Are personalised plates worth the money?

Some plates can elicit a chuckle while sitting in traffic, while others make you cringe - why pay hundreds or thousands for something that just describes what your car is, for example 'WRX STI'? Nevertheless, personalised plates can be a fun personal touch to your own car, or a good way to describe your business on your business vehicle. But, are they worth it? We've detailed the costs below.

Are personalised plates worth it?

A few letters pressed on an aluminium plate could end up costing more than $2,000, and in some states there's even an annual fee for the privilege of personalising your plate.

As you'll see below, the fees can vary wildly, but generally speaking, the more customisation you want, the more you'll pay. There may also be price premiums for themed plates, such as your favourite NRL/AFL team, various slogans, or added fees for putting your business name and number on them. Most states also have clear guidelines on what is/isn't allowed - no obscenities, state acronyms and so on. However, the filters may fail to pick your particular combination up. Whatever you do, just don't end up on Bogan Plates!

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Personalised plates in NSW

In NSW, there is both a one off transfer fee and an annual charge for all special number plates. Prices are for the number plate, with additional charges for style changes (colour, themes etc.).

These are costs as of June 2024:

Product	Numberplate	Transfer fee	Style cost	Annual cost
Personalised	2-4 letters, 2-4 numbers in various set combinations	$107	Starting at $199 for cars, $99 for motorbikes	$121 per year
Customised	2-6 letters or numbers, unlimited combinations	$299	Starting at $199 for cars, $99 for motorbikes	$499 per year for cars, trailers, heavy vehicles, $258 per year for motorbikes
Numbers only (Historic)	Numbers only, 1-6	$226 for six digits, all the way to $11,513 for one. For motorbikes, prices start at $112 for five digits, up to $2,302 for a single number	Starting at $199 for cars, $99 for motorbikes

Compared to other states, the initial transfer fee for personalised plates in NSW looks fairly palatable. When you crunch the numbers over the long term though, it becomes much less attractive. Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicates we own our cars for, on average, about 10 years. That means paying $1,210 in annual fees over the car's lifetime, and that's just for basic personalised plates. The more you customise, the more you'll pay.

Numeral only plates are managed by Transport for NSW (TfNSW) and are only available at special auctions or through private sale. If you're unfamiliar with heritage number plates, you might be sceptical that anyone would pay north of $10,000 just to register one. However, if you browse a resale platform like MRPlates, you'll see how much people are willing to pay, particularly for special combinations. In June 2024, the number plate '007' registered in NSW was listed for $500,000.

Personalised plates in Victoria

Unlike NSW, there are no annual charges for personalised plates in Victoria, just a one off fee.

Product	Numberplate	Style	Cost
Slimline General Issue	Standard issue	A thinner plate than standard	$185
Custom	Can customise number plate and style	Customisable. Prices vary depending on template.	Starting at $545

Pictures from VPlates

For a full list of the available styles and their prices, head to VPlates.

Personalised plates in Queensland

Per the Department of Transport, Queenslanders can get personalised plates from PPQ (see if you can guess what the initials stand for). You can visit the website and check the availability of the numberplate you're after here.

As of June 2024, these are the advertised starting costs on the PPQ website:

Product	Numberplate	Style	Starting cost
Classic plates	Predetermined numberplate	Black or white, with or without a diamond	$195
Colour & Caption	Can customise using three letters and two or three numbers	Can adjust colour, size or style, including themed plates like NRL or AFL teams	$495
Euro plates	Can customise using three letters and two or three numbers	European style plates:	$775
Prestige plates	Customise using a wider range of letter/number combinations.	Several styles available	$1,195
QPlates	Fixed Q followed by up to six numbers. Heritage plates		$8,500

Pictures from Personalised Plates Queensland

Personalised plates in South Australia

South Australia has a mixture of one off and annual fees depending on the type of plate.

Product	Numberplate	Style	Starting cost	Annual cost
Personalised plates	6 character combination of letters and numbers. At least one of each, letters must be first.	Can choose from several colours for background and characters	$212	None
Customised plates	Up to 7 characters, at least one letter.	Wider variety of colour choice	None	$235 for 1-6 characters, $300 for seven characters

Choosing an option with annual fees in South Australia can be expensive. If you choose a customised seven character plate, over ten years you will end up paying $3,000 as it stands.

Personalised plates in Western Australia

On platesWA, there are a wide range of different styles number plates available. The degree that the number plate can be customised depends on the design. A full list of what's available can be found here.

The below are just a few examples:

Product	Numberplate	Style	Starting cost
Personalised	No space allowed, needs 1-3 letters and must end with 3 numbers.		From $104.60
Retro	Start with a U or X, then 3 letters and 3 numbers (for cars).	Can be black or white	From $289
Custom design	3 letters and 3 numbers, or vice versa	Various colours available	From $395
Custom acrylic	Any combination of letters and numbers up to 9 characters (7 for motorbikes). Cannot be all numbers	Several styles available	From $699

Pictures from PlatesWA

Personalised plates in Tasmania

Tasmania is another state with various different styles available. These include Japanese themed, 3D plates and 'Tassie' plates complete with a little Thylacine or Tasmanian Devil, among many others. A full list of what's on offer can be found at Tasplates.com.

If you just want to change the characters on your plate, these are the basic costs:

Product	Numberplate	Starting cost
Classic	AAA-999, AAA-99, AA-999, T-AA999	$399
Open content	1-6 characters with numbers and letters	$1,095
Prestige	4-6 letters and/or numbers	$1,755
Prestige plus	7 letters and or numbers	$2,500
Numeral only	1-6 numbers	Prices available via expressions of interest

Personalised plates in Australian Capital Territory

The ACT has a variety of different plates available, all priced differently. Head here for a full list.

Some examples:

Product	Numberplate	Style	Starting cost
Personalised	Two letters followed by 3 numbers	European Style	Starting at $551.3
Name	Can be a commonly known name, surname, initials or nickname up to 7 characters	Standard, European style	$1,105.9
Business	Name or initials of a business	Standard, European style	$1,105.9 for one, unit cost gets cheaper the more you buy
Unique	Any combination of letters or numbers not covered by another category	Standard, European style	$3,345.6
Canberra Raiders	'R' followed by numbers or letters		$1,620.5 for 'R1' -'R99'. $1,105.9 for 'R100'-'R200' $170.7 for three letters
ACT Brumbies	'BR' followed by numbers		$1,636.7 for 'BR 0' - 'BR 200'. $258.6 for 'BR 0201' - 'BR 1200' and 'BR 1996' - 'BR 2005'

Pictures from Access Canberra

Personalised plates in Northern Territory

In the Northern Territory, there are a few different charges for personalising your plates. There is a $279 application fee, a $45 fee for the plates themselves and a $24 charge for 'transfer of right to display'. There's a few different styles available - see NT.gov for the full list.

A few examples:

	Numberplate	Style
Standard	Up to six characters. 'NT' on bottom. Optional diamond. Can have 'NATURE TERRITORY' or 'OUTBACK AUSTRALIA' as optional slogans.
Medium	Up to 5 characters, optional diamond, no slogan.
Darwin region.	Up to six characters, no diamond. Slogan: BARRA COUNTRY - DARWIN NT

Pictures from NT.gov

You can find out more about applying for personalised plates in the NT here.

Savings.com.au's two cents

While the cost of personalising plates varies wildly, it's almost always more than a trivial expense. In general, it costs hundreds of dollars for the most basic customisation, and only gets more expensive. Particularly in NSW and South Australia where there are annual fees, the costs can quickly stack up.

At the end of the day though, it isn't up to us to say whether personalised plates are worth it. If you are desperate to show off your favourite sports team, or to emblazon your car with your nickname, a few hundred dollars might be a small price to pay.

The only issue is regretting your purchase in hindsight. Before pulling the trigger, make sure you've checked out exactly how much it's going to cost you, and really thought about whether the happiness it will bring you (and other road users) is worth it.

In the market for a new car? The table below features car loans with some of the lowest interest rates on the market.

Article first published 19 August 2020, last updated 17 June 2024.

Photo by Angus Gray on Unsplash

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