FAFO? These KY license plate requests didn’t make it past the censors in 2024
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky rejected 444 personalized plate requests in 2024 for obscene text.
- Cabinet cites KRS 186.174 bans on obscenity, discrimination and trademarks.
- Applicants must follow character limits, approved symbols and a first-come policy.
Kentucky’s Transportation Cabinet rejected more than 400 personalized license plate requests in 2024, and according to a list obtained by the Herald-Leader, obscene character combinations are a common theme.
The Bluegrass State allows drivers and motorcyclists to request personalized license plate character combinations and choose from dozens of unique designs commemorating everything from military service to their favorite college. But requests have to comply with several rules, including anti-obscenity provisions of a state law that governs the requests.
Here’s what to know about the process for requesting a personalized license plate in Kentucky, including which types of character combinations are most frequently rejected.
Which plate requests did Kentucky reject most frequently in 2024?
Under the state’s Open Records Act, the Herald-Leader requested the most commonly rejected license plate character combinations in 2024, the reason for each denial and the total number of rejected requests for that year.
All told, KYTC turned away at least 444 plate text requests that year, and many of them were requested multiple times. An attorney for the cabinet said it did not have records documenting how many times a specific combination was requested.
Some of the rejected requests are similar to those the cabinet has turned down in past years.
The cabinet provided the Herald-Leader with a spreadsheet documenting each request, and some of the most popular requests include the following:
- 1DGAF
- BAD4SS
- FAFO
- FBOMB
- GETFKD
- GTFOH
- GYAT
- HAWK2A
- L1Ck1T
- PSYWGN
- Sh1T
- SLOASF
- WTFMAN
What rules does Kentucky have for personalized license plates?
Of the rejected plate text requests in 2024, many ran afoul of Kentucky Revised Statutes 186.174, specifically section five. That provision has rules against license plate messages that discriminate against a “race, color, religion, sex or national origin.” It also rules on trademarked or copyrighted products or brand names, and prohibits plate messages containing the obscene or profane, as determined by the cabinet.
Plates text requests must also meet other several requirements. These include:
- For passenger vehicles, plates may have up to six alpha and/or numeric characters in addition to a space or dash. Motorcycle plates may have up to five alpha and/or numeric characters, along with a space or dash.
- Only letters A through Z, numbers 0 through 9 and one space or dash are permitted. Plate character combinations are unique.
- The letters I, O, Q and U are no longer available for plate personalization.
Requests are granted on a first come, first served basis. It’s possible your plate request could become unavailable if the same request was received before you could get yours processed by a county clerk.
How to request a personalized license plate in Kentucky
The process to a personalized license plate begins by submitting your request through KYTC’s website drive.ky.gov.
Visit the plate application page and select the design you want. There’s a drop-down menu to parse out plate categories or display all available options.
Next, you’ll be prompted to enter the plate text you want. To purchase a standard plate, there’s an initial cost of $21 and a personalization cost of $43, so your plate should come to $64. Special plates can have a higher initial cost. Once you’ve finished making your selections, click “Request this plate.”
Your request must undergo a review before it can be pre-approved. Look for an email notification in your inbox once that’s complete.
You can then take the pre-approval notification to your county clerk’s office along with any other registration documents they require, such as proof of insurance and a photo ID. You can pay the associated fees there.
According to KYTC’s website, it takes approximately four to six weeks from when the application is submitted for a personalized plate to be made, processed and shipped to a clerk’s office for customer pick-up.
Do you have a question about life in Kentucky for the Herald-Leader? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email ask@herald-leader.com.
This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.