Martin Austermuhle
This post has been updated
Last month, we spotted a Mercedes-Benz E350 with an interesting vanity tag: “OCCUPY.” While the tag was a genuine expression of support for the anti-income inequality movement, it got us to thinking about personalized license plates. How many are there? What do they say? And, more importantly, what do they say about the people who have them?
According to list we obtained from the D.C. DMV through a FOIA request, there are some 4,382 vanity D.C. plates out there, out of the estimated 275,000 cars registered in the city. (Those tags are separate from organizational tags and the special low-numbered plates doled out by the mayor, D.C. Council chair and councilmembers.) All told, there are just under 10 million personalized license plates across the country, and Virginia has the highest proportion of them.
They’re not particularly hard to get in D.C.—all you need is $100 and a great idea that can fit in seven characters. Oh, and it’s subject to DMV approval, so the patently offensive might be scrapped. (UPDATE: A few years back WTOP’s Mark Segraves dug up some of the plates that were rejected by D.C., which included “GOPSTL” and “NASTYB.”)
So, what does a vanity license plate tend to say about the driver? Or, more accurately, what types of drivers get vanity plates?
First off, the vain. A vanity license plate appeals to certain people’s sense that they’re, well, better than everyone else. There’s “THEBOSS.” Or “LILSEXI.” And “GR8IAM,” “2FRESH,” “LUSCIOUS,” “BIGSEXY,” “IGOTPEP,” “OH2BEME,” “ILUVME2” and “IMGR8TR.” (There are also drivers who want others to know exactly who they are: D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is easily identified by her “EHN1” plate.)
Second, the people who really define themselves by where they’re from or what sports team they root for. “NYYANKS,” “JEETER,” “NOLAGRL,” “EGLEFAN,” “AUPARK,” “BEARS,” “RDWINGS,” “RAVENS,” “REDSOX” (and a number of variations), “PTOMAC,” “NYJETS,” “MDTERPS,” “FLYERS,” “DCNATS,” “GOHOYAS,” “GOCAPS,” GOCUBS,” and “WLFPACK.” Oh, and how could we not have “DCN8IVE,” “DCBORN” and “NATIV”?
Third, the religious. “THNKGD,” “TRSTGD,” “ONEGOD,” “GETGOD,” “JSUSSVS,” “THRUGOD,” “WTHGOD,” “XCEPGOD,” “ASKGOD,” “ATONE,” “LUVNGOD,” “GODISGD,” and “LUVJAH” are among the religiously inspired plates in D.C. Pet lovers, too: “LVCATS,” “LUVLABS,” “DCDOG,” “1GR8CAT,” “HORSGRL,” and “DOGFAN.”
Some people just like to have fun with their tags: “FLEXNUT,” “BRSTLVR,” “KTHXBAI,” “OMFGLOL,” “IPLNSHT,” “HUGLIFE,” “XPLRMUS,” “BTLJUCE,” “IH82BL8,” “DORITOS,” “OOOOOOO,” “12345,” “OOHWEE,” “GIZMO,” and “THEDUDE.” A sense of humor doesn’t always communicate well, though. NBC4 recently reported that the owner of the “NOTAGS” license plates was slapped with $20,000 worth of tickets when parking officers ticketing cars with no license plates would enter “NO TAGS” into the system, sending a ticket to the unwitting owner of the car with that exact vanity plate.
Owners of vanity tags also like to recognize family members, promote the type of car they’re driving and celebrate their affiliation to a particular group. (There are a number of Fraternal Order of Police “FOP” tags out there.)
Got a brilliant idea for a vanity plate of your own? Just check the list below or use the handy DMV website tool to see if it’s available. Thankfully, “MARTIN1,” MRTNRLZ” and “DCIST” haven’t yet been claimed. But which one do I chose?
