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Here's why Nevada's DMV rejects so many vanity license plates

Before getting too focused on a particular vanity plate, you can use a personalized plate search tool.

By License LookupPublished about a year ago 3 min read
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Nevada Banned License Plates

You can obtain a vanity plate in Nevada in three distinct ways: via mail, fax, or in person. The Nevada DMV recommends sending paperwork via mail or fax in three cases: if you have currently registered your vehicle there, if you're about to move there, or if you have immediate plans to buy a vehicle in Nevada. Yet, you are to place your order in person if you intend to register a vehicle or renew the registration within the following 60 days. Before getting too focused on a particular vanity plate, you can use a personalized plate search tool. It will help you to see whether the plate is still available. Prepare at least three options, in case your original option has already been selected.

Many people in the state use personalized license plates to customize their cars and show off their eccentricities and personalities to passers-by. Some of the requested license plates, meanwhile, are a little too obscene for Nevada's roads. Thus, we recommend checking out Nevada banned license plates article to know the specs of license plates in Nevada.

Who Rejects Vanity License Plates in Nevada?

The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles accepts applications for personalized license plates from Nevada drivers every year, although not every applicant's design is approvable.

According to Kevin Malone, a DMV spokesman, they evaluate personalized plate applications every day. And those that do not break the law or contradict common number sequences they sent for creation within seven days.

According to the DMV, there were 279,579 active registrations with personalized plates as of September 30. In each of the fiscal years 2021 and 2022, the state has generated $6.2 million from these plates.

A DMV committee issues license plates that may violate the law. They meet weekly to assess flagged applications. The committee received and authorized 173 plates the year before.

The committee examines Nevadan’s hundreds of the most obscene license plate applications each year, keeping an eye out for profanity, sexual innuendos, gang references, and the rare racist statement.

What is the Criterion for Deciding whether a License Plate is too Dirty?

Among those rejected are a variety of arcane allusions, expletives in foreign languages, and things that may simply be awful coincidences (such as initials that have a sexual connotation). Sometimes requesters outright lie on a plate application and make every effort to mislead the committee and DMV employees.

What Plate is Usually Denied?

One of those requests' applicant, "37OHSSA," claimed the combination of letters and digits was simply an "OSHA number." But the committee was able to see straight through it.

Other dubious plate explanations included "GVNOFK," the requester tried to represent as "initials of my wife and kids." But the committee banned it due to its use of profanity. And "BDAZMOM," which stood for "Brandon Alexanderz mom," but the committee dismissed it since it sounded more like "bad a** mom."

These arguments failed to convince the committee. In those over a thousand denials:

  • Rejected 449 applications were due to profanity.
  • 379 for any sexual allusions or connotations.
  • 128 - due to drug references.
  • 27 are racial epithets.
  • 21 for being improper.

Nevada Vanity Plate Law

It is not up to DMV staff to decide whether or not to authorize a certain customized plate. The Nevada Administrative Code serves as their guide.

The reasons for a plate denial are rather simple, except for some restrictions on what letters and digits can be placed adjacent to one another.

A custom plate cannot:

  • Express disdain, ridicule, or superiority to racial, ethnic, religious, or gender identity,
  • contain any sexual, rude, disparaging, sexist, or obscene undertones,
  • contain a mention of a drug, drug-related items, or a gang, either directly or indirectly,
  • Make a disparaging allusion to a person or group.

The DMV staff first examines the custom plates and has the authority to approve, refuse, or send the plates to the committee for additional review.

The committee then gets creative in trying to decipher the true significance of the desired plate.

You can purchase your own Nevada personalized license plate for a one-time fee of $41.50 and an additional $20 yearly fee. The DMV offers a handy online tool that you may use to check if the combination you want is free to select.

To sum up…

Before you ever head on to get your vanity license plate in Nevada, run a quick vanity plate lookup. It will let you know if the combination you want is available for pick-up. You are to also check the DMV guide on not approved combinations to avoid being denied. Generally, the letters and digits you choose mustn’t form harsh or offensive expressions.

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License Lookup

https://licenselookup.org/ is a premium search engine to find and verify licenses, a useful service to search and verify all professional license holders. Our mission – to be the leading license data provider in the industry.

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