While here in the U.S. you can get a personalized license plate, having “ILUVCHEEZ” on your bumpers won’t break the bank. Outside of the U.S., however, there are folks willing to drop millions to get just the right message on their luxury vehicles. [More]
license plates
Illinois Rakes In More License Plate Renewal Fees Than Usual After Failing To Mail Reminders
By 6.24.16
Some Illinois residents are a bit ticked off right now, after the state reaped $5.24 million more this year than it did in 2015 from license plate renewal fees. That’s a lot of money — were people just really distracted or forgetful this year? Not quite. An impasse on the state budget meant officials didn’t have the cash to mail reminders out to drivers. [More]
N.Y. Driver Charged With A Felony Learns There’s No Such Thing As A DIY License Plate
By 3.4.16
If you’re in a bind and don’t have valid registration for your vehicle, whipping out some cardboard and colored markers for a little DIY project is not the way to go, unless you want to end up with a felony charge on your hands. That’s the lesson police say one New York woman learned when she was caught driving with a license plate of her own creation. [More]
Michigan Man Wins The Right To Have “WAR SUX” On His License Plate
By 9.4.14
War? What is it good for? Absolutely nothing, some might say, while others might put that opinion out in the open for anyone to see. But one man had to sue Michigan’s Secretary of State to express himself with “WAR SUX” on his license plate, after the state said the word implied hanky panky that’s unsuitable for children. [More]
Driver Learns A Cardboard License Plate Drawn With Markers Won’t Pass Muster With Cops
By 9.3.14
We know, we know, going to the Department of Motor Vehicles is such a drag… all those lines and tickets and forms to fill out and grumpy people — ugh. But though it might be mighty convenient to draw up your own license plate instead of getting a new one the right way, you’re not about to fool any cops out there on the road. [More]
Private Companies Building Giant Unregulated Databases Tracking License Plate Location Info
By 5.19.14
Do you know everywhere your car has been in the past week? Month? Year? You may or may not remember it all, but there’s a good chance that your license plate has had its photo snapped, and its location recorded, a whole bunch of times in that period. And anyone who can pony up the cash for a subscription to that database can tell exactly where you’ve been. [More]
Judge Rules Against Indiana Bureau Of Motor Vehicles On “0INK” License Plate Rejection
By 5.9.14
In the latest battle against seemingly arbitrary rules employed by many states when it comes to whether a personalized license plate is acceptable or not, a judge has ruled against the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles in a case involving an ex-police officer who was rejected when he tried to renew his “0INK” plate. [More]
NJ Driver Sues After State Rejects Her “8theist” License Plate
By 4.18.14
A woman in New Jersey claims the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission is biased in favor of Christians after rejecting her request for a vanity plate that reflected her atheist beliefs while allowing plates that express a driver’s Christian identity. [More]
Private Companies Are Scanning Your License Plate And Location, Selling The Data
By 3.5.14
When you hear the phrase “vast hidden network of cameras that scan license plates,” what do you think of? The police? The Department of Homeland Security? While the government and privacy advocates argue over government use of plate-scanning data, private companies are already collecting and selling that data with little regulation. [More]
Homeland Security Looking To Build Massive License Plate Tracking System
By 2.19.14
In news that is both disturbing and not at all surprising, the Department of Homeland Security is currently asking private contractors to bid on a system that would create a National License Plate Recognition database that could allow various forms of law enforcement to track the movements of drivers, whether they are suspected of a crime or just going to buy a Big Gulp at 7-Eleven. [More]
State DMVs Are Not Amused By Your Attempts To Get License Plates With Dirty Acronyms
By 1.29.13
It isn’t just license plates with clear messages that can get banned (and in one recent case, challenged legally) — each state’s Department of Motor Vehicles has a lengthy list of prohibited phrases it’s had to get hip to, including text speak. Because heaven forbid someone slip in a naughty word. OMFG, right? They’re onto us. [More]
Man Sues State Of Georgia For The Right To Express His Sexuality Via His Vanity Plate
By 1.22.13
For many people, expressing who they are isn’t just a function of how they dress or act, but what their vehicle’s vanity license plate says. Maybe you rocked “DMBFAN” to show your love for a band or “CATSYAY” for you know, cats, but in Georgia, one man wanted to express his sexuality and is now suing the state for denying him that. [More]
You've Gotta Fight For Your Right To Make Vaguely Naughty Jokes On A License Plate
By 8.27.12
Listen New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division, just because your dirty mind is taking a simple inside joke to a scandalous place doesn’t mean one man is about to give up on his ideal license plate. His plate reading “IB6UB9” (we’ll wait while you figure it out… got it? Great.) was recently revoked because the MVD says it’s obscene. [More]
California Environmental Nonprofit Says State Redesigned License Plate To Cut It Out Of Royalties
By 8.4.11
The California Coastal Commission unveiled a new license plate design featuring a whale’s tale tweaked slightly from the previous design, and an environmental nonprofit said the state did so because the artist who created the previous design asked for royalties to help fund the organization. [More]
Are Electronic License Plate Ads The Next Rage On The Road?
By 6.21.10
Because we all know that the two things the world lacks these days are (1) advertisements and (2) car accidents, a California State Assemblyman has put forth a bill we kill both birds with the same 23-car pileup on the freeway by replacing our boring, non-revenue-generating license plates with fancy electronic ones complete with advertising. [More]
New York State Holds License Plate Fundraiser
By 11.15.09
As part of an attempt to make up a budget shortfall, New York State is holding a huge fundraiser. No, not a bake sale: starting in April 2010, the state is forcing all car and tractor-trailer owners in the state to buy new license plates when they renew their registrations. And not just any license plates. Ugly license plates.
170 Bogus Tickets: Chicago Tests Ticketing Equipment With Your License Plate
By 6.15.09
When I read the headline for this story (it didn’t mention Chicago), I bet myself a million dollars that the man had an Illinois license plate. I am now a millionaire. Or I will be as soon as I pay myself.
