SHRUMIN, HELZ YA: The Best Vanity Plates Oregon Rejected in 2022

You shouldn’t be surprised that the DMV doesn’t want to put BTT BRN or NEED2P on your license plate.

byJames Gilboy|
A censored Oregon license plate
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Vanity plates offer drivers the chance to express themselves. Unfortunately, some members of the public can't be trusted to do that appropriately, which is why DMVs across the nation vet applications before stamping it into reality. Some DMVs collect their rejects, like Oregon's, which recently published all the vanity plates it denied in 2022.

The rules for vanity plates in Oregon are quite simple, according to television station KOIN: Don't make it "objectionable." That means anything from referring to controlled substances and bodily functions to discriminatory or threatening words, abbreviations, or phrases. As a result, most of the rejects read like a bored 15-year-old trying to circumvent the chat filter in Club Penguin. Others just show you need a lot more creativity if you're gonna sneak a rude word onto your car—here's how low the bar is:

  • SUM WAP
  • ISWAL0
  • ATL H0
  • P1NCHE
  • RPN A55
  • SIP NIP
  • FYF
  • PEEN0
  • UM0IST
  • IKUM4U
  • PEPEE
  • DILF
  • PS1LO
  • SHT BX1
  • BTT BRN
  • PCP
  • BDE
  • ND2PEE
  • TRAP69
  • BG-BTCH
  • NEED2P
  • ETMYAZ
  • R0LC0L
  • LIGMA
  • SHRUMIN
  • A5SMAN
  • L7-WENI
  • SSXY69
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A handful of innocuous submissions got picked up too, with no obvious reason for denial. They include BSC0FF (like those shitty airline cookies), HELZ YA, and even 50YB0Y—it's not pejorative if used by a vegan, and Portland does have the country's first vegan strip club. Some are even obvious references to the cars they're meant to go on, like C4MIN0, 69 ZL1, and S6PEED, while C8KLLR and 911 LOL are (probably) subtler antagonistic references to other cars. They're provocative though, so they're no-gos.

Then there are others, like thinly veiled political slogans, many of them a variation on "FJB." Sorry, but if you feel the need to provoke people with your license plate, you need to go back to kindergarten to learn to play with others. I'll pack your lunchbox, and please, try not to choke on any crayons this week.

Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com

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