REPORTING. “Babar, “Barbie”, “Canapé”… In Belgium, the success of personalized license plates brings big returns to the State

For ten years, it has been possible to personalize the number plate of your car in Belgium. The limitless imagination of drivers has brought in more than 83 million euros since 2014.

Pay your plate! In Belgium, it is possible to have what you want written on your license plate. A paid possibility which is celebrating its tenth anniversary in the kingdom this year and which has brought more than 83 million euros into the coffers of the Belgian state since 2014. In Brussels or on the Belgian motorways, the imagination is limitless , with inscriptions as diverse as “Babar”, “Barbie”, “Sofa” on vehicle plates.

Near Antwerp, you may come across a BMW X5 registered “Frietje”, which in Flemish means “French fries”. “I wanted something special for my new car, says Philip Meynen, behind the wheel. I was looking and then I said to myself: ‘I have a snack bar, a chip shop, and ‘fries’ are available! It costs 1 000 euros, but advertising is priceless!”

Since 2014, more than 82,000 personalized number plates have been issued. Each applicant completes an online form. Charlotte van den Branden is spokesperson for the Belgian Federal Public Service in charge of Mobility and Transport. “We see that requests have exploded since 2021, she notes. Last year, we were at 13,280 and for this year, we are already at 10,700.”

Each applicant fills out an online form and checks whether the combination of numbers and letters they wish to use is available. “There is a maximum of eight characters, you cannot put more, and you automatically need a letter, explains the spokesperson. Other than that, you can put whatever you want, use hyphens and spaces. Of course, all racist, homophobic, hate-inciting combinations, insults… All of this is on our blacklist.”

After a final check by an agent, the driver can receive his plate at his home. Often very imaginative plates listed by Daphné on her Instagram account, 1000plates.be. “It’s a Ferrari with a ‘MORO-TAX’ plate, ‘death to taxes’. The ones that made me laugh the most were this couple where one had put ‘HAHAHA’ and the other ‘ HIHIHI’, she describes. You should know that Belgians really like their cars, whether they are beautiful, clean and big. And being able to personalize their own car is something that is important to them. I think it’s part of Belgian culture today.”

After ten years of success, this plate business has something to give ideas. In Switzerland, for example, we are thinking about it, while the Confederation is running out of available digital combinations.