More than 2,500 personalized licence plate requests rejected by ICBC in 2023

There are guidelines to what's permitted on a personalized licence plate and ICBC has revealed a list of slogans that did not meet them.

In the past year, ICBC received 9,500 personalized licence plate requests and of those 27% were rejected for many different reasons, according to a ICBC news release issued today, Jan. 25.

“ICBC’s dedicated team meticulously reviews every application to ensure each slogan is appropriate to display on a B.C. licence plate,” Sandy-Anne Dodig with ICBC said in the release. “A personalized licence plate can be a creative way to express yourself, and we encourage drivers to review the criteria and guidelines on icbc.com prior to applying.”

Slogans can be rejected if they're deemed discriminatory, sexually suggestive, abusive or derogatory in any language.

Slogans that refer to religion, politics, public figures, dignitaries and law enforcement officials are also not permitted. That's why "GUVNOR," "AMEN," and "SHIVAY" were all rejected.

References to speed or risky behaviour are also not permitted, so you won't see any licence plates reading "OMG MOV," "YSOSLO," or "FAST" any time soon.

Slogans relating to intellectual property such as trademarks, drugs or alcohol, as well as, violence or criminal activity are also all rejected.

To see the full list of slogans rejected by ICBC view it here, and to apply for a personalized licence plate make sure to read all the guidelines first.

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