Why did IL deny vanity license plate requests? ‘Lecherous language and sneaky swearing’
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 60,000 Illinois residents requested personalized or vanity plates in 2024, and while the majority were approved, 335 were denied due to their “inflammatory or offensive nature” or because they were difficult to read, according to state officials.
“Illinoisans consistently display a great deal of creativity when choosing their customized license plates, but the plates that hit the road must meet the standards of good taste and decency,” Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said in a Jan. 8 press release. “Our team are well-versed in lecherous language and sneaky swearing, all of which are rejected and placed on our permanent prohibited list.”
The Illinois Secretary of State office’s online Pick-A-Plate tool advises applicants to avoid intermixing letters and numbers or using a space between numbers, using punctuation symbols or using “obscene or offensive combinations.”
State officials maintain an “ever-growing” rejection list, with more than 8,015 license plate combinations currently banned.
Here are some of the rejected requests from 2024:
HOKTUAH
GYATT
MUNCH
BICHIN
JAGWEED
BADARSE
AXEHOLE
ILLCUTU
HOHOHOE
ABADMF
WEENIE
DUCKOFF
SHIDDED
UGEWANG
THICCAF
Illinois state law allows officials to deny any personalized or vanity license plate request that “creates a connotation that is offensive to good taste and decency.”
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 letters and numbers.
A standard passenger random license plate for a car that’s already titled costs $151 in Illinois, but additional fees apply for vanity and personalized plates. If you’ve just acquired your vehicle and are registering it for the first time, the title fee is $165 in Illinois.
For vehicles that are already titled, initial issuance costs $245 for a vanity plate and $198 for a personalized plate. The annual renewal fee is $164 for vanity plates and $158 for personalized plates.
You can use an online Pick-A-Plate tool to check if your desired vanity or personalized plate combination is available.
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.
There are 811,351 registered vehicles with personalized or vanity plates in Illinois, including 294,324 vanity plates and 531,035 personalized plates, officials said in the statement.
Do you have a question about living in Illinois for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Metro-east Matters form below.
