Rejected by the Nebraska DMV: How specialized license plates are processed

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - It didn’t take long for folks to see what the state sees: rejected Nebraska vanity plate requests.

Some are simply obscene; others are just odd.

Every year, DMVs from across the country try to stay one step ahead of the public. Sometimes one gets past them.

From “zombie killer” to “slutty” — “sumbech” to “texas sux” — “old fart” to every variation of this you can think of, those are just a few of the nearly 4,000 license plates rejected over the years by the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles.

Betty Johnson is with the vehicle records division. Every year, the Nebraska team evaluates around 15,000 vanity plates. They examine them in reverse, upside down, searching for hidden meanings.

“We do on occasion have one slip through,” Johnson said. “Typically how that happens is someone in the public contacts us and says, ‘Do you really want this message on a plate?’”

Next time you apply for a vanity plate, keep in mind, the DMV has a forbidden list. And if you don’t get what you want, there’s a plate for you.

Nebraska DMV license plate rejection database

WARNING: Some words and phrases indicated below may be offensive to some.

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