Over 1K Utah vanity plates were denied in 2024 — Here’s why

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — More than 1,000 applications for custom vanity license plates were rejected by Utah’s Department of Motor Vehicles in 2024. ABC4.com obtained a list of all of the plates and the reasons why they were denied.

The DMV has listed guidelines and standards for vanity plates on its website, clarifying that license plates are prohibited from having letter-number combinations that may have “connotations offensive to good taste and decency or that would be misleading.” If the plates violate the guidelines, they will be denied.

Here’s a look at why some of these vanity plates didn’t make the cut last year.

In 2024, the most common reason license plates were rejected was because they existed already — of the 1,035 applications for vanity plates, 442 asked for plates that were already issued. With the data the DMV provided to ABC4.com, denied vanity plates were sorted into the following categories:

• Already issued
• VDPO (vulgar, derogatory, profane, obscene)
• Series conflict
• Sexual reference
• Drug reference
• Public welfare
• Age
• ERR (ethnic, race, religion)
• Disability
• Sexual orientation
• Citizenship status

A chart showing a breakdown of the most common denials can be viewed below (or you can click here to view the chart on a larger scale).

The second most common category for denials was “VDPO” — or license plates that were considered to be vulgar, derogatory, profane, or obscene. Among the 282 denials, some include “FCANCER,” “SEXYLDY,” “ICUP,” “KISMYSS,” “GYAATT,” “SH4WTY,” and at least 10 variations of “hawk tuah,” among others.

The third most common category for denials was “series conflict,” which means the requested vanity plate was too similar to a current series being issued by the DMV.

There were 74 applications denied for sexual references, including “DEZNUTS,” “STD22,” “M0AN,” and more. Forty-five applications were denied for drug references, including “ST0NED,” “CRKH0US,” “DUI,” “SM0K1N,” and others.

License plates that were denied in the “public welfare” category included references to weapons and crimes, including “GENSIDE,” “MURDR,” “B0MBER,” “SH00TR,” “WPNZ,” and more.

The least common reasons for denials were citizenship status (one denial); sexual orientation (four denials); disability (five denials); ERR/ethnic, race, or religion (12 denials); and age (29 denials). The DMV said the age category is related to license plates that “disparage” groups based on age.

In Utah, the cost for personalized license plates depends on the plate type, according to the DMV. Approved vanity plates cost an additional $10 each year as the registration is renewed.

Sorina Trauntvein contributed to this report.