YSO SLO, SO HIGH and NO LAW among vanity plates rejected by ICBC last year

Some people love a personalized licence plate – but there's a limit to what's allowed on B.C. vehicles, and it doesn't include messages like SO HIGH and UNSAFE.

Every year, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia rejects thousands of requested vanity plates for a variety of reasons, and 2023 was no exception, with approximately 2,600 ideas turned down.

The public insurer doesn't allow plates that are "sexually suggestive" or that reference religion, which are the reasons listed for refusing BOINK and XRSIST last year, respectively.

YSO SLOW, OMG MOV and 2FAS4U were rejected for referencing risky driving behaviour, while LE SOMM, SHIRAZ and FAT FOG were rejected for referencing drugs or alcohol.

"ICBC’s dedicated team meticulously reviews every application to ensure each slogan is appropriate to display on a B.C. licence plate,” said Sandy-Anne Dodig, ICBC's managers of insurance operations support, in a news release Thursday.

While vanity plates can be "a creative way to express yourself," Dodig encouraged drivers to review ICBC's criteria online before applying for one.

Political issues can also be grounds for refusing a vanity plate, and were cited by ICBC for turning down NOVAX. Intellectual property is another red flag, and the reason DUCATI, PORSCHE and TARGET were rejected.

ICBC filed the rejected applications for BERETTA, AK15 and MAFIA under the category of violence and crime.

The public insurer said it received approximately 9,500 applications for personalized licence plates in 2023, and that 73 per cent were approved.

The full list of rejected requests is available online.