20 Things You Didn't Know About Licence To Kill (1989)
7. Licence Revoked
In keeping with the plot, which sees M (Robert Brown) revoke James Bond’s licence to kill when the Double-0 agent resigns to pursue his private vendetta and avenge Felix and Della Leiter, Licence to Kill was originally entitled “Licence Revoked”.
Provisional artwork was prepared to reflect this title but, during filming, it was determined that the title would likely not only cause confusion, but also be unintentionally funny in the US as “license revoked” is the term used when a person’s driving license is taken away.
The title was quickly changed to “Licence to Kill”, which was spelt “License to Kill” in the American market during its initial release, but was later amended to “Licence to Kill” for the video release.