27,000 things you'll never see on a Michigan car

Justin A. Hinkley | Lansing State Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption License plates you won't see in Michigan As of May 31, there were more than 300,000 personalized license plates in circulation, but the Secretary of State maintained a list of 27,401 configurations that were either preemptively deemed unacceptable or were requested by motorists but denied.

LANSING – License plates have made Michigan headlines lately, with Gov. Rick Snyder currently mulling new legislation that would allow Michiganders to buy fundraising plates supporting antiabortion groups.

But mini-controversies are routine at the Secretary of State, where a committee regularly gives the "yea" or "nay" on so-called vanity plates, those custom configurations Michigan motorists use to dress up their vehicles with a personal message. Think "DADS BABY" on the back of a classic Mustang.

Related: "Anti-abortion license plate now only needs Snyder's signature"

From the archives: "Michigan redesigns license plate after complaints"

As of May 31, there were more than 300,000 personalized license plates in circulation, but the Secretary of State maintained a list of 27,401 configurations that were either preemptively deemed unacceptable or were requested by motorists but denied. The state's personalized plate policy broadly prohibits any configurations with a "connotation offensive to good taste and decency," and specifically prohibits references to drugs or alcohol, certain body parts, violence or disparaging phrases.

The banned list includes:

Literally hundreds of variations of the f-word, including "FWORD"

"ALCOHOL" and the misspelled "ALCAHOL," along with "ABEER," "BEEEER" (yes, four E's), "CHIVAS," "CUERVOS" and "VINOGAL"

Hundreds of variations of body parts and things drivers apparently want done to or want to do to those body parts

At least three references to avian fecal matter (maybe the motorists requesting those phrases thought it would prevent droppings on their car, the way dressing up like a goblin at Halloween is supposed to scare away evil spirits)

Lots of hate, including hate for automakers — "H8FORD," "IH8GM," "H8HONDA," and the more general "H8MPORTS"; for politicians — "H8HILRY," "H8LBRLS," "H8LIBS," "H8GOP"; and the more personal, "H8EXWIF"; others would espouse tolerance but still run afoul of Secretary of State policies, like "H8H8RS"

At least eight variants of "BOOGER"

"ISPEED," "SPEEDR," and "TAILME" (the state apparently wants to discourage bad driving)

Nine variations of "REDRUM" (that's "murder" backwards, as made famous by the Stephen King novel and Stanley Kubrick film "The Shining"); the list also bans "BLOOOD" and "BLOODY"

Several racial slurs and epithets, including someone who just wanted to proclaim "RACIST"

See the complete list in the document below. Can't see it below? Click here.

Contact Justin A. Hinkley at (517) 377-1195 or jhinkley@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinHinkley. Sign up for his email newsletter, SoM Weekly, at on.lsj.com/somsignup.