ALBANY — While none of them were "IL3GAL," New Yorkers had some pretty creative strategies for getting their preferred personal license plates — but the state Department of Motor Vehicles decided some of them were “ASIN9” and gave them the bureaucratic equivalent of the “MIDLFNGR.”

Last year, the state rejected over 1,100 requests for what were determined to be "ILLICIT" personal license plates, including the ones used above and below. According to the list of rejects produced in response to a Freedom of Information request filed by the Times Union, the rest range from the odd and incomprehensible to the mildly amusing and explicitly profane.

And yes, we’re talking to you, the driver who requested a plate that read “I1II11I.” And you, the jokester who asked for “SOMBEACH.”

Some of the puns, needless to say, were phallic in nature while others focused on controlled substances and various bodily functions.

The DMV began issuing special plates to doctors in the 1940s, according to Times Union archives. Decades later, the agency expanded the program to allow for the creation of personalized plates, and presumably soon after that began to develop a system to prevent New Yorkers from expressing their vulgar or lewd jokes on government-issued property.

To determine whether or not to reject a license plate request, staff rely mostly on the "Red Guide," a database of naughty plate configurations that are automatically rejected based on existing criteria. That means nothing dirty, deceptive, racist or hateful, rude or politically controversial.

So various plates using "A55" are out of the question, as is "WDOMAKER" and all the variations requesting that other drivers send nude pictures. (There were at least six of those last year — none of which provided proper contact information.)

And don’t try "UBERPOOL" or "FTRUMP."

Curious if your improper request or dirty joke can make it past the state censors? You can check it here.

If a plate looks questionable but isn't in the state database of bad plate configurations, state staff will fall back on consulting the old standbys used by puzzled parents and other squares across the land: Urban Dictionary and Google.

Newspaper copy editors often say that it takes a dirty mind to do the job well by sniffing out every unintentionally obscene turn of phrase in an article or headline. The DMV operates along similar lines, though it occasionally goes overboard: In 2000, the state approved one North Country enthusiast's request for "ADKLOVER." We'll let you figure out the possible problematic message there.

Previously: The DMV's disallowed license plates

Turns out, the state DMV can recall any personal plate if they receive valid complaints, and did just that for "ADKLOVER" — though the motorist was able to appeal and got his plate back.

And if you do receive your requested plate, you have to pay an upfront $60 fee for a passenger car, followed by an annual $31.25 fee to maintain it.

In the formal language of the DMV, a vanity plate will be rejected if it's determined to be, in the discretion of the commissioner, "obscene, lewd, lascivious, derogatory to a particular ethnic or other group, or patently offensive."

So if your request is rejected, you’ll just have to shake your head and mutter "H3LLNAW," and realize the state thinks your cool license plate idea is just "SL33ZY."