Picking a personalized license plate in IL? Here are some of the prohibited phrases
If you’re opting to pay extra for a personalized or vanity license plate in Illinois, you might want to check this list of rejected requests before sending in your inquiry.
More than 54,000 Illinois residents requested personalized or vanity plates in 2022, and while the majority were approved, 383 were rejected due to their “tawdry, lewd or offensive nature” or because they were difficult to read, according to state officials.
“We love the creativity and pride Illinoisans take in choosing their personalized license plates,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said in a Jan. 23 statement. “Most plate requests are approved, but a small percentage fail to meet the standards of good taste and decency and are rejected because they violate the state’s vehicle code.”
The Illinois Secretary of State office’s online Pick-A-Plate tool advises applicants to avoid intermixing letters and numbers and using a space between numbers, characters, symbols or punctuation symbols, foreign words or “obscene” or “offensive” combinations.
Rejected plate requests included:
PEEPEE
GOTPOOP
SUCKER
KISSASH
SUKIT
BITEU
DUCKYOU
COKAIN
HAIILNO
WHTHFUK
WMWWWMW
How much do personalized or vanity plates cost in IL?
Illinois distinguishes between personalized and vanity plates. Vanity plates may have up to three numbers only or one to seven letters only, while personalized plates can contain both letters and numbers.
Personalized plates cost $198 at initial purchase in Illinois, and switching to one is $76. The renewal fee is $158. Personalized plates may have the following:
Letters and numbers with a space between letters and numbers
One to five letters plus numbers one to 99
Six letters plus one through nine
Vanity plates cost $245 at initial purchase in Illinois, and switching to one will cost you $123. The renewal fee is $164. Vanity plates may have:
Up to three numbers only or one to seven letters only
Numbers one through 999
After submitting an application with the required fee, you can expect to wait at least 60 to 90 days to receive your new personalized or vanity plate.
A standard passenger random license plate costs $151 in Illinois.
The secretary of state’s office has issued 922,147 vanity or personalized license plates in Illinois, including 312,399 vanity plates and 609,748 personalized plates.
The office maintains an “ever-growing” list of rejected requests that includes more than 7,000 license plate combinations deemed “offensive or difficult to read,” officials said in the Jan. 23 statement.
