Whether you’re a BO04 ZZY driver or just a plain old BA67 TRD on the road, we’ve all been entertained or offended by personalised number plates on UK vehicles.
But the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) are attempting to clean up our filthy roads by refusing DO67 ERRs and BL04 JOBs alike.
Around 300 offensive number plates that will not be released next week when 67 vehicle registrations become available are NO67 FUN, NO67 END, MU67 GED, DO67 ERR, BA67 TRD and ST67 BBD.
Cleaning up the filth: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) are refusing DO67 ERRs and BL04 JOBs alike in their latest blacklist of offensive number plates (mock-up image)
The blacklist comes after the number plate JH11 HAD was spotted in Newport, South Wales, in June, and reported to authorities. It was subsequently withdrawn, as the DVLA said the plate ‘slipped through the net’.
Other combinations such as JE** HAD and *J11 HAD were also banned, according to information released to BBC Wales following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
The Swansea-based agency said it has a responsibility make sure the combination used on registration numbers ‘does not cause upset or offence’.
-2011 vehicle registrations: BO11 OC*, DR11 GG* and PO11 CE*
The FOI 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 has an exhaustive list of potentially naughty, nasty and offensive number plates, which it updates annually.
A DVLA spokesman 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.’
The DVLA has an exhaustive list of potentially naughty, nasty and offensive number plates (including the above), which it updates annually