For most of us, the number ‘16′, which will appear on all new car number plates from March, simply and innocently indicates the year.
For others, it’s an endless opportunity to be puerile or down-right obscene.
From **16 ASM to B16 **K, the options for naughty personalised number plates are endless… or at least they would be if the DVLA hadn’t got in there first.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, as it does every year, has released a list of banned plates, having already declined a number of requests.
The configuration, which has been in place since 2000, consists of number plates which have two letters, then two numbers (in this case ‘16′), and ending in three more letters.
It allows for a huge number of a rude combinations – many of which the DVLA seems to have caught.
While some of the banned numbers are undoubtedly offensive – there are several homophobic and racist combinations – others are merely a little cheeky.
And, as ever, some will fall under the net.
Personalised number plates are surprisingly big business in Britain, with the most sought-after plates going for ridiculous amounts of money.
In 2014, the plate ‘25 O’ sold for £518,000 at a DVLA agency auction, beating the previous record by nearly £100,000.
Jon Kirkbright at platehunter.com, said: “Every six months around 1.7m new plates come onto the market so it is not terribly surprising there are a few naughty ones in there.
“The DVLA are simply trying to protect what is a very signifcant source of revenue for them and not offend too many people.
“However some of them do seem a little marginal.”