ICBC have posted their list of over 3,100 rejected personalized license plates from 2022. (Dreamstime/NanaimoNewsNOW illustration)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

personalized plates

‘2FST4U’, ‘AK47’ & ‘OG-LIFE’ among vanity license plates rejected by ICBC

Jan 19, 2023 | 4:54 PM

NANAIMO — Creativity often knows no bounds, but some limits are in place for personalized license plates in B.C.

ICBC unveiled its list of 3,135 personalized license plates from last year rejected for a variety of reasons, including being sexually suggestive, abusive or promoting risks like alcohol or unsafe driving.

Greg Harper, ICBC spokesperson, said plates like “XLR8” (accelerate), “BLU BYU” (blew by you) and “ZOOOOM” were all turned down by their panel.

“That would fall under promoting unsafe driving, insinuating going fast, that’s definitely a slogan that was not approved and I can’t see something like that ever being approved here in B.C.”

Other banned plates included “WT TRASH” for being obscene, “D3VIL” for having religious connotations and “BOOSTD” for its link to drug use.

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ICBC also doesn’t allow brand names or trademarks to be used as license plates, which is why “SPRITE”, “HONDA” and “POM” were all turned down.

Harper said the plates don’t have to be obviously offensive to be flagged by the panel.

“One that we didn’t include in our highlighted list of rejections…is M-PIGGY. I read that as Miss Piggy, which is a Muppet character. But that is also something you could say to insult somebody, it could be argued it’s bullying.”

He added it’s tough to tell if someone’s just trying to be funny, or sneak something through, or if they’re innocently requesting a plate with a word which means something to them.

Over the last three years, over 27,000 requests were submitted to ICBC with roughly 17,600 being approved.

Harper said if you’re requesting a vanity plate, submit your application with plenty of options.

“You have the option to select five slogans, I’d recommend you do that, that’s the best chance of having at least one of them approved and you’d put them in order of preference.”

The complete list of banned plates is available on the ICBC website.

— with files from Jon de Roo, 97.3 FM The Eagle

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