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Procedures for reserving personalised vehicle registration numbers for auction

In general, the Transport Department accept applications for personalized vehicle registration marks within the determined period of every January, May and September. For details of the invitation exercises, including the application period and the number of applications to be considered in that exercise, please refer to the Transport Department’s website.

Applicants are required to submit applications during the application period. Late submissions will not be accepted. Each applicant may only submit ONE application in response to each invitation exercise. If one submits more than one application for an invitation, all applications submitted in response to that invitation by that applicant will not be processed.

It takes around 12-18 months or more from the closing of the application period to the date of auction. The various stages from submission of application to auction include -

Stage 1: Submission of Application
Stage 2: Selection of Applications by Lot
Stage 3: Checking against Basic Combination Requirements
Stage 4: Payment of Deposit
Stage 5: Vetting
Stage 6: Auction
 

Submission of Application

Before submitting an application, please note that -

  1. The proposed personalised vehicle registration mark must meet the basic combination requirements, please refer to the " Basic Combination Requirements for PVRMs" (PDF).
  2. You may use the " Online Services for Personalized Vehicle Registration Marks" to check if the proposed personalised vehicle registration mark meets the basic combination requirements, and whether the mark has been allocated.
    Form

    Application for Personalized Vehicle Registration Mark - TD 569 (PDF)

    When specifying the proposed personalised vehicle registration mark on the application form, please note that -

    1. The arrangement of the proposed mark cannot be changed after submission of application. If the applicant has not specified the proposed arrangement in two rows, display of the registration mark in two rows will not be allowed in future. The applicant should check in advance the size of the number plate of his/her vehicle to ascertain whether the registration mark can be displayed as proposed.
    2. Any blank spaces at the beginning and end of each row will be ignored and the proposed mark must be placed in the middle of the plate.
    3. Any letters "I" and "O" will be treated as numerals "1" and "0" respectively.
    Means of Submission
    1. By drop-in box at any Licensing Office; or
    2. By post to:
      Vehicle Registration Marks Unit, Transport Department
      12/F, South Tower, West Kowloon Government Office, 11 
      Hoi Ting Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon

      The date of the post mark will be used to determine whether an application is late. Applicant is encouraged to use registered mail to avoid loss of documents.
    3. Use the " Online Services for Personalized Vehicle Registration Marks". Digital certificate is required. More details about the system requirements and user guide are available on the website.
    Acknowledgement of Receipt of Application
    • For application by drop-in box or by post, the Transport Department will send an acknowledgement of receipt bearing an application number to the applicant by ordinary post upon receipt of an application. If no acknowledgement is received within 2 weeks from the date of application submission, please call 2804 2600 (this hotline is handled by the 1823 Call Centre).
    • For applications through the online application service, an acknowledgement bearing an application number will be received immediately upon completion of the necessary procedures.


Selection of Applications by Lot

If the number of applications received exceeds the number for consideration, the Transport Department will draw lots to select the applications to be processed. The application numbers selected will be published in the department’s website.


Checking against Basic Combination Requirements

The Transport Department will vet the selected personalized vehicle registration marks against the basic combination requirements (PDF), and only the applications that meet the requirements will be further processed - 

  • If a selected application does not meet the basic combination requirements, the Transport Department will notify the applicant by post after checking, and the application will not be further processed.
  • If a selected application meets the basic combination requirements, the Transport Department will notify the applicant by post and request for payment of deposit. If more than one selected application for the same proposed personalized vehicle registration mark is so selected, i.e. the sequence of arrangement of the letters and numerals in the two applications are the same, only the first drawn application will be further processed.


Payment of Deposit

If a selected application meets the basic combination requirements, the Transport Department will notify the applicant by post and request for payment of deposit of $5,000. If an applicant fails to pay the deposit within the specified period, his/her application will be deemed to have been withdrawn and will not be processed further. On the other hand, in accordance with Regulation 12B of the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations, Cap. 374E, the Commissioner for Transport shall not entertain any request to withdraw an application. In this regard, Transport Department will not refund the deposit paid for the application.
 

Vetting

Upon receipt of the deposit, the Transport Department will decide whether to accept the application, and will refuse the application in accordance with the vetting criteria (PDF). The applicant will be informed of the result by post -

  • For refused applications, the deposit paid will be refunded to the applicant in form of a cheque by post within 8 weeks via the Treasury; or
  • For successful applications, Transport Department will inform the applicant of the auction date and details by post.
     

Auction

The approved personalized vehicle registration mark will be offered for sale by auction at a reserve price of $5,000. If the mark remains unsold at the auction, it will be allocated, at a special fee of $5,000, to the applicant, and the deposit paid by the applicant shall be taken as payment of the special fee. If the applicant is not successful in bidding for his/her proposed personalized vehicle registration mark, the deposit paid will be refunded to him/her in form of a cheque by post within 8 weeks via the Treasury.
 

Points to Note

Within 12 months after the date of being allocated with the mark by auction, the purchaser has to apply to the Transport Department to assign the mark to a vehicle registered in his name. Otherwise this allocation of the mark may be cancelled by the Transport Department and the mark may be reallocated, without notifying the purchaser.

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Last update: 15 Dec 2022
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