You see them every time you drive somewhere, but there are thousands of personalized license plates you don’t see, because local DMVs reject them.
Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration rejected more than 3,700 custom tags in 2025. In D.C., the list was much shorter.
Across the region, tags ranging from “OLDAF” to “POOP” were rejected last year, either because they were already taken, referenced a government agency or an intimate body part, or simply weren’t the proper length.
In D.C., a DMV management analyst reviews applications for personalized tags. Those flagged as questionable or noncompliant are reviewed through an appeals committee, a D.C. DMV spokesman told WTOP.
Custom tag applications, which cost $100 in the city, are approved if the tag is available and not issued to someone else, meets the seven-character limit, doesn’t mislead law enforcement databases and doesn’t mislead with reversed wording or phonetic profanity, according to the statement.
Personalized tag ideas featuring profanity, references to intimate body parts or sexual function, race, religion, gender or illegal drugs and narcotics are rejected. Tags alluding to government or governmental agencies or using slang are also rejected, the statement said. Residents who submit a request for a rejected tag receive a letter and a refund of the $100 application fee.
Last year in D.C., rejected tags ranged from “DEI” and “ELONSUX” to “THXDOGE” and “SH1TBOX.”
In Maryland, meanwhile, custom license plate submissions are vetted through an “objectionable list” that the Motor Vehicle Administration maintains before getting approved.
“Changes or additions to the list may occur if a customer notifies the MVA or if complaints warrant a review,” the administration said in a statement. “The MVA then reviews the complaint and determines if the plates should be rescinded based on the administration’s standards. The MVA can also manually add items that the Administrator finds unacceptable within the law.”
Based on the regulation that covers the administration’s standards for rejecting or rescinding a custom plate, sexual meanings or messaging about race, ethnicity, color, religious, disability or sexual orientation are rejected. Applications are also rejected if they reference an illegal activity, are being requested for a fraudulent reason or are already being used.
The MVA rejected 3,764 personalized plates last year, ranging from several versions of “BADMFR” to “CIA” to several variations of “DAYUM.” Others are just three numbers, such as “197” or “198.”
A Virginia DMV spokeswoman said the agency stopped manually keeping a list of rejected personalized plates in October 2021, and said producing the list would require a custom report and minimum $200 deposit.
Nonetheless, many of Virginia’s rules are similar to surrounding jurisdictions. Any plates that are profane, obscene, sexually explicit or describe intimate body parts or encourage violence are rejected.
You can view Maryland’s list of 2025 rejected license plates here, and D.C.’s here.
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