Section 1010.463 Vanity and Personalized License Plate Criteria

TITLE 92: TRANSPORTATION

CHAPTER II: SECRETARY OF STATE

PART 1010 CERTIFICATES OF TITLE, REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES

SECTION 1010.463 VANITY AND PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATE CRITERIA

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

scribed 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 f

ces, 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)

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

lder 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

nel 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].