Section 1010.463  Vanity and Personalized License Plate Criteria

a)         Definitions.  For purposes of this Section, the following definitions shall apply:

"Registration number" means the combination of letters, numbers, and spaces on a vehicle license plate.

"Vanity or personalized license plates" means license plates with a registration number chosen by a person, rather than assigned by the Secretary of State, displaying a combination of registration numbers as specified under Section 3-405.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.

b)         Application.  Any person who is the registered owner of: a passenger motor vehicle of the first division; a motor vehicle of the second division weighing 8,000 pounds or less; a trailer weighing 8,000 pounds or less paying the flat weight tax; a funeral home vehicle; an electric vehicle; or a recreational vehicle registered with the Secretary of State, or who makes application for an original registration or renewal registration of such a vehicle, may, upon payment of a fee prescribed in Section 3-806.1 or Section 3-806.5 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, apply to the Secretary of State for vanity or personalized license plates.  The Secretary may require applicants to include a brief explanation of the meaning or message represented by the proposed registration number for the vanity or personalized license plates. [625 ILCS 5/3-405.1(b)]

c)         Application Denial. 

1)         The Secretary of State shall reject any application for the issuance of a registration number for vanity or personalized license plates bearing a combination of letters or numbers, or both, which creates a potential duplication or, in the opinion of the Secretary:

A)        would substantially interfere with plate identification for law enforcement purposes;

B)        is misleading; or

C)        creates a connotation that is offensive to good taste and decency. [625 ILCS 5/3-405.2]

2)         For purposes of this Section, the same combination of letters or numbers issued to two or more different plate types or plate categories shall not be considered plate duplication.

d)         Offensive License Plates.  For purposes of this Section, a vanity or personalized license plate that creates a connotation that is "offensive to good taste and decency" includes any registration number that:

1)         Has connotations that are vulgar, profane, or obscene;

2)         Makes derogatory reference to a group based on age, race, nationality, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religion, or expresses contempt for or ridicule or superiority of a class of persons;

3)         Refers to, or connotes, illegal substances, including, but not limited to, reference to the substance, paraphernalia, sale, use, purveyor of, or physiological state produced by any illicit drug, narcotic, or intoxicant;

4)         Refers to, or connotes, sexual terms and intimate body parts or bodily functions and fluids, including, but not limited to, breasts, genitalia, pubic area, buttocks, or relates to sexual or eliminatory functions;

5)         Refers to, or connotes, criminal acts or acts of violence; or

6)         Uses linguistics, letters, numbers, phonetics, translations from foreign languages, slang terms, upside-down or reverse reading, or a registration number in combination with the established plate design to achieve a reference or connotation described in subsections (d)(1) through (5).

e)         Application Denial Process.  Applications for vanity or personalized license plates shall be reviewed by the Secretary using the criteria established under subsections (c) and (d). If the application for vanity or personalized license plates is denied, the Secretary shall inform the applicant, in writing, of the reason for the denial and provide the applicant with an opportunity to either submit a different registration number for the plate or appeal the Secretary's decision. An applicant may make a written request appealing the denial within 30 days after the date of the Secretary's denial notice to an address provided by the Secretary in the denial notice.  Requests for appeal received by the Secretary after the 30-day period will not be considered. The Secretary's decision on the appeal shall be delivered to the applicant in writing.

f)         Plate Complaints.  The Secretary shall accept complaints regarding vanity or personalized license plates in a form as prescribed by the Secretary. Each complaint received by the Secretary shall be reviewed using the criteria established under subsections (c) and (d). Any license plate determined to be in violation of the criteria shall be subject to revocation as provided under subsection (g).

g)         Plate Revocation Process.  The Secretary shall revoke any previously issued vanity or personalized license plate that has been determined to be in violation of the criteria established under subsections (c) and (d). Any such revocation shall be subject to the following procedure:

1)         The Secretary shall, in writing, notify the plate holder of the revocation, along with a reason for the revocation, and require the plate holder to surrender the plates to the Secretary within 30 days after the date of the Secretary's revocation notice, unless the plate holder requests an appeal or, if after receiving an appeal decision, requests an administrative hearing.

2)         Any person who has been directed to surrender vanity or personalized license plates may submit a written request appealing the revocation as prescribed under subsection (e). Requests for appeal received by the Secretary after the 30-day period will not be considered. The Secretary's decision on the appeal shall be delivered to the plate holder in writing.

3)         The Secretary shall cancel the license plates of a vehicle if the person subject to a revocation notice under this subsection (g) does not surrender the license plates within 30 days after the date of the Secretary's revocation notice or, if the person timely requests an appeal or an administrative hearing, within 30 days after the Secretary issues a final decision.

4)         Any person who has plates revoked under this subsection (g) may acquire at no charge new plates and any required stickers of the same category and for the same period of registration. [625 ILCS 5/3-405.2]

h)         Administrative Hearing.  Any person receiving written notice of an appeal decision issued by the Secretary under this Section may, within 30 days after the date of the notice, petition for a hearing to contest the denial or revocation of vanity or personalized license plates by sending a request for appeal to the address noted in the decision issued by the Secretary. Hearings shall be held pursuant to the provisions of Section 2-118 of the Illinois Vehicle Code and 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1001.

i)          Any review of vanity or personalized license plates under this Section shall be conducted under the following levels of review using the criteria established under subsections (c) and (d):

1)         Initial Staff Review.  Personnel of the Secretary of State Vehicle Services Department shall review vanity or personalized license plates.

2)         Post-staff Review Group.  If, after initial staff review, there remains uncertainty as to whether a vanity or personalized license plate should be denied or revoked under the established criteria, review of the license plate shall be submitted to the Post-staff Review Group. The Post-staff Review Group shall, at a minimum, consist of the following persons:

A)        a designee of the Director of the Secretary of State's Vehicle Services Department; and

B)        at least 2 attorneys from the Secretary of State's General Counsel's Office as designated by the General Counsel.

3)         Appeals Group.  A timely appeal from a decision to deny or revoke a vanity or personalized license plate made pursuant to subsections (e) and (g) shall be directed to the Vanity and Personalized License Plate Appeals Group. The Appeals Group shall, at a minimum, consist of the following persons:

A)        the Chief of Staff of the Secretary of State, or a designee;

B)        the General Counsel of the Secretary of State, or a designee; and

C)        the Director of the Secretary of State's Vehicle Services Department, or a designee.

4)         Administrative Hearings.  After a decision on appeal, a request for an administrative hearing on the denial or revocation of the vanity or personalized license plate may be submitted pursuant to subsection (h).  This decision is a final administrative decision reviewable under the Administrative Review Law [735 ILCS 5/Art. III].

(Source:  Added at 49 Ill. Reg. 10033, effective July 15, 2025)