They are called vanity plates for a reason, or at least that is what the license plates our eyes are drawn to are commonly referred to as. The Iowa Department of Transportation calls them Specialty and Personalized Plates. That sounds less vain.
From what I can tell, there are about 30 basic options for specialty license plates in the state of Iowa, ranging from the Black Out Design, to Breast Cancer Awareness, to Ducks Unlimited. If you are affiliated with the military, you may want to choose from another 24 military service plates. And if you are a proud alumni, you can select from 29 Iowa college and university options. If those 83 are not specialized enough for you, feel free to file for an assortment of numbers and letters that may tickle your fancy. Some of you remember when we had one option.
How much do these plates cost? According to the Iowa DOT, the plate fees range from $25 to $50 with annual registration fees.
What can you put on a personalized license plate? Well, it may consist of up to seven characters and numbers and must have at least two characters.
Maybe more importantly, what can’t you put on a personalized license plate? No punctuation marks. No denoting a government agency. No display of characters that are sexual in connotation. No characters suggesting profane, obscene or inflammatory words or phrases, or those contrary to public policy. No characters or words defined in dictionaries as a term of vulgarity, contempt, prejudice, hostility, insult, or racial or ethnic degradation. No characters considered to be offensive. No characters that conflict with the regular license numbering system. No swear words. No references to illegal substances or criminal acts. No foreign words falling in any of these categories. And you cannot use all numbers.
Whew. That’s a lot to consider, and that’s probably why I have never ordered one of these plates. It’s not about vanity, really. If we are being honest, we are all vain, at least to some degree. These license plates are more like a tattoo for our vehicles, only not permanent. I can’t think of anything I am willing to pay for to have inked on my skin or my vehicle, and I certainly don't want to draw more attention to my driving. Call me boring. Call me cheap. Just don’t call in my license plate number. I prefer to keep some things private.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305 | 
