About Personalized License Plates

A personalized license plate is also known as a vanity plate. These are customized, unique license plates that a motorist can purchase at an extra cost and that they can use to set them apart from other drivers. Motorists are allowed to have them in all 50 states.

Personalized license plates in various parts of the US

16 percent of the personalized license plates in the U.S. are issued by the state of Virginia which gives that state more of them than any other state. This is because personalized license plates are cheap in Virginia, costing only $10. Personalized license plates are often seen as a way of reflecting personality and individuality and of self expression in much the same way as getting a tattoo or wearing a t-shirt with a slogan or picture.

Personalized license plates can also be likened to usernames and email addresses on the Internet. They may reflect a message or may reflect the motorist’s alma mater or commemorate a historical event. These plates may also be used to display that a motorist is a veteran and to exhibit any decorations they may have been awarded. All states also offer special license plates to amateur radio operators that use the operator’s call sign instead of the standard number.

Offensive vanity plates

Personalized license plates may not contain profanity though the standards as to what is considered offensive may vary according to location. A state has the authority to deny or confiscate any vanity plates with words from its “blue list,” which is a list containing words and terms that are forbidden for use on vanity plates. This includes letter and number combinations that can be used to form those offensive words and terms. It should be noted that the definition of “offensive” is not limited to obscenities, but includes anything of an inflammatory nature.