Millions of people across the U.S. have personalized vanity plates on their cars, but many people also see their applications denied for various reasons. From “IDGAF” to variations of “Hawk Tuah,” here are some notable examples of rejected 2024 plates that we found.
Whether or not vanity plates are accepted is up to states. According to WTAJ, which filed a Right to Know request with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), one common reason for plate request denials is profanity.
“PennDOT specifically states on its website that it will reject plates that contain ‘profane, lewd, lascivious, obscene or vulgar’ language,” said the report. Examples of these types of plate requests from last year were: FANCYAF, FU CANCR, JEEP SHT, LOST AF, BICHEN, LMAO XD, SEXXX, HAWKTUAH, M1LF-M4N, PORNSTR, 4PLAY, FU BOYD, FJB 2O24, ABCDEFU, OLD FART, HULNA55, YOU SUCK.
For those who haven’t heard of the “Hawk Tuah” girl, she is a woman named Hailey Welch who went viral last summer while visiting Nashville, Tenn., when she made a sex joke on a vlog.
“You gotta give him that hawk tuah and spit on that thang,” Welch said in the original video when asked what men like in the bedroom. “You get me?”
Welch was a guest on Audacy station KROQ in July after the clip became a meme online. As for hawk tuah – you’ll see it a few more times before this article is over.
A well-known vanity plate example from pop culture is the “A**MAN” plates featured in the sitcom “Seinfeld”. In reality, it doesn’t seem likely that those plates would be approved, as many states have rules similar to Pennsylvania when it comes to profanity. Though not a U.S. example, the CBC reported in 2019 that a man whose name is actually David Assman had his request for vanity plates rejected in Canada.
In Florida, 200 vanity plates were rejected last year, according to Axios. Similarly to Pennsylvania, Florida said denials happen when a request includes “obscene or objectionable words,” a spokesperson previously told the outlet. Some of the attempts there included: IDGAF, L8TE AF, P00R AF, QUIET AF, UGLY AF, FCUK 0FF, FARTZ and WTF FLA.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ office released a list earlier this month with more than 300 rejected vanity and personalized license plate requests from 2024. The office maintains a rejection list that stands at more than 8,015 license plate combinations as of this month.
“The office received 60,537 requests for vanity and personalized plates last year, including the 335 that were denied because of their inflammatory or offensive nature or because they were difficult to read,” in 2024, said a press release. Its list includes: HOKTUAH, GYATT, MUNCH, BICHIN, JAGWEED, BADARSE, AXEHOLE, ILLCUTU, HOHOHOE, ABADMF, WEENIE, DUCKOFF, SHIDDED, UGEWANG, and THICCAF.
“Illinoisans consistently display a great deal of creativity when choosing their customized license plates, but the plates that hit the road must meet the standards of good taste and decency,” Giannoulias said. “Our team are well-versed in lecherous language and sneaky swearing, all of which are rejected and placed on our permanent prohibited list.”
In Tennessee, where the hawk tuah phenomenon began, people attempted to get multiple variations of the phrase on their license plates last year. However, “no combination of ‘HAWK’ or ‘2’ slipped by the state’s watchful eyes,” said 10 NEWS.
That outlet reviewed a list of 550 rejected submissions for 2024 plates from the Tennessee Department of Revenue. It included some that don’t seem outright profane, such as KERMIT, GONZO and SNOOPY1.
Further west, The Phoenix New Times reported that the Arizona Department of Transportation rejects “personalized plates that are explicitly or suggestively vulgar, that are drug- or sex-related, or that appear to endorse such no-nos as reckless driving and, uh, murder.” It said that it found “endless iterations of ‘WNT2FUCK’ and ‘EATSH1T’” on the state’s list, as well as at least one attempt at MCPOO.
In Oregon, KOIN 6 reported that BUT-MAN and, of course, HWKTUA made the list of nearly 400 applications that were rejected in 2024. In Oklahoma, 273 were rejected, including WTF-BRO, ONLYFAN, BA5ICAF and more than 11 submissions for – you guessed it – variations of hawk tuah, per The Oklahoman.
So, if you’re looking to personalize your plates this year in any state, just be warned that officials are probably not going to let that one slide.