The DVLA has revealed the 25 series plates that have been deemed too rude for Britain’s roads and won’t be allowed on new cars next year. Private plate supplier Regtransfers as the DVLA which number plates will be banned when the new plates are released in 2025.
As with every registration series released to the public, the DVLA has withheld a subset of vehicle registration numbers that it considers to be potentially offensive, distressing or provocative. The combinations kept back by the DVLA are those that may represent insults, swear words, sexual references, references to criminal organisations and activity, references to terrorism, references to drugs, references with racist, sexist or LGBTQ+ connotations, as well as some political and religious references.
As the number ‘5’ resembles the letter ‘S’ a significant number of combinations have been banned.
Among the banned combinations are several “wildcard” plates – registrations that share a partial string of characters deemed to be unsuitable for release.**25 HAG, **25 HAT, **25 LAG, **25 LUT and **25 TAB are among these partial combinations due to their rude or ableist connotations, as well as **25 RUS and **25 UKR, in response to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Yet more banned plate combinations reference war, such as AR25 WAR, EU25 WAR, GB25 WAR, GO25 WAR.
Also banned are PE25 RVT and PE25 VRT, which somewhat resemble the word “pervert”. Words and letter combinations which look like four-letter insults for people with disabilities have also been banned.
The list of banned plates includes one that very closely resembles a fairly famous plate which, in contrast, isn’t banned. Despite its fairly obvious sexual reference, ORG 45M is currently available to purchase, while OR25 ASM, a slightly less clear representation, is one of those which has been banned from issue as part of the 25 series.
Commenting on the list of banned registrations, Regtransfers CEO Mark Trimbee said: “It’s always entertaining to see some of the plates deemed inappropriate by the DVLA, but there are also those that remind us why this is a necessary process. Personalised number plates are an excellent form of self-expression, but they shouldn’t be used to display genuinely harmful messages or views.
As well as the usual sex and violence references, there are those subtle combinations that don’t seem to convey a clear meaning at first sight. With a little thought, however, we see how numbers such GB25 BAD, GB25 BOM, and GB25 SHT could seem to convey anti-British sentiments that might offend some. To ban or not to ban is obviously a bit of a balancing act.”
The first registration number series of 2025 will be the 25 series, eligible for use on the roads from 1 March 2025. The 75 series will follow later in the year, in September 2025.