Regtransfers reveals the number plates DVLA will ban in 2027

Twice each year, the DVLA releases new vehicle registration numbers, and twice a year some of the numbers due for release are withheld from issue because they seem to spell out controversial words or messages. Regtransfers examines the list of suppressed character combinations from 2027's first batch of new registrations, the "27" series. What is banned, and why? The article answers these questions and more.

A DVLA list, provided in response to a Freedom of Information request by Regtransfers.co.uk, reveals the full list of number plates that will be banned from the first registration series to be issued in 2027.

'27' series registrations will be displayed on cars from 1st March 2027. As always, some character combinations will be withheld by DVLA and will not be amongst the registrations released for use on vehicles.

The withheld (or, in DVLA parlance, "suppressed") combinations list for the '27' series contains 158 specific banned character strings. This is rather lower than the number of combinations disallowed from previous series releases, so much so that we queried the total with DVLA to ensure there was no error. That said, we didn't necessarily expect the list to be incorrect or incomplete: some releases simply contain fewer recognisable versions of words and names than others. Anyway, DVLA told us that the list was correct - except for a small number of additions that had been identified since their original assessment.

So, it seems that the reason the list is shorter than usual is simply that the '27' series simply doesn't include as many problematic plates as previous series.

Banned numbers are part of the DVLA routine

The list of withheld numbers is a routine thing. Every year, DVLA removes a subset of combinations from each new series release. The screening process tries to spot potentially offensive or troublesome registrations and remove them before the public is exposed to them, and before the complaints start rolling in.

Regtransfers has published previous years' lists, and we have found that number plate censorship piques the interest of journalists more than most number plate-related topics. The media loves controversy, and it seems that the novelty of banned plates never wears off, despite the filtering process being a regular, semiannual event.

What's banned and why?

The registrations deemed controversial generally resemble words and messages that may have the potential to cause offence, embarrassment or distress, or that may provoke fear, anger or hostility. For example, apparent references to crime, terrorism, violence, religion, politics, sex, sexual and gender identity, weapons, drugs, insults, ableism, racism and sexism etc are frequently withheld.

With the more easily readable examples, it's not difficult to see why DVLA thought they could be controversial.

With some, three letters is enough to trigger exclusion.

The latter is a bit of a strange one. DVLA has sold several plates containing "GUN" in their auctions, so it's not quite clear what their exclusion criteria are for this combination. In the above case, perhaps it is the inclusion of the initials MP (Member of Parliament) that tips the balance.

Of course, everything is in the eye of the beholder, so it is difficult to guess what others may or may not see, so, when deciding which combinations to withhold, DVLA seems to take few chances. A registration bearing even a passing reference to a proscribed word or message is likely to be blocked, regardless of misspellings, extra or missing characters, etc. Even a superficial resemblance to a potentially offensive term may be enough to prevent a registration from making it onto a car.

To illustrate the point, here are a few that many people would probably find a little harder to decode. The first group could be read as insulting certain foreign nations. The first registration below was probably withdrawn as it could (with a little imagination) be read as a hostile and insulting sentiment directed at Iran. The others follow a similar pattern, using abbreviated references to other countries.

It may seem a bit of a stretch to think that people are likely to read such sentiments into a plate when most of us have to have the potential meaning pointed out to us before we spot it, but that's how careful DVLA feel they need to be.

That caution can result in quite a cryptic list, so part of the twice-yearly fun is in trying to divine the supposed meanings hidden in some of the plates DVLA chooses to ban. As one reads down the list, some stand out at a glance, but others take a while. It's a bit like those "magic eye" dot stereogram pictures, where one tries staring, squinting and going cross-eyed trying to see the hidden image. The supposed meanings of some withheld combinations are just as tricky to perceive.

Here are a few more examples. Some of them were obvious to us; some were quite challenging and others have defeated our efforts to divine any controversial meaning.

• WE27 BNK ("West Bank". Possibly a reference to the conflict between Israel and Palestine)
• UG27 POS ("Ugly P*S")
• SU27 CDE ("Suicide")
• FA27 WAH ("Fatwah")
• AG27 PSY (" A Gypsy")
• AG27 YPO (An offensive slur aimed at travelling people)
• AS27 FWC (?)

All things considered, this forthcoming release contains very few really indecipherable plates. The majority are fairly easily readable or guessable.

In our article about 2025's banned '75' plates, we pointed out the following, which remains as true as ever.

Shifting attitudes and perceptions mean that some terms once seen as harmless or trivial are now considered insensitive or insulting. The perceived severity of ableist, sexual and racial slurs changes as society changes, but also as language itself changes. DVLA has to try to balance all these considerations, and more, when compiling the list of combinations that will be excluded from release.

Seeing what isn't there

As we always emphasise, car registration number plates don't deliberately spell out words or messages. Their one intended function is to provide visual identification of vehicles. There is coded meaning in those characters, but the numbers represent the year that the registration was issued, and the letters identify the geographical area where it was issued. That's it.

However, humans have a singular talent that enables us to see meanings and patterns in random objects and events: we see clouds that look like dinosaurs or animals and rock formations that look like faces. We also look for patterns in seemingly random numbers and letters.

Our minds' tendency to seek meaning exploits the fact that some numbers can look a bit like letters, and the fact that we can ignore the odd missing or incorrect character, so long as the whole string of characters looks a little like a familiar name or word.

In reality, the words and messages the DVLA feels the need to ban aren't even there. They exist only in our minds. It is another human tendency - that to go looking for trouble - that causes us to complain about offensive number plates (that really aren't), and to make extra work for the DVLA.

The full list of suppressed '27' registration numbers

Here is the full list of plates that DVLA is banning from the 27 release. See how many you can read.

(Note: The asterisks in some character combinations are "wildcard" characters. This means that regardless of which character may occur in the position marked by the asterisk, the registration number will be withheld from issue.)