Can you put ‘cornhole’ on an NC license plate? Not really or these other 10,000 messages

North Carolina law allows drivers to personalize their license plates, but not everything can be printed.

Get as original and creative as you want, but your combination has to be a certain length and can’t be inappropriate.

It might be best to stay away from terms like “STUPID,” “HATER” or even “YOUTUBE.”

You have the option to choose up to eight characters when designing your own plate, including numbers, letters and symbols.

All personalized license plate requests must be reviewed by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles and personalization cannot be duplicative, interfere with law enforcement efforts, disrupt peace or reflect a message that is offensive to good taste and decency, the agency said.

You can order a personalized license plate online, by mail or at a DMV license plate agency.

Supreme Court case law deems state-issued license plates as government speech and allows the DMV the right to refuse to issue a plate with an indecent word or meaning.

There are almost 10,000 messages that drivers are not allowed to get for their license plates.

Here are some of the ones on the NCDMV’s rejected list based on the agency’s personalized license plate policy:

• 420
• 911
• 0NLYFANS
• B00ZE
• BITE ME
• BLAST
• BLAZE IT
• C0RNH0LE
• C0VID
• CRAP
• DEPUTY1
• DRUG
• DUMB
• FART
• GANGSTA
• HATER
• HIGH
• I H8 U
• LIT
• PIMP
• PUKE
• SMACK
• STUPID!
• UNIT
• YA MAMA
• Y0UTUBE

This story was originally published March 17, 2023 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Can you put ‘cornhole’ on an NC license plate? Not really or these other 10,000 messages."