[BITList] DVLA bans BL03 JOB but allows ORG45M | Money | The Guardian

[Michael Feltham]

Car Registrations in UK !
> http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/may/22/dvla-bans-bl03-job-but-allows-an-org45m <http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/may/22/dvla-bans-bl03-job-but-allows-an-org45m>
> 
> DVLA bans BL03 JOB but allows ORG45M
> 
> 
> You can drive a PEN15, but VA61ANA is not allowed out of the garage. BL03 JOB is a no-no, but it’s yes to ORG45M. JE55US and AL14LAH are banned, but last week KR15HNA was sold for £233,000.
> 
> The DVLA has revealed its entire list of “suppressed” car number plates, all banned from Britain’s streets. They range from the puerile to the obscene, but also include numerous religious or homophobic words – and the list runs to 46 pages (see the PDF below). The list emerged after a man from the Midlands, surname Islam, applied to the DVLA for an 15LAM plate but was told that the combination was “inappropriate”.
> 
> The 2015 registration year has proved particularly tricky for censors at the DVLA, who have suppressed a large number of potential plates, including P15 OFF, PR15 SON, PU15 SSY, SH15 TTY, UP15 BUM and WA15 TED.
> 
> The man called Islam, who did not want to give his first name, told the Guardian: “I made an inquiry to the DVLA about the possibility of obtaining ‘15LAM’, only to be told that this was an inappropriate licence plate. I’m not particularly religious, but I am proud of my name. I was thinking of buying the plate as a gift for my brother. To be told that my name is offensive is really upsetting.”
> 
> Despite the ban on any registration with 15LAM, the number plate industry is keenly anticipating the auction of M014MED, which is expected to fetch significantly more than £100,000. MR51 NGH (Mr Singh) sold for £101,050 in 2006.
> 
> A large number of offensive suffixes are banned every six months as the new plates appear, but the 46-page list also includes some surprise entries. GU11 LTY is forbidden, along with AL60 POP, PRO5 TAT and MO55 AD. The PEN 15 plate is currently in the hands of dealer RegTransfers, which is hoping to arouse interest in bids over £100,000.
> 
> 
> More rude plates, as they would look - if allowed!
> Angela Banh of RegTransfer said: “Some rude plates do occasionally slip through the DVLA net. PEN 15 was released many years ago. BO11 LUX was also released in 2011, then withdrawn, but the owner took on the DVLA and it is now back on the roads.” Potentially offensive number plates have become a serious issue at the DVLA after the release of H8 GAY in 2006 prompted a storm of protest. It was later withdrawn after an MP and members of the public complained that it could be understood to say “Hate gay”. F4 GOT and D1 KES were also withdrawn from auction following complaints from the gay rights charity Stonewall. The DVLA said it removed the plates on grounds of the “clear potential offence”.
> 
> Members of a DVLA steering group from across the agency meet at least twice a year to comb through potentially problematic number plates. “Registration numbers are withheld on the grounds of political, racial and religious sensitivities or simply that they are regarded as being in poor taste,” said a DVLA spokesman. “Registration numbers like PEN 15 were issued many years ago when vehicle registration was carried out by local authorities.” 
> 
> If a plate is released that later provokes complaints, the DVLA has the power to force the driver to hand the number back to the agency.
> 
> The power of a plate to cause offence was illustrated in October last year when Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson was hounded out of Argentina after driving a Porsche across the country with the number H982 FKL. The cast and crew of the TV show were pelted with stones by a crowd incensed that the number plate appeared to refer to the Falklands conflict. The BBC denied any intended reference, saying the plate was entirely coincidental.
> 
> 
> We can’t see what’s wrong with these ... oh, hang on …
> In the last financial year, the DVLA raised more than £105m from the sale and auction of personalised registrations. The money is not retained by the agency and has to be passed to the Treasury.
> 
> The most ever paid for a registration from the DVLA was £518,480 for 25 O, sold in November last year to John Collins, a Ferrari dealer in Ascot, Berkshire. Bidding for the plate was fierce because it can be attached to a Ferrari 250 GTO, one of which fetched a record £22.8m at auctioneers Bonhams last year.
> 
> Hundreds of plates are traded every week, said Banh at RegTransfers, which claims to be the biggest dealer in the UK. “The buyers are far from all being rich or with very expensive cars. They come from all walks of life, although many people buy plates for investment purposes.”
> 
> But many people will wonder what sort of drivers would want to buy the plates – such as PE12 VRT – that are on the DVLA banned list. Maybe they are HU65 NOBs – except that the DVLA has banned that one from being issued later this year, too.
> 
> The full list of naughty number plates, from HU65 NOBs to SH15 TTY 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20150522/a56771ec/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 35926c6a-4d70-4930-879d-d7b8939a8013-620x372.jpeg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 63686 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20150522/a56771ec/attachment-0003.jpeg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 7e0c542b-5890-43e3-b3aa-3b9ffe6ee292-620x372.jpeg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 70023 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20150522/a56771ec/attachment-0004.jpeg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 6f9fd8cc-6d84-48f6-94b5-3772087805f6-620x372.jpeg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 67111 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20150522/a56771ec/attachment-0005.jpeg>