Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will hold its 121st open auction for distinctive vehicle number plates on Saturday, October 24, at the Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City hotel. Sixty plates go under the hammer this round, spanning two-, three-, four- and five-digit combinations carrying the codes AA, BB, CC, along with single letters H, U, V, W, X, Y and Z. Among the lots expected to draw strong bidding are BB 80, BB 18 and CC 44.
Registration opened on Monday and runs through the RTA's website, rta.ae, as well as its Customer Happiness Centres in Umm Ramool, Deira and Al Barsha. Only applicants holding a valid Dubai traffic file are eligible to bid. Each participant must place a refundable security deposit of Dh25,000, which is returned in full to unsuccessful bidders, plus a non-refundable Dh120 registration fee to confirm their place in the room.
The auction hall will open its doors to registered bidders at 2pm on the day of the sale. Winners are given ten working days from the fall of the hammer to settle the full purchase price, which carries the UAE's standard five per cent VAT; plates left unpaid within that window are passed on to the next highest bidder.
Distinctive plates have long carried cachet in Dubai, doubling as both a status symbol and a tradable asset — some digit combinations have changed hands for millions of dirhams at past auctions. The RTA runs these sales on a rolling basis throughout the year, generating revenue for the emirate while giving residents and collectors a legitimate route to acquire a sought-after plate number. Anyone planning to bid on October 24 is advised to complete registration well before the auction date, since the process closes once the event begins.