The New 71 Reg DVLA Number Plates Banned for Being Too Rude
The latest list of number plates issued by DVLA and considered too offensive to be displayed on the UK’s roads has been released by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Twice a year, just before the new registration series is released, a specialist DVLA team is tasked with going through every combination of digits to filter out any that are too rude or offensive. These plates will be banned from being displayed.
The agency says that any registrations that “may cause offence, embarrassment or are in poor taste” will not be issued.This year, for the new 71-reg series, officials sifted out 566 potentially offensive numbers, which is just a fraction of the number plates available to private buyers.
The DVLA said they were particularly looking to sift out COVID-related number plates, with AN71 VAX, CO71 VD, CO71 ONA and CO71 RNA being banned. It seems that potential politically sensitive statements are on the taboo list such as EU71 BAD. Any plates with a connection to Afghanistan like TA71 BAN and TA71 BNN got the thumbs down.
Far-right sentiments were also purged, with FA71 ST*, *H71 LAR, *H71 LER, *H71 LRR, *H71 LRS, *H71 TLR being blocked along with any plates starting with NA71. Registrations with implications of violence also bit the dust, including BR71 GUN, BR71 KLL and BR71 WAR.
Buyers Can Request Specific Registration Numbers From DVLA
Each year, the DVLA receives hundreds of applications for personalised number plates with specific combinations of letters and numbers. The agency says it does its best to accommodate the requests, but any plates that could be construed as offensive will be prohibited.
While going through the latest 71 registration applications, they found numerous requests that were considered offensive. Some are a bit obscure and their possible meaning easily missed, while others are only too clear.
New plates drivers wanted to display included **71 OSS, **71 URD, **71 WAT, *S71 LUT, *S71 UTS, *S71 UTT and *S71 UTY. Others asked for *S71 UUT, *S71FFY, *S71FYY, BO71 LOX, FA71 NNY and GU71 LTY but had their requests rejected. It’s also hard to figure out why a proud vehicle owner would want PR71 CK*, BA71 ARD, AS71 HOL, EA71 NOB, EA71 POO or FR71 GGN on display at the front and back of their car. However, the DVLA’s crackdown sees all of them banned.
The list of newly banned 71 registrations was obtained by Auto Express under a freedom of information request.
Cheeky Personalised Number Plates from CarReg
With a little imagination, you can still seek out some cheeky personalised number plates, whether it’s a new 71 registration or one of the millions of others available on the CarReg database. Just enter your chosen numbers and/or letters in the search box and see what comes up. However, a word of warning – a registration number can still be banned after it has been issued. If you’ve bought one of those, it can be rescinded and leave you without your DVLA number plates and your money.
