Fancy number plate Kerala price list: official fees and real auction prices

Last updated: October 2026

In Kerala, reserving a fancy or choice registration number costs between Rs.5,000 and Rs.1 lakh in official reservation fees, depending on the number: 0001 is Rs.1 lakh, the popular numbers like 9999, 7777 and 3333 are Rs.50,000, and a long list of other attractive numbers falls into Rs.25,000, Rs.15,000 and Rs.10,000 tiers. But those are reserve prices, not final prices. When more than one person books the same number, it goes to an online e-auction and the highest bidder wins. Kerala's record stands at Rs.45.99 lakh for the number KL 07 DG 0007, won at an MVD e-auction in April 2025.

One caution before the tables: the tier schedule below is the currently published summary of Kerala's reservation fees, as reported in a guide updated in April 2026. I could not verify it against the official Kerala MVD notification while researching, so treat the figure the fancy-number portal shows at checkout as the final word. The auction outcomes below are reported consistently by multiple news sources.

The official reservation fee tiers

Kerala MVD groups choice numbers into fee slabs. You pay the slab's fee to reserve that number against your vehicle. The tiers, as currently reported:

Slab	Example numbers	Reserve fee
Top tier	0001	Rs.1,00,000
Second tier	0777, 0999, 3333, 4444, 5000, 5555, 7777, 9999	Rs.50,000
Third tier	0005, 0007, 0009, 0333, 0786, 1000, 1111, 1818, 2727, 3000, 3636, 4545, 5005, 5050, 6666, 7000, 7007, 8181, 8888, 9000, 9009, 9090	Rs.25,000
Fourth tier	0002, 0003, 0010, 0011, 1234, 2000, 2222 and similar	Rs.15,000
Fifth tier	0004, 0006, 0102, 1212, 2424 and a long list of paired and sequential numbers	Rs.10,000
Any other number	Any four-digit combination not listed above	Rs.5,000

The published lists for the Rs.15,000 and Rs.10,000 tiers each run to dozens of numbers; the table shows representative ones. The portal's search shows you exactly which tier your number falls in before you pay. A few published summaries put the floor for an unlisted number at Rs.3,000 rather than Rs.5,000, which is another reason to confirm the live figure on the portal before booking.

How the final price is really decided: e-auction vs first-come

The reserve fee only applies if nobody else wants the same number. Here is the actual mechanics:

Single booking: if you are the only person to book a number in the current series, it is allotted to you at the slab's reserve fee, first-come-first-served.
Multiple bookings: if two or more people book the same number, the MVD puts it to an online e-auction. Bidding starts at the reserve fee and climbs until one bidder remains. The record KL 07 DG 0007 auction started at its Rs.25,000 reserve after five people booked it.
Auction rules: auctions run for about three days, the highest bid is displayed live on the portal, the minimum bid increment is Rs.1,000, and there is no maximum cap. Registering for an auction needs a separate account step and a non-refundable participation fee.
Winning: the winning bidder is informed by email and SMS and gets a confirmation certificate; the RTO then allots the number to the winner's vehicle.

Real auction outcomes: what numbers actually sold for

Reserve fees are theory; these are the numbers Kerala buyers actually paid at MVD e-auctions, reported consistently across news sources:

Number	Final bid	Auction
KL 07 DG 0007	Rs.45.99 lakh	Ernakulam RTO e-auction, April 2025; current Kerala record
KL 07 DG 0001	Rs.25.52 lakh	Same April 2025 auction
KL 01 CK 0001	Rs.31 lakh	Earlier reported record, 2019

The April 2025 record bid came from five bidders chasing 0007 in the newly issued KL 07 DG series; the winner was Venu Gopalakrishnan, founder of Kochi IT company Litmus7, for a Lamborghini Urus Performante. Reports put the bid immediately beaten at Rs.44.84 lakh, so the final Rs.45.99 lakh broke Kerala's previous best by a little over a lakh. A BMW i7 in Ernakulam separately took KL 07 DC 7777 for Rs.7.7 lakh in an earlier reported auction. The lesson is consistent: the tier table tells you the floor, and a popular number in a fresh series can cost many times the floor.

Ignore old pages claiming records from years ago; search results still carry outdated figures that the April 2025 auctions superseded. The figures above are from April 2025 reporting and later summaries.

Steps: how to book a fancy number in Kerala

Go to parivahan.gov.in, open Online Services, and click Fancy Number Booking. This is a separate flow from the regular Vahan vehicle services.
Create an account. Click the register-as-new-public-user option, select Kerala, and enter your name, email ID and phone number. An OTP verifies the signup.
Search before logging in. You do not need an account to search. Use Search by Number for a specific combination, or browse everything available by state and RTO, to see which numbers are open and which tier each one is in.
Log in and pick your route. If your number is open for first-come-first-served, select it and pay the reserve fee; the RTO processes the request. If it goes to auction, register for that number's auction, pay the non-refundable participation fee, and submit the documents the portal asks for.
Bid when the auction opens. The portal shows the highest live bid. Bid in increments of at least Rs.1,000 until the auction closes, usually after about three days.
Win and allot. The winner gets intimation by email and SMS plus a confirmation certificate, and the number is allotted to the vehicle after the RTO processes the request.

Documents for the auction registration are the standard ones: ID and address proof and the vehicle details. Do not start the auction flow before your vehicle purchase is firm, because the participation fee is non-refundable. The number booking sits on top of the normal registration process; our choice number service page summarises the official side of this in brief.

What the fancy number fee does not buy

The reservation fee pays only for the right to use that registration number. The physical plates are a separate purchase and a separate rule: new vehicles need High Security Registration Plates, and older vehicles are being brought under the same requirement. A stylised or decorative plate is a violation, not a substitute. See our HSRP price guide for Kerala for what the plates cost, and the HSRP fine-risk post if your vehicle predates April 2019.

FAQs

What is the cost of a 0001 number plate in Kerala?

The reserve fee for 0001 is Rs.1 lakh, the highest slab. In an auction it can go far higher: 0001-class numbers are the ones that draw the biggest bidding wars, so treat Rs.1 lakh as the floor.

What is the most expensive fancy number ever sold in Kerala?

KL 07 DG 0007 at Rs.45.99 lakh, won at the Ernakulam RTO e-auction in April 2025. That is the current state record reported across news sources.

Can I really get any other number for Rs.5,000?

Any four-digit number not in the tier lists carries a Rs.5,000 reserve fee, and if nobody else books it, that is all you pay. If someone else books the same number, it goes to auction and the price rises from there.

Is the auction participation fee refundable?

Published guides describe it as non-refundable. Only enter an auction for a number you genuinely want, for a vehicle you are committed to buying.

Does the fancy number fee include the physical number plates?

No. It covers only the reservation of the registration number. You still need legal HSRP plates fitted, with their own price and booking process.

How long does the e-auction last?

About three days, with the highest bid displayed live throughout. The winner is informed by email and SMS with a confirmation certificate.

Fees and rules change without notice. Verify all fees and rules on fancy.parivahan.gov.in and parivahan.gov.in before applying.