Custom license plates are great, but you can't have just anything on your plate.

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Personalized Indiana License Plates

In the state of Indiana, you are allowed to customize your license plate if you'd like.  You can use a combination of letters and numbers to have a unique phrase on your plate.  This is called a Personalized License Plate or PLP.  When you are creating a PLP you can use up to 8 characters for your passenger vehicle. Here is a customized plate out of Mississippi:

Photo by Freddy Kearney on Unsplash
Photo by Freddy Kearney on Unsplash
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However this isn't to say you can use just any word on your license plate, it can't be offensive, derogatory, or a poop joke (which apparently a lot of people try to put on their plates).  Here is what the Indiana BMV has to say about PLPs:

The BMV may refuse to issue a PLP containing a combination of letters or numbers, or both, if the following apply:

  • Carries a meaning or connotation offensive to good taste and decency;
  • Would be misleading; or
  • The BMV otherwise considers improper for issuance.
Photo by Semyon Borisov on Unsplash
Photo by Semyon Borisov on Unsplash
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Funny PLP Denials

Each year the Indiana BMV has a good sense of humor and will release how many PLPs they denied.  Throughout 2022 the Indiana BMV denied 722 personalized license plate requests.

CANVA
CANVA
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Some are pretty funny and some are downright ridiculous.  WRTV has a full list of the 722 denied PLP requests, and you can see them all here. A few that I found pretty funny were:

  • MRSTURD
  • P00P
  • R3D RUM 1
  • URMOM1
  • DAMNBMV (talk about airing your grievances)
  • BEWBIES
  • FIREBMB
  • ASSSMAN

I appreciate the last one because this person wants to share their personal preference right on their license plate.

Photo by Obi - @pixel7propix on Unsplash
Photo by Obi - @pixel7propix on Unsplash
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While I personally am not a huge fan of a personalized license plate because I like to keep my car as anonymous and boring as possible (the world is bananas, okay?)  I have seen some seriously funny and creative ones on the roads.

How Do I Get a Vanity Plate in Indiana?

If you're interested in getting a personalized license plate, you can find all of the information on how to get one, here.

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