More Restricted And Banned Personalised Number Plates

Do you have a vanity plate? If so, good job! You got around the more than 27,000 letter and number combos deemed "unacceptable" by the state of Michigan.
Many of the unacceptable listings are obvious. References to certain body parts, illegal activity, drugs or swear words are not allowed. Neither are certain number combinations or any references to sexual behavior. Insults are also banned, along with hate speech.
Some of the restricted combinations are more difficult to understand. For example, the pictured plate uses the Santa Claus catch phrase "HOHOHO," but according to the state's unacceptable list, an extra "H" on the end would have put it over the edge. That's right, "HOHOHOH" is on the no-go list.
Here's a look at some interesting combos that you won't be able to slap on your bumper. And if you are planning on getting a vanity plate, remember the state reviews all requests before plates are issued. They can reject your vanity plate for any reason. After all, your license plate is property of the state of Michigan, so it is really their call.

ARIZONA
On the list of unacceptable license plates, "TEXAS" is nowhere to be found. "ALASKA" seems to get the clear and so does "NEWYORK." When it comes to states, it appears that ARIZONA is the state most disliked by Michigan officials because you cannot have a vanity plate containing its name. If you'd like to be more specific, however, "PHOENIX" isn't immediately blacklisted.

BEER4ME
No matter how much you love beer, whether you brew it or just drink it, the government does not want you expressing your affection for it via your license plate. This seems to make sense, since everyone hopes alcohol is the last thing on your mind when driving.
Just a few of the other boozy plates the state does not allow:
ALCOHOL
BEERGUY
BEERME
BOOZER
BREWPUB
BOURBON
DRUNK
GINMAN
MIMOSA
RUMBUM
VODKA
WHISK3Y

CANDYMN
Perhaps you own a candy store. While that really is a lovely business, you must know that this saying has too many negative connotations. Plus, we'll all get "The Candyman" stuck in our heads and we'll have to go home immediately to watch "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Now you've ruined the productivity of everyone who drove behind you. See why you can't use this as your license plate?

CASH4U
If you want to give away your cash, that's fine. Just don't advertise via your license plate. It's probably for your own good, since people might start following you. If that is what you are hoping for, you have some other issues to address.

CATPUKE
We're sure a lot of people were requesting this gem of a vanity plate. It definitely could be the name of your teenage son's metal band but it can't be your license message. Also on the list: "VOMIT." Surprisingly not on the list: "DOGPUKE."

CHURCH1
You can pray in your car; you can pray for your car, but your car will never be a church. The state just wants to remind you of that. And no matter what, your car won't become tax exempt as a place of worship.

JOKER1
If you're listening to "The Joker" by The Steve Miller Band on a continuous loop in your car, well, no one is going to want to ride anywhere with you. But also, you can listen to the song all day but it can't change the fact that "JOKER1" is off limits for your license plate. We also understand you might be requesting it as a tribute to Heath Ledger, but that won't help your case. Vanity plate status: REJECTED! RIP Heath.

Some people want a personalised number plate because they think it suggests they've done well in life.

Others just want their car to feature their own name or initials.

But a surprising number of drivers want to showcase a range of expletives, with 'F**K' being a more popular registration plate search than 'DAD' or 'MUM'.

With the advent of the new ‘67’ number plate for next month comes a range of rude and offensive iterations including the two numbers - if a motorist is creative enough, of course.

However, with each new plate change the DVLA vetoes a raft of combinations that are then never made available.

This year's omissions include the likes of ‘BA67 ARD’, ‘DO67 GER’, ‘OR67 ASM’ and ‘DO67 SHT’.

Restrictions are placed on an plates that can be seen to be offensive for political, racial or religious reasons.

However, it doesn't stop eccentric motorists from searching for the next bonkers registration plate.

Number plate dealer Regplates.com said it had reviewed more than 4.5 million searches conducted on its website in the last 12 months and found that some swear words are proving more popular than traditional staples such as favourite football clubs and monikers.

In fact, it found that 'F**K' was 40 per cent more searched for than 'MUM'.

Some 2,081 people looked-up the curse word, which was 600 more searches than 'MUM' and 300 more than 'DAD'.

Other sweary examples that were more hunted for than 'MUM' included 'C**T' (1,790 searches) and 'DICK' (1,424 searches).

More odd looks-ups included 'S**T' (687 searches), 'B*TCH (634 searches) and 'SH*G' (275 searches). Even stranger was the 41 individual searches for 'D*CKHEAD'.

While expletives have always been relatively common - and are often personalised plates that are banned by the DVLA - there have been a growing number of searches for words and terms that have become more popular in the last year.

For instance, 93 people searched for a 'TRUMP' plate, 100 wanted to see if they could get a 'BREXIT' registration and 'DAB' was looked-up 779 times since Paul Pogba's - the footballer famed for the dab celebration - switch from Juventus to Manchester United.

Speaking of football, Liverpool fans appear to be those most determined to showcase their support with a private plate.

'LFC' was the most looked for football club abbreviation with 2,499 searches, way ahead of rivals like Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. Just 82 people looked up 'LCFC' despite Leicester City's heroic Premier League win just over 12 months ago.