Everyone has to get a license plate in order to legally drive within the United States and then it's separated by each individual state as well. So, you can drive from state to state with your current license plate but if you move to another state, you must purchase a license plate for that state. You have a choice between the basic design or a number of specially designed plates for that state and then you get more options with your license plate number.

Many people choose to take one of the auto-generated license plate numbers that's assigned by the Secretary of State. That makes things easy, the state creates and enters the license plate number into the system and send it in the mail. Meanwhile, there are some who like to be unique and create a custom license plate number, these are known as Vanity license plates, and must be approved by the State of Michigan.

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There are thousands of Vanity license plate applications placed to the State of Michigan each year and a large number of them are denied for the simplest of reasons. The State of Michigan has very strict guidelines around Vanity License Plate Numbers and what is and is not allowed. The criteria for Vanity License Plates in Michigan is as follows:

  • Are profane, obscene, sexually explicit or graphic, excretory-related or depicting a swear word
  • Describe intimate body parts
  • Describe drugs or alcohol, including their use or culture (ex. ‘M00NSHN’)
  • Describe illegal activities or illegal substances (ex. ‘MAFIA’)
  • Substantially interfere with law enforcement’s IDing of plates
  • Disparage, promote or condone hate or violence against a business, group or person (ex. ‘H8C0PS’)
  • Conflict with Michigan’s license plate number system

These rules outlining what is acceptable and what isn't when creating a Vanity License Plate seems very straight forward but somehow people manage to ignore them or try to get one by the State. It never works and there is a long list of banned license plates in the State of Michigan. Here are some of the most common and wild Vanity plates that have been denied in Michigan:

  • "LOLBUTT"
  • "BEERME"
  • "0HI0SUX"
  • "AHITMAN"
  • "B00BI3S"
  • "BIGP00"
  • "DAYUM"
  • "EFNC00L"
  • "FARTSY"
  • "G3TBENT"

Some people know how to do the Vanity License Plate game right though, check out some of the best Vanity plates in Michigan below.

Some of the Best Michigan Vanity Plates You'll See

It's pretty easy to get a Vanity license plate in Michigan, so naturally LOTS of Michiganders get them. These are just some of the best we've seen (or tried to figure out) across the area.

Gallery Credit: Meatball, Rebekah Craft, Mary Fork/TSM

What Did Michigan’s License Plates Look Like The Year You Were Born?

Michigan is home to so much motor vehicle history. Let's take a look back in time to see some of the cool and interesting Michigan license plates of the past.

Gallery Credit: Big Joe Pesh

These 10 Rejected Michigan License Plates Are Hilarious

The state of Michigan released a list of banned vanity plate requests.
There are over 21,000 personalized plates that have been banned by the Michigan Department of State for being dirty, graphic, or hateful. These are some of them.

Gallery Credit: Big Joe Pesh

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