CLEVELAND — Letters and numbers smushed together can create more than 80 billion different options for an Ohio personalized license plate, but for every batch of requests each year, there are those that don’t get the green light.
"KIABOYZ," "5UCK IT," I H8 TOL," AND "FOX SAKE" were among the more than 700 license plate requests rejected in 2023.
"People do things backwards, and substitute 5's for S's to get through," Ohio BMV registrar Charlie Norman explained.
Norman oversees the team that he says scours the darkest depths of the internet to keep up with the times and learn what some of these requests mean.
"The committee is pretty good, and they catch a lot," he said. "It’s really a fraction of a percent [that don't get approved.] 99.5% of personalized plate requests are approved."
RELATED 2022 LIST: Here are the vanity license plate requests Ohio rejected in 2022
Most requests are denied for including references to profanity, drugs, sex, or other inappropriate combinations of letters and numbers.
Norman pointed out that some of the requests make him laugh when they end up in his inbox for consideration.
RELATED 2021 LIST: Ohio BMV releases rejected vanity license plate names
"It’s one of my favorite things to do in the morning is get the list and see what people are trying to sneak through the vanity process," he said.
With more than 600,000 across the state, Ohio loves its personalized license plates.
"I had twin grandchildren and they couldn’t say 'Granddad' and they said 'Yanyad' and it stuck," said Tony Willoughby, who owns the plate "YANYAD."
"My name is Chandra and my niece had trouble saying my name and my dad picked it up and people just started calling me 'Ceena,'" said Chandra Hinchen, who has held the "CEENA Q" license plate for years. "I love my license plate."
For Hinchen's sister Carla, her license plate request for "MYSHIRT" made it through years ago, and comes with a hidden dual meaning.
"When I first got it, elderly people would ask me what it was. Well, it cost me my shirt, and I paid a lot for it," she said. "When younger people ask ‘why is it "MYSHIRT,"' I tell them just take the 'R' out of it."
See the full list of 2023's rejected vanity plates from the Ohio BMV below.
WARNING: The plates listed below contain references, allusions to and altered spellings of profanity and sexually explicit terms, as well as potentially disturbing and upsetting hate language. Reader discretion is strongly recommended.
Denied Plates 2023 by Wews WebStaff on Scribd
Most of the requests that get denied fall into the vulgar or poor taste category. If you feel you’ve been unfairly denied, you can fight it.
Drivers can get a vanity plate by applying online or in person. The cost is $50.
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland and this is his favorite story to do every year. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
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