Belgians can get a license plate with a personal message by simply paying for it. The DIV, the Belgian vehicle registry office, can now officially revoke offensive combinations that were inadvertently accepted.
For the Belgian government, personalized license plates are quite lucrative. A license plate containing any combination of up to 8 letters and numbers can be obtained by paying € 1.000. During the first 9 months of this year, around 8.000 of them were issued, bringing 8 million much-needed euros into the Belgian treasury.
Besides the 8-character maximum, the only limitations are that the combination can’t be registered yet and that it can’t be offensive. But while most drivers choose a personal or funny word/letter-combination, some opt for a plate that can be considered disrespectful. It might be offensive, racist, contain things that are illegal or be in other ways demeaning.
Starting October 1st
Since the beginning of this year, the DIV has prevented the registration of about a thousand plates deemed disrespectful. To do so, it uses AI. But as always, no system is foolproof, and some offensive combinations slipped through the cracks. Until now, little could be officially done to remove the plates from traffic. But from October 1st, the ‘slip-ups’ can be legally revoked. The royal decree making this possible has been published.
The official description of unwanted combinations is as follows: “considered offensive, contrary to public order or public morals, or refers to war crimes, armed conflicts, violence, or any content that is racist, sexist, Holocaust-denying, or homophobic, or incites violence, racial segregation, hatred, or discrimination.” This also applies to hidden or concealed messages.
Right to appeal
Until now, if an existing plate was deemed offensive, the only thing the DIV could do, was to contact the owner and ask him to return it. The DIV will still do so and propose that the owner exchange the plate for one that fits the criteria. Free of charge. But if the owner refuses or doesn’t respond within 30 days, the license plate will be revoked.
The owner has a 30-day right of appeal. If he chooses to appeal the revocation, the case goes to the Federal Minister of mobility. In the meantime, the license plate is not allowed on public roads, which means the owner won’t be able to drive the car. And when the decision is made to finally revoke the plate, he loses the chance to exchange it for a suitable plate free of charge.
