DVLA announces the latest number plates banned for being too ‘offensive’ – but are they really that bad?
THE LATEST number plates banned by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for being too "offensive" have been revealed.
Around 300 registrations have been scrapped ahead of the 67 new vehicle registrations released next week, including MU67 GED, BA67 TRD, AF67 HAN and NE67 ECT.
The list includes combinations which should never be seen on the roads, including any that end with the three letters ARS or DAM and those that are specific to the year.
Others which have been refused are any that start with "NO" and end with a complete three-letter word, so NO67 FUN, NO67 END, NO67 DAD, NO67 MUM and NO67 SON.
BU67 GER, DO67 GER, HU67 WLY and OR67 SAM also made the banned list.
But some combinations have slipped through the net in previous years, including MILFS, PENI5, BOIILUX and DICK0 - which have been seen on vehicles being driven throughout the UK.
In June, the number plate JH11 HAD was spotted in Newport, South Wales, and reported to authorities.
It was subsequently withdrawn, and the DVLA said the plate "slipped through the net".
Information released to BBC Wales following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that other combinations such as JE** HAD and *J11 HAD were also banned.
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The Swansea-based agency said in the FOI document that it has a responsibility make sure the combination used on registration numbers "does not cause upset or offence".
The letter continued: "Such numbers are withheld if they are likely to cause offence or embarrassment to the general population in this country on the grounds of political, racial and religious sensitivities or simply because they are in poor taste when displayed correctly on a number plate."
Banned combinations cannot be issued or sold at a DVLA Personalised Registration auction.
The Agency holds and exhaustive list of potentially naughty, nasty and offensive number plates, which it updates annually.
Cause for offence? These are the other banned DVLA registration combinations
The DVLA has banned hundreds of number plates over the years because they could cause "offence". The Agency says that a 6 can look like a "G" or an "S" while a 7 can be read as a "T" or an "L". And some say if you look really hard the number 67 can look like the letter "R".
Here's the outlawed DVLA combinations:
- Four-letter combinations: *B** UMS, *G** ODS and *R** APE
- Five-letter combinations: AB** USE, AN** GER and BO** SOM
- 2004 vehicle registrations: A**4 RSE, BO04 ZZY and BL04 JOB
- 2011 vehicle registrations: BO11 OC*, DR11 GG* and PO11 CE*
A DVLA spokeswoman said: "Many people enjoy displaying a personalised number plate and the vast majority of registration numbers are made available - but we hold back any combinations that may cause offence, embarrassment or are in poor taste.
"We try to identify all combinations that may cause offence, and on the rare occasion where potentially offensive numbers slip through the net, steps are taken to withdraw the number."
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