Are you a car enthusiast who simply needs to get everything right about your chosen vehicle? Well, you would be happy to know that you are not alone in this.

In fact, according to a recent report the registration price to buy a fancy number for one’s car or bike in Delhi is non-refundable and ₹1,000. The booking amount for super elite category amounts to ₹5 lakh and starts from a minimum amount of ₹1 lakh.

Specialised number plates are generally not available as normal plates are. In most cases, such plates are sold at auctions. Individual car owners can acquire them by paying a fee or charge.

Still, understanding what a fancy car plate entails is important. Listed below is all you need to know about such plates and the process of acquiring one.

The first thing to know for people who do not have any inkling about such number plates is to understand what they are. 

Such a plate is just another way for individuals to draw attention to their vehicle, making it unique from the millions of other vehicles traversing the roads.

For example, suppose your fancy number for bike ends with ‘9999’ or ‘0001’. While driving around on that bike, you would certainly attract attention from passers-by and other bike riders.

That is because your bike’s number is not as random as theirs, but it is a specialised one. Other popular numbers for your car or bike can include 1111, 4444, 786, and others.

Instead of simply giving such numbers away to random vehicle owners, the Transport Department monetises them. Selling such numbers to the highest bidder enables this government body to raise funds to utilise elsewhere.

A motorhead with a passion for driving loves to spend on his car or bike to extract the optimal performance from it.

Similarly, these individuals make it a point to set their vehicle apart from others, often through body mods, customisations, paint jobs and more. A specialised plate is just another way to differentiate between their car/bike from the countless others on the road.

How do you get a fancy number plate?

Before heading out to get your VIP car number, ensure that you have adequate knowledge regarding the application process for the same.

You should know that all of it can be concluded online, using the following procedure:

• You would need to start by registering as a public user at the official Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH) website.
• After signing up for this account, you will need to pick your preferred fancy vehicle number.
• Next, pay a fee for the account registration and for booking the fancy number in question.
• After clearing all pertinent fees, place an official bid on your chosen number.
• Depending on the online results, you would need to pay the balance outstanding if you acquire the desired plate or collect your dues if the bidding did not go towards your favour.
• If you acquired this number, you would need to print the allotment letter, which appears on-screen after payment is clear. 

Additional rules applicable to Car/Bike Plate numbers

Now that you have a detailed idea about how to get fancy number for bike or car, it is integral to understand additional rules related to number plate attachment.

MoRTH has stated that it is mandatory for new and old vehicles, including cars and bikes, to have HSRP plates, implemented from 2020.

These must also be equipped with such standardised plates, made out of aluminium. Apart from hot-stamped chromium, additional parts of this plate include a 10-digit PIN or permanent identification number.

Therefore, even though you get to choose a specialised number for the vehicle, the layout of plate must still match the specifications, as laid down by the Central Motor Vehicles Act of 1989.

Now comes the part about paying your registration and other associated fees to acquire a special plate.

To ensure timely bidding and purchase of fancy number for car, you would need to know which special numbers are up for sale.

Fortunately, you can undertake this step online by following a simple procedure.

Here are the steps you must follow:

• Navigate to the official website for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• Search for a section marked ‘Choice Number’ and click on it.
• On the next page that opens, select your RTO name and state of residence.
• As soon as you enter these details, a page will open to reveal the available fancy numbers.

Acquiring a fancy car number can take longer than getting a normal one. Thus, you may need to avoid driving this concerned vehicle until you receive an allotment letter regarding a fancy plate.

Process for E-Auction of Special VIP Number Plates

You already know about the registration process when it comes to online bidding for fancy numbers.

Listed below is the process that one must follow, after registration and blocking of a particular car plate number.

• Post this registration, you would need to complete the bidding within the next two days.
• You can increase your bidding amount by multiples of ₹10,000. For instance, if your earlier bid was ₹3 lakh, your next bid can be ₹3.1 lakh, ₹3.2 lakh or ₹3.3 lakh and so on.
• Whether your bid succeeds in acquiring you the rights to a particular fancy number will be informed to you over the email. Additionally, you can also expect an SMS on your registered phone number regarding a successful bid.
• Ensure that you deposit the balance amount within 5 days of winning a bid to claim that particular fancy vehicle number. Failure to do so means that you surrender your rights to that particular number.
• After your payment clears, an allotment letter is generated in your name against the desired registration number. This letter remains valid for 90 days after you receive it.

You can use this allotment letter to acquire the physical number plates within three months.

Ensure that you do not miss this deadline since that would cancel out your ownership of the number.

How long does this entire process take?

The registration process takes around three days, while the next two days are allotted for bidding. Thus, from registration to bidding, the process is 5 days long.

Allotment letters may take a while to reach your hands. However, after you acquire such a letter, you have 90 days to complete the remaining registration process at the RTO.

How much you can spend or want to spend on acquiring such number plates is up to you and your financial background. However, people have been known to shell out exorbitant sums for this purpose.

As per Indiatimes news reports of 2022, the most high-priced number plate is that of Toyota Fortuner amounting to ₹34 lakh for setting the number to 007.

This is followed by an Indian who has spent a whopping sum of ₹31 lakh to set his car number plate to the fancy number ‘1’ for his Porsche 718-Boxster.

Armed with such explicit information regarding the fancy number plate process, interested car/twwo-wheeler owners can undertake this form of customisation.

A passionate owner who is extremely particular about the technical and performance aspects of a vehicle would want to extend that same amount of choice when it comes to the vehicle’s registration numbers.

So, get cracking!