As you’ve no doubt seen on the road, having custom license plates is common, and sometimes fun (for a brief period, depending on the plate). Sometimes, though, these can cause problems. You might remember that in 2009 there was a Colorado woman who got in trouble for having a plate that read “ILVTOFU.” She had meant for it to be read “I LOVE TOFU,” but many who saw the plate didn’t think the same.
Still, this wasn’t much compared to what happened to a Los Angeles man in 1979. He decided to order personalized license plates, but the DMV required three choices to be made in case one wasn’t available. He wrote “SAILING” and “BOATING,” and for the last one simply put “NO PLATE” meaning that if the others weren’t available, he didn’t want a personalized plate.
DMV took it literally, and as the other two were taken, he received a “NO PLATE” license plate. He decided to keep the plates because of their uniqueness. Within weeks he began receiving countless notices for overdue fines and tickets. Why?
Because the DMV computers were matching every unpaid citation on a car without plates to him. He got 2,500 over the next few months, but refused to change his plates. Eventually DMV fixed the issue and he got to walk away with his customized plates.
