Auction Starting Prices vs Closing Prices: A Floor, Not a Value
The auction starting price is only a floor; closing prices can be hundreds of times higher. Starting prices by number group, closing prices and data caveats.
Published 3 October 2026
Contents
What the starting price tells you, and what it does not
The auction starting price is the lowest price at which the Department of Land Transport allows bidding to begin. A plate nobody competes for closes at this price, but a plate that several people want is pushed far above it. The starting price is therefore a price floor, not a value.
The clearest example is 9กก 9999, which started at ฿100,000 according to the table below but closed at ฿45,090,000, about 451 times. Some special plates with secondary numbers, by contrast, close not far from the starting price. Valuers therefore use the starting price as a lower bound, then compare with closing prices for numbers in the same group.
Starting prices for special plates
Under the 2022 announcement, special plates are divided into four groups: SUPERPREMIUM, PREMIUM, GOLD and SILVER. The rarer the number, the higher the group, and the higher the starting price and deposit. A word plate needs at least 2 registered bidders, otherwise the number is withdrawn from the auction, and plates priced at ฿500,000 or more carry an extra service charge set by the department.
The reliability of the table is not uniform. The PREMIUM group is confirmed by the Royal Gazette as reported in the media, while the other groups come from dealers and the media. Check each round's announcement before relying on the actual figures.
| Group | Numbers | Deposit (baht) | Starting price (baht) | Bid increment (baht) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUPERPREMIUM | 8888 and 9999 | 450,000 | 1,500,000 | 30,000 |
| PREMIUM | 1111 to 7777 | 300,000 | 1,000,000 | 30,000 |
| GOLD | Single digits, 11 to 99, 111 to 999, and pairs of 8 or 9 | 250,000 | 800,000 | 20,000 |
| SILVER | Round thousands, ascending runs, pairs | 150,000 | 500,000 | 10,000 |
Starting prices for standard series, and a warning about accuracy
Standard series for passenger cars (รย.1) set starting prices by number group, separately for the central region and the provincial regions. Four of a kind starts at ฿100,000 in the central region and ฿50,000 in the provincial regions. The table below is summarised from one dealer's blog.
Warning: this table comes from an undated blog and has not yet been checked against Announcement No. 5 of 2024. Other sources give different deposits, such as no less than ฿30,000, ฿10,000 and ฿3,000 for the respective groups. Use this table only for an overall picture, and check each round's announcement before relying on the actual figures.
| Group | Numbers | Deposit (baht) | Starting price (baht) | Bid increment (baht) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Four of a kind | 50,000 / unclear | 100,000 / 50,000 | 10,000 / 5,000 |
| 2 | Single digits, 11 to 99, 111 to 999, and pairs of 8 or 9 | 20,000 / 5,000 | 30,000 / 10,000 | 5,000 / 2,000 |
| 3 | Round thousands, ascending runs, pairs, mirrored, alternating | 5,000 / 2,000 | 5,000 / 3,000 | 2,000 / 1,000 |
Closing prices compared with starting prices
Standard series plates have very low starting prices, so closing prices for contested numbers end up tens to hundreds of times above the starting price. Special plates already have high starting prices, so closing prices for secondary numbers are around 1 to 1.5 times, such as เจ้าสัว 44 at ฿820,000 and กำไร 999 at ฿880,000.
The examples in the table are standout closing prices reported in the news, not averages across all numbers, so they should not be used to predict prices for ordinary numbers.
| Plate | Starting price (baht) | Price achieved (baht) | Times the starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9กก 9999 (December 2022) | 100,000 | 45,090,000 | About 451 |
| 9กก 9 (December 2022) | 30,000 | 9,620,000 | About 321 |
| 3ขข 3333 (June 2025) | 100,000 | 4,000,000 | 40 |
| รวย 9999 (2022) | 1,500,000 | About 18,500,000 | About 12 |
| รักคุณ 1 (December 2025) | 800,000 | 2,640,000 | 3.3 |
| หงส์ 1 (round 11/2025) | 800,000 | 1,120,000 | 1.4 |
What this means for people thinking of buying to speculate
A special plate with a secondary number that closes near its starting price means the auction buyer has to wait for the secondary market to buy it at a higher price in order to cover costs and the dealer's spread. Buying to speculate therefore carries a risk of loss, and the special plate market has also cooled since 2023, as explained in the article on asking prices, auction closing prices and dealer buying prices.
The conclusion of people who study the market is that plates are suited to buying for use and collecting, not as a core investment asset, except for the top numbers in rare series. This is not investment advice.
Auction rules that affect value
The winner must pay on schedule, with the deposit deducted first. At least 10 percent must be paid within 7 days, and the full amount within 30 days of the auction date. This can be extended no more than 2 times, by 30 days each, with cumulative payments reaching 30 percent and 50 percent respectively, under the announcement on numbers newly offered for auction, No. 5 of 2024, effective from 26 April 2024.
If the winner defaults on payment, they lose their auction rights immediately and the number is put up for auction again with a starting price equal to the outstanding amount. Bidders must be of legal age or a juristic person, not bankrupt and not disqualified, and do not need to already own a vehicle. The 180-day deadline for registering to a vehicle and other plate status matters are covered in the article on plate status and the pre-purchase checklist.
Numbers mentioned in this article
FAQ on this topic
How does the auction starting price differ from this site's market median?
The starting price is the lowest price the Department of Land Transport sets for bidding to begin. This site's market median is the median of asking prices on the secondary market. Neither is an actual transaction price. The actual transaction price at auction is the closing price of that round.
Why are closing prices hundreds of times higher than starting prices?
Because a contested number such as 9กก 9999 was given the same starting price as an ordinary four of a kind in a standard series, but bidders competed until 202 bids had been placed. Standard series starting prices are set low, while special plates are already set high, so the gap between closing and starting prices varies.
How reliable is the standard series starting price table?
Use it only for an overall picture, because the table is summarised from an undated dealer blog and has not yet been checked against Announcement No. 5 of 2024. Other sources give different deposits. Before preparing money for a real auction, check that round's announcement from the Department of Land Transport.
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