The most expensive license plate ever sold is Dubai’s “P 7,” which went for 55 million dirhams, about $15 million, at a charity auction in April 2023. It edged out Abu Dhabi’s plain “1,” which made 52.2 million dirhams, about $14.2 million, in February 2008 and held the record for 15 years. This list covers the ten highest verified plate sales anywhere, with the best UK results as of October 2026 just below it.
The Gulf dominates because buyers there pay for status, and the money often goes to charity. Dirham prices are converted at the fixed rate of 3.6725 to the dollar, and pounds and Hong Kong dollars at the rates of the sale year.
| Rank | Plate | Price (USD) | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Hong Kong plate R | $3.3 million (HK$25.5M) | 2023 | Transport Department auction |
| 9 | Hong Kong plate W | $3.3 million (HK$26M) | 2021 | Transport Department auction |
| 8 | Abu Dhabi plate 5 | $6.9 million (AED 25.2M) | May 2007 | Abu Dhabi plate auction |
| 7 | Dubai plate D 5 | $9.0 million (AED 33M) | Oct 2016 | Dubai plate auction |
| 6 | Dubai plate DD 5 | $9.5 million (AED 35M) | Mar 2025 | Most Noble Number |
| 5 | Dubai plate AA 8 | $9.5 million (AED 35M) | Apr 2022 | Most Noble Numbers |
| 4 | Dubai plate DD 6 | $10.1 million (AED 37M) | Mar 2026 | Most Noble Number |
| 3 | Dubai plate AA 9 | $10.3 million (AED 38M) | May 2021 | Most Noble Numbers |
| 2 | Abu Dhabi plate 1 | $14.2 million (AED 52.2M) | Feb 2008 | Emirates Auction |
| 1 | Dubai plate P 7 | $15.0 million (AED 55M) | Apr 2023 | Emirates Auction charity sale |
10. Hong Kong “R”: about $3.3 million
The letter R sold for HK$25.5 million at a Lunar New Year auction in 2023, a hair under the W. Our figure follows the auction reports, which give the same year.
9. Hong Kong “W”: about $3.3 million
Hong Kong sells plates through a government auction, not a charity night. A single “W” brought HK$26 million in 2021, the highest price the city has seen, and about $3.3 million at the time.
8. Abu Dhabi “5”: about $6.9 million
This was the plate whose record “1” broke. It sold in May 2007 for 25.2 million dirhams, then the world record, which tells you the speed of the escalation: a record in May 2007, doubled nine months later.
7. D 5: about $9 million
The October 2016 sale of D 5 for 33 million dirhams was a record for Dubai plates at the time. The buyer, reportedly a Dubai property developer, has said he buys himself a gift every year, and we wrote about him and his Rolls-Royce in the story of the guy who spent $9 million on a license plate.
6. DD 5: about $9.5 million
The 2025 edition was held at the Armani Hotel inside the Burj Khalifa during Ramadan. DD 5 also closed at 35 million dirhams in March 2025, which means the 2022 and 2025 top lots tie to the dirham, an oddly neat coincidence.
5. AA 8: about $9.5 million
AA 8 sold at the Four Seasons Jumeirah in April 2022 for 35 million dirhams, about $9.5 million. It fell short of the AA 9 price from the year before by 3 million dirhams.
4. DD 6: about $10.1 million
The newest entry on the list. On 7 March 2026, DD 6 sold for 37 million dirhams at the Most Noble Number auction, which raised money for the Edge of Life campaign against child malnutrition. The same night, DD 99 made 8.9 million dirhams and DD 25 made 6.4 million.
3. AA 9: about $10.3 million
The Most Noble Numbers charity series puts Dubai plates on the stage. In May 2021, AA 9 closed at 38 million dirhams, about $10.3 million, to support the “100 Million Meals” appeal. We built the ranking on the announced result, and the buyer was not named in the sources we used.
2. Abu Dhabi “1”: about $14.2 million
The businessman Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri bid 52.2 million dirhams for the plate at Emirates Palace on 16 February 2008. The previous record was the “5” plate at 25.2 million dirhams, and “1” more than doubled it. That evening, 90 plates raised 89 million dirhams, and the money went to a hospital for accident victims.
1. P 7: about $15 million
On 8 April 2023, Emirates Auction sold the Dubai plate P 7 at a Ramadan charity evening for 55 million dirhams, with all proceeds going to the One Billion Meals food campaign. The plate looks like a single digit, which is the entire appeal. Officials did not name the winning bidder.
The figure is the hammer result announced by the organisers, and the dollar number is converted at the dirham’s fixed rate.
Best of the rest
Below the Gulf and Hong Kong top ten the numbers drop sharply. A Hong Kong “D” made HK$20.2 million, about $2.6 million, at an earlier auction, and a single “H” made HK$20 million, about $2.6 million, on 1 March 2026. A Hong Kong “S” reached HK$14.2 million, about $1.8 million, in 2025.
The United Kingdom’s best results are in pounds. “1 F” sold for about £926,000 including fees, about $1.2 million, at Sotheby’s London Motor Week on 1 November 2025, the highest price ever paid for a British registration at auction. The house’s own release gives the hammer-level figure of £905,000. “JB 1” made £608,600 including premium, about $820,000, at Bonhams’ Goodwood sale on 11 July 2025. Before that, “25 O” held the record at £518,480 from 2014, about $840,000, followed by “X 1” at about £502,676 in 2012. The famous “F 1” cost £440,625 in 2008, about $860,000.
How to read these prices
Three different kinds of sale sit in this ranking. Gulf charity auctions are performances: the bidder is buying a plate and a public gesture at once, and the price tends to land on a round number like 35 million dirhams. Hong Kong’s auctions are administrative sales run by the Transport Department several times a year, where the bids come from private buyers and the reserve is only a few thousand dollars. British sales are the cheapest of the three because plates there can be freely transferred between cars and many are on the market at once.
That is why a UK plate topping £900,000 is front-page news while a Dubai plate at that price would not clear the top thirty.
Listed, not sold
Two American plates, “MM” in California and “New York,” have been advertised at roughly $18 million and $20 million. Those are asking prices posted by sellers, one of them quoted in ether, and we found no completed sale. They are not in the ranking.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
- February 2025: Hong Kong “S” made HK$14.2 million.
- March 2025: Dubai “DD 5” made 35 million dirhams.
- July 2025: UK “JB 1” set a British record at £608,600.
- November 2025: UK “1 F” beat it at about £926,000.
- March 2026: Dubai “DD 6” made 37 million dirhams, the fourth highest plate price ever.
No 2025 or 2026 sale has beaten P 7.
What drives these prices
- Charity turns a plate into a donation, so the bidding is partly generosity and partly a public display of it.
- Fewer digits, more value. The top two sales are one digit, and lower numbers cannot be reissued.
- Lucky numbers matter in Hong Kong, where 8 sounds like prosperity and 18 and 28 have each fetched over $2 million.
- Live charity nights with a crowd produce the biggest bids, and Hong Kong’s government auctions show the same hunger for single letters.
- A plate does not wear out or need servicing, and it can move from one car to the next.
FAQ
What is the most expensive license plate ever sold?
Dubai’s P 7 sold for 55 million dirhams, about $15 million, at a charity auction in April 2023, and the proceeds went to the One Billion Meals campaign.
What was the previous license plate record?
Abu Dhabi’s plate “1” sold for 52.2 million dirhams, about $14.2 million, in February 2008.
What is the most expensive license plate in the UK?
“1 F” sold for about £926,000 including fees at Sotheby’s in November 2025. The auction house’s own figure was £905,000.
What is the most expensive Hong Kong license plate?
A single “W” sold for HK$26 million, about $3.3 million, in 2021.
What was the most recent big plate sale?
Dubai’s DD 6 sold for 37 million dirhams, about $10.1 million, on 7 March 2026.
Why do license plates sell for millions?
Low digits and single letters are scarce, bidders get status, and the biggest sales are charity auctions where the donation is the headline.
How we put this list together
We ranked plates by verified auction price, using results announced by auctioneers, government transport departments and organisers, compiled in an internal valuation model. Prices are approximate and converted at the exchange rate of the sale year.
Keep reading
- The man who spent $9 million on a license plate
- Levels of wealth, car edition
- The world’s most expensive yachts ever built
Last updated: October 2026.
