BOISE, Idaho — Editor's Note: Some of the rejected license plates are listed in this article. A few of the tamer ones are in the body of this story. All are in a list embedded at the end of the story. They were rejected because they were either vulgar, obscene or in poor taste. Viewer discretion is advised.
Many longtime Idahoans who've watched the state's population skyrocket would likely agree: sometimes, traffic gets downright obscene.
But when it comes to license plates, someone's making sure drivers throughout the Gem State keep it clean.
The Idaho Transportation Department's application form for personalized license plates states, "Personalized plates, in any language, may not carry a sexual term that is vulgar, obscene, or in poor taste, and may not consist of a term that is considered to be one of obscenity, contempt, prejudice, hostility, insult, racial degradation, ethnic degradation, profanity, or vulgarity."
Section 49-409 of Idaho Statutes leaves the terms of the application form up to the ITD director, "who, at his discretion, may refuse to issue the plates."
In January of this year, KTVB's "The 208" brought you a look at some of the rejected personalized license plates people applied for in 2020.
ITD sent KTVB the list for 2021 a little earlier than usual; call it an early Christmas gift. The document lists more than 250 rejections. It's six pages -- about twice as long as last year's list. Many of the terms are obviously against standards prescribed on the application form. Trying for dirty words with some letters taken out, or vulgar expressions spelled backwards with numbers substituted for letters didn't fly, either.
Population growth, specifically related to those moving to Idaho from another state, is the subject of a plate rejected back in March: "STAYNCA."
It's not blatantly obscene, but we're guessing someone at ITD, possibly a former Californian, found it in violation of the prohibition against "hostility" or "contempt."
Several applications included profanity - abbreviated - to express contempt for the current president, and at least one was directed toward the president who left the White House back in January.
For at least the second year in a row, the list of rejections includes a word of sound advice for families heading out on a long road trip: "PB4WEG0." Maybe next time try some variation of "go before we go"?
In the interest of helping our readers avoid steering in the wrong direction when applying for plates, the list of rejections is included below. Before deciding to take a look, remember why such a list exists in the first place.
WARNING: The below list of rejected Idaho plates includes inappropriate and offensive language.
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