The DVLA has disclosed its list of number plates banned in 2024, featuring plates like *W24 NKR, SL24 GSS, and SH24 GED, banned for their potential offensiveness.
As new vehicle registrations roll out in March and September, ‘24’ will feature in registrations after March 1, and ‘74’ after September 1. The vast number of plates created with each release increases the chance of some resembling or spelling out unsavoury words or phrases.
The DVLA takes a proactive approach in reviewing all new number plates, ensuring any offensive ones are not issued.
Tony Clark, a number plate specialist and Marketing Manager at Plates4Less, utilized a Freedom of Information request to expose the plates blacklisted by the DVLA as ‘Too Rude for the Road’ for the ‘24’ series beginning March 1.
This investigation uncovered numerous combinations considered inappropriate, such as BO24 LOK, FA24 NNY, AS24 HLE, SH24 GGY, SK24 NKZ, and PE24 VRT.
Tony commented, “Rude or humorous private plates have always been popular, and can be a lot of fun. People choose private plates like these to customise their vehicles without personalising them. Some want to shock and others want to amuse their fellow road users”.
He also mentioned, “Sometimes, the DVLA restrictions just lead to people being more creative, and trying to find rude plates that the DVLA didn’t think to ban.”
Plates4Less has observed a notable trend in searches for rude or offensive words, with an average of 345 searches daily. The ‘C word’ is particularly notable as the 29th most popular search, with about 21 searches per day, and ‘F*ck’ is searched for 12.42 times per day.
Tony added, “Customers use our website just to find funny plates and share them with friends, which we encourage! We even have a sharing tool built-in to make this easier.
“Outside of rude registrations, some of the most popular searches we get are names, like Sam, Dan, and Amy.”
While the DVLA endeavours to keep offensive number plates off the road, Plates4Less has identified a selection of provocative yet legal plates such as S3XXX, OH69, FUN, OO69AAH, and PEN155. To learn more, click here.
