The ten craziest number plates in Belgium: how much does a personalized number plate cost and what are the rules? † drive

Sometimes you see the craziest number plates driving by in traffic. Are they pure coincidence, or does the owner have to pay a lot of money for this? And what should you definitely not put on your license plate if you want to add a touch of personality? We asked Thomas De Spiegelaere, spokesperson for the FPS Mobility and Transport.

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Personalizing a number plate is only possible for passenger cars; an option that 11,021 motorists made use of last year. “Despite the corona pandemic, in which we went out on the road less often, the concept continues to gain popularity. “For professionals, it is already an interesting way to put the name of their business in the spotlight.” The cost of 1,000 euros is therefore tax deductible for companies. Private individuals who opt for a new personalized number plate consider the pricey price tag rather as a necessary evil to express their personality, great hobby, passion or belief. Or they just like it. Just think of license plates such as ELEPHANT, POWERFUL or JESUS.

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Application procedure

If the price hasn’t put you off, the application process certainly won’t. “You can easily request a personalized number plate on the FPS Mobility website,” says Thomas De Spiegelaere. To do this, go to the page “My car, My plate” and click on the link to Persoplate, where you can reserve a personalized number plate. There you can choose whether you submit the application in your own name or for a company. Identify yourself with your eID card reader or via the ‘Itsme’ app to check whether your favorite combination is still available. If your application is accepted by the DIV, you will be asked by e-mail to transfer 1,000 euros within ten days. An additional 30 euros is added for the production of the license plate and the home delivery by bpost.

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There is also such a thing as a quick procedure, for example for people who want to seal their love on their car just before their wedding. “In that case, you can receive your brand new number plate the same day if you order it before 1 pm, but then you can count on an additional 80 euros,” said the expert.

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Allowed and prohibited combinations

For a successful application, you must adhere to a few criteria. For example, each personalized number plate may have a minimum of two and a maximum of nine places, with one compulsory relief stamp on the left being reserved for the Vehicle Registration Service (DIV). The other characters are free to choose, although you better take into account the so-called ‘black list’ of the FPS.

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“For example, a combination must always contain at least one letter, explains the spokesperson. “There must be a dash between the letters and numbers, although this dash can also separate groups of letters or numbers from each other.” However, they should not be placed next to each other. ‘- -‘ is therefore not an option.

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Furthermore, your combination may not start with ‘CD’ to avoid confusion with the cars of the diplomatic personnel. “The same goes for the letters W, X, Y or Z, followed by a letter, two numbers, then three more letters, like WC-15-BBB. These refer to short-term temporary number plates, export plates and commercial number plates for dealers and importers. The letters TX and TL could also refer to taxi plates and should be avoided.” And there are still a lot of forbidden combinations; like starting your record with the letters A, E or P. You will find an extensive list of what is and certainly not possible on the website of the FPS Mobility and Transport.

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“Finally, we reserve the right to refuse certain combinations that would be discriminatory or racist,” adds Thomas De Spiegelaere. “We do, however, assume the good intention of the applicant. a radical group can also be the initials of someone’s name. Until now, we have never had to refuse an application. But proposals such as ‘HITLER’? Of course they can’t be accepted.”

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