Who decides what’s allowed on a vanity plate in Minnesota?

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As a librarian, Patrick Jones loves words and likes to play word games.

So when he saw a specialized license plate that read “BBQ-007″while driving recently, he smiled and quickly gave it a meaning that would make James Bond smirk.

“Licensed to grill,” he said to himself.

Jones, of Richfield, said he’s long been fascinated with the letter and number combinations appearing on vehicle plates. His father, he said, “had saved every one he ever had.”

Jones is a manager at the Chanhassen library and a proponent of the First Amendment, which protects the freedom of speech. So he wondered: What is and is not allowed on vanity plates? Who makes that determination?

Jones posed the question to Curious Minnesota, the Strib’s reader-powered reporting project.

State statute guides what makes the cut. The law prohibits combinations of letters or words that may be used for commercial advertising. Plates that are of “obscene, indecent, or immoral nature, or such as would offend public morals or decency” are also not allowed.

In other words, nothing a family newspaper or network TV show would deem inappropriate is likely to appear on a front or back bumper.

Ultimately, it’s up to members of Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services' Special Plates Unit to decide.

Minnesota has offered personalized license plates since the late 1970s, said Greg Loper, DVS vehicle program services director.

Today, there are more than 119,600 active personalized plates in Minnesota.

“We see hobbies, names and professions celebrated on those plates,” Loper said. “It calls out what is important to them. People are proud of their personalized plates.”

To buy one of the $100 plates, vehicle owners must fill out an application and list their first, second and third choices. Plates can feature between one and seven characters, including spaces and hyphens. They can’t be only numbers.

A statement adequately explaining the meaning of the choice or choices is required.

Most choices are creative, witty and of good taste, Loper said. But not all are innocent. Take the request for a plate spelling out “TOFU,” for example. On the surface, it seems a harmless celebration of soy beans. But separate the TO and the FU and “it has a different connotation,” Loper said. “People get really creative.”

DVS’ Special Plates Unit eyeballs every application and consults dictionaries, a thesaurus and an array of online web tools to find out how words are used and whether a request is appropriate. Team members will even write out a word backwards and forwards to ensure there is not a hidden meaning that could be inappropriate.

“Kids come up with strange ways of saying things,” Loper said. Team members “ask, ‘What does that slang mean? How is that word being used?’”

The team has the authority to reject requests and keep plates that Minnesotans may deem rude or offensive off the roads.

Last year, the unit turned down more than 740 plate applications. Denied plates included some with overt cuss word references and others with more camouflaged sexual innuendoes.

Even with such a rigorous review process, offensive plates occasionally slip through. In 2016, a St. Cloud man successfully obtained a plate that read “FMUSLMS.” Public outcry led Department of Public Safety officials to revoke the plate.

“We work hard to get this right,” Loper said. “Will we catch 100 percent of them? Probably not. But we do a pretty good job.”

Minnesotans can report plates they see as objectionable by emailing the DVS. The agency will review the complaint, Loper said. If the agency determines the plate violates the rules, it notifies the owner, who then must return it, he said.

“We don’t get many complaints,” he added.

The DVS has a feature on its website allowing vanity plate seekers to see if their choice is available. If it isn’t, or their choices are rejected, the DVS will work with a customer, and “the vast majority of the time find the right plate for them,” Loper said.

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