Over 550 personalized license plate requests rejected

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ office revealed the 2025 list of rejected vanity and personalized license plate requests, highlighting that while Illinois drivers continue to get creative, some plate ideas still go too far.

The office received 55,690 vanity and personalized plate requests this year. More than 550 were denied because the combinations were deemed inflammatory, profane, offensive or too difficult to read – all grounds for rejection under state law.

The list of submissions turned away this year ranged from the crude to the simply outlandish. Among the notable rejects: BBL, BDASMOM, BLUBALN, BRICKED, IBPOOPN, ICUP, PRIUSSY, SNDNUDZ, SYBAU and TYPESHT.

“Illinoisans consistently show off their creativity on customized license plates, but anything that hits the road has to meet the standards of good taste and decency,” Giannoulias said. “Our team is fluent in lewd lingo and sneaky swearing – and they catch it all. When a plate crosses the line, it goes straight onto our permanent rejection list.”

Under the Illinois Vehicle Code, the Secretary of State’s office has the authority to deny any vanity or personalized plate that “creates a connotation that is offensive to good taste and decency.” Reviewers flag combinations that reference profanity, hate speech, sexual content, drugs, violence or other inappropriate topics. Some plates – such as MWMWMWM or OOQQOO – were rejected not for content, but for legibility. Visually confusing combinations can cause problems for law enforcement and post safety concerns.

The office continues to maintain an ever-growing rejection list, which now contains more than 8,558 combinations.

Demand for customized plates remains strong in Illinois. Today, 799,245 vehicles statewide display vanity or personalized plates. Of those, 291,327 are vanity plates, which use only letters, and 507,918 are personalized plates, which combine letters and numbers. Motorists pay an additional $94 for a new vanity plate and $47 for a new personalized plate.

Most Illinoisans begin the application process through the office’s popular Pick-a-Plate feature on the website – apps.ilsos.gov/pickaplate – which allows users to test various combinations to see if they are available before applying.