This US state bans over 700 ‘offensive’ vehicle number plates

While some people fancy expensive and customized vehicles, some have a thing for personalized number plates for their vehicles. Amid this craze, many people in the US state of Florida end up registering number plates with weird and ‘offensive’ words. The state has released a list of vanity license plates that have been banned from use on the street, NBC reported.

Most of these banned number plates make use of sexual innuendos, offensive language or political connotations. For example, ‘FARTD’, ‘MR POOP’, ‘IMDRUNK’, to name a few. Owners of these tags will be notified that their number plates are being deauthorized and that they will have to return them. Usually, owners can keep a vehicle tag for up to 10 years until the state requires a new one.

To replace the old designs, new ones were chosen that were based on a rigorous presale requirement of 3,000 orders before production. These new designs include Navy Blue Angels, Walt Disney World, Florida State Parks, and Coastal Conservation Association.

When car owners submit an application for a license plate, it is screened through the Inventory Control Unit, which determines whether or not the requested tags should be issued. The authorities can also recall personalized license plates that they find to be offensive at a later date and request that they be removed from a vehicle.

Apart from banning over 700 offensive number plates, Florida will also be removing a number of specialty license plate options from the list of over 150 due to low sales. These plates are largely from universities in the area, such as the New College of Florida, and also include institutions such as the Florida Memorial University, Florida Panthers NHL, Flagler College, and Kids Deserve Justice.