Up to Rs 1 Million for a 'Lucky' Number Plate — Smart Buy or Pure Waste?

The DMT can now charge up to Rs 1 million for a reserved "special" vehicle number, with queue-jump options starting around Rs 100,000, under rules approved earlier this year. Owners have been paying for these numbers steadily since 2023, and DMT is now also considering personalised plates showing the owner's name once its system is upgraded. Supporters say a clean or easy-to-remember number genuinely adds resale value and a bit of pride, especially on a business vehicle people need to recognise fast. Critics call it a cash grab timed badly, since the DMT itself admitted a backlog of 650,000 ordinary number plates and 450,000 licences still waiting to be cleared — money and effort going to vanity numbers while regular owners queue for months just to get a normal plate. Would you ever pay six figures or more for a number, or is that cash better spent anywhere else? Have you seen a specific number resell for far more than face value between private owners? ඔබ නම්බරයක් සඳහා රුපියල් ලක්ෂ ගණනක් ගෙවනවද, නැත්නම් මුදල් නාස්තියක්ද?