving the city’s infrastructure. He cites the fact that Dubai has no income tax as justification.

10. 2 – Abu Dhabi: $2.7 million

Single-digit plates are held in such high esteem in the United Arab Emirates, that when plate No 2 was introduced at its auction in November of 2017, it was given a rock-star entrance with rock music, a light show, and smoke. The winner of the bidding war between 20 eager bidders was 23 year-old Emirati businessman Ahmed Al Mazroui who paid $2.7 million.

11. 28 – Hong Kong: $2.1 Million

Low plate numbers, such as the venerable number 28, are a recurrent theme among the most expensive licence plates in the world. With the added benefit of sounding like the Cantonese word for “easy money,” 28 was sold in Hong Kong in 2016. In 1973, Hong Kong introduced charity-driven bidding for coveted licence plate numbers. Due to the fact that lucky 28’s bid was submitted through a proxy agent, the owner is still unknown.

12. 18 – Hong Kong: $2 Million

No. 18 was the most popular licence plate in Hong Kong for almost ten years before it was purchased in 2008 for $2 million. According to Chinese mythology, the number 18, which is pronounced “shi ba,” is lucky because it resembles the Chinese characters for “shi fa,” which mean “will undoubtedly become rich.”

13. NSW 4 – New South Wales, Australia: $2 Million

The most expensive license plate in Australia is proudly owned by Chinese billionaire Peter Tseng, the world’s largest manufacturer of sex toys. He bought the plate at an auction for $2 million in 2017 despite the fact that 4 is an unlucky number.

According to Chinese tradition, 4 has some seriously bad luck associated with it because in both Mandarin and Cantonese, it sounds very much like the word for “death”.

14. 11 – Abu Dhabi: $1.8 Million

In the past twenty years, Abu Dhabi plate No. 11 has twice sold for enormous sums. The first transaction took place in May 2007 for the modest sum of $1.4 million. On November 19th, 2016, it was sold once more for $1.8 million. Abu Mohammad, an Emirati businessman who also won plate No. 7 at the same auction, is the owner of No. 11.

15. V – Hong Kong: $1.8 Million

It’s unclear exactly who purchased Hong Kong’s licence plate V at the Lunar New Year auction held by the island’s Transportation Department in February 2017. It is known that the unidentified woman paid $1.8 million, which was 2,600 times more than the reservation fee of HK$5,000.

16. 12 – Abu Dhabi: $1.6 Million

In 2010, plate number 12 from Abu Dhabi sold for $1.6 million. Later, it was put up for auction once more, showing up at a sale in 2016 alongside a few other plates that sold for even more incredible prices, as we’ll see below.

17. 99 – Abu Dhabi: $1.5 Million

The CEO of Emirates Auctions in the UAE says that during an auction the web portal can reach as high as 36,000 visitors from 52 different countries. Abu Dhabi plate No 99 was sold in 2009 for $1.5 million as part of an auction for a “5 series”. This means that the winner owned the other 4 numbers in the same series — 9, 999, 9999, and 99999.

18. 10 – Abu Dhabi: $1.3 Million

We were all expecting to see a No. 10 plate somewhere on this list. It’s Abu Dhabi’s No 10 in this instance, which fetched $1.3 million at an online auction in 2017. The winner’s name was kept a secret. Prior to the virtual gavel falling on the final sale, 511 bids were made, according to Emirates Auctions.

19. 22 – Abu Dhabi: $1.3 Million

Several plates, including plate No. 22 from Abu Dhabi, sold for astounding sums at an auction in 2017. Pricey 22 wasn’t even the most expensive plate sold that day, selling for $1.3 million.

20. 66 – Abu Dhabi: $1.2 Million

Abu Dhabi’s No 66 plate went for a wallet-busting $1.2 million in an auction in 2016.We’re going to be seeing quite a few Abu Dhabi plates on our list. Abu Dhabi’s No 66 plate went for a wallet-busting $1.2 million in an auction in 2016. Having a significant tag from any of the Emirates regions is a cause for pride, but having one from the capital adds an extra layer of shine. The main reason is that Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE.