Custom license plates can be a great way to showcase your own style and personality on the open road. Sure, it may cost a little more, but it’s worth displaying something that people can point at and say that’s yours.
Well, you can… so long as you follow the strict and sometimes bizarre rules.
Did you know that hundreds of personalized license plates are rejected annually across different provinces and states? Some of them aren’t that surprising. For example, you cannot use any foul language or derogatory slang when registering your plate. Fair enough, right?
Well, do you consider AREUDUMB, LMAO JK, LMAOOO, or SCRWCNCR foul or derogatory? Because those were on Ontario’s rejection list.
Even the use of acronyms is entirely off-limits, so “WTF,” “ROFL,” or “LMFAO” is a no-go. But that should be a simple guideline to follow, right?
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Oof, But That’s Not The Only Rule
There is a set of general rules that you must follow to register your personalized license plate, including:
- Your combination of numbers and letters cannot already be in use.
- It is between 2 and 8 characters.
- You cannot have more than 4 identical numbers or letters in a row.
- Interchangeable numbers and letters are not allowed (for example, S/5, A/4).
But, there’s also a whole other set of rules you have to abide by. These plate ideas will get rejected quicker than a college grad applying for an entry-level job.
- Sexual messaging or meanings
- Abusive, obscene, or derogatory slang
- Religious meaning or messaging
- Reference to drugs and alcohol
- Political figures or dignitaries
- Violence or criminal activity
- Human rights discrimination
- Intellectual property
Funny how, despite being wholly legalized back in 2018, marijuana still has no place being displayed on your car’s backside. Some of these rejection examples include 420BLAZE, CANNIBUS, DANK DAD, H3NNESSY, HANGOV3R, IMPAIRED, LUV KUSH, PSYKDLIC, S4NGRI4, STON3R. That’s right, even if you spell cannabis wrong or use the term “dank,” that’s enough to get your plate chucked away.
There’s even a rule for no references to a religious script. You’d think that the freedom to express religious belief would be a given, and it has even been fought against. Back in 2012, a Nova Scotia woman fought for the right to exhibit a license plate that read IXOYE, an acronym for a phrase meaning “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.”
In response, John McDonnell, the Minister of Service Nova Scotia at the time, stated that the province has a say on what goes on license plates because they are a taxpayer-funded way to identify a vehicle. He said:
“For a long time in this country, people believed in separation of church and state. We’re sticking to that,”
John McDonnell, the Minister of Service Nova Scotia
Other religious rejections have included: 6IIXGOD, GOD5PLAN, LUKE 51 and ALTARBOY. Yes… someone literally tried to put ALTARBOY as their license plate. Whether or not they’re on a particular list is unknown.
But, that does bring up an interesting point when registering personalized license plates.
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Sometimes People’s Intentions Are Misunderstood
Sometimes people can be oblivious to what they write down on that application sheet. What may sound weird, offensive or derogatory to us might sound totally innocent to them. Take the case of Lorne Grabher, for example, and no, you did not read that wrong; that is his real name.
Lorne ordered a license plate to display his own last name, which makes sense. If the car was ever lost or stolen, it has his name on the back to make a search all the easier. However, you can probably already see the problem with it.
Despite having the plate for over three decades, one anonymous complaint back in 2016 was enough to have revoked. It was claimed to be too “suggestive” for the streets. Lorne attempted an appeal to no avail and was forced to order a new plate.
Just earlier this month in Tennessee, where approximately 4,600 personalized license plates are rejected after a gamer registered 69PWNDU. While PWNDU refers to the popular gaming term, 69 is usually associated with a sexual act.
However, the individual claims that the intention was in no way sexual when she registered the plate but made reference to the year of the moon landing, as she is an astronomy enthusiast. The funny thing is that she’s owned that very plate for over a decade and is currently suing for violating her First Amendment rights.
In a similar case, a vehicle in Regina, Saskatchewan, was found with a non-SGI-issued plate bearing the confederate flag on the front and an SGI-issued personalized licence plate on the rear reading KLNTIME. Before you start tugging at your neck collar in discomfort, the owner in question stated that it wasn’t what it looked like.
At first glance, people immediately made a connection towards the white supremacist group, The Ku Klux Klan. To be fair, the confederate flag – infamously associated with racism, white supremacy and slavery – certainly didn’t help his case. However, he stated that it was meant to be short for “killin’ time,” — which was, in fact, what they wrote on the original application.
Regardless, the committee opted to suspend and recall the plate, which the original driver agreed to.
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However, Racism Has Been A Problem In The Past
Kansas, in particular, has had its fair share of problems with racially insensitive license plates.
Last year, it was reported that the state was recalling hundreds of plates for racial slurs. Vehicles with a letter combination of NGA were notified that their plates were no longer permitted and must be returned, of course, due to the similarity to the slur. Failure in doing so would result in a ticket for invalid tags.
According to the division of vehicles, approximately 800 personalized license plates with the lettering NGA were recalled. This isn’t the first time for Kansas, as a similar recall occurred merely two years earlier. In 2018, a Japanese American man in California saw a car on the street near his home bearing the Kansas plate number 442 JAP.
While JAP is already considered a slur, the number was seen as a severe insult. It was meant to reference the 442nd Combat Regiment Team, made up almost entirely of the Nisei, second-generation Japanese Americans who volunteered to fight in the European theatre during World War II. At the same time, many of their family members were confined to internment camps in the United States.
As a result, 700 license plates were recalled after this discovery.
In Minnesota, a license plate caused quite a stir back in 2016, reading a total of seven characters: FMUSLIMS. Oh, don’t worry though, the one who registered it assured everyone that it wasn’t meant to be racist but a reference to a band’s name. He backed this claim up with his second and third plate choices: PETALOL or 8LGTHG.
However, quite unsurprisingly, no band by that name showed up in a series of Google searches that included various spellings. Neither were the other two, but PETALOL might’ve been a reference to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
If you want to avoid any mistakes in the future when trying to register your own personalized license plate, check this 31-page list right here of rejected plates in Ontario. You might be surprised to find out what you want is completely prohibited.