206 Funny Car License Plates Car Owners Used To Showcase Their Personality

by admin October 19, 2022

Car plates are government-issued documents and, as such, are a very boring combination of letters and numbers. But hey, who said they have to stay that way? As long as it follows a couple of rules, the said combination can be literally anything. And this is how custom license plate ideas started to emerge.

Some people try to include their lucky numbers or spell their first or last name, but the really creative license plates go one step further. From your favorite character to your nickname and even your mood, car owners come up with so many variations that collecting photos of clever license plates has now become a real hobby.

But humankind wouldn’t be what we are if we didn’t have our sense of humor. So, of course, it was only a matter of time before funny license plates began appearing on the roads. Only limited by the number of characters on the plate, they poke fun at current events or politics, while the bravest might even joke about themselves.

The biggest drawback behind custom-made license plates, also known as vanity plates, is that you need to pay extra to have one issued for you. And although they are not allowed everywhere, more and more authorities are opening up to the idea of issuing customized cool license plates. A survey was conducted in 2007, revealing that among the US states, Virginia had the largest percentage of registered customized plates, while Texas had the lowest.

If you or your friends are considering getting funny vanity plates for your vehicles but can’t figure out how to fit into the regulations established by the authorities in your country or province, we have collected some custom license plate ideas to inspire you. And if you already have a vanity plate, don’t forget to share it in the comments.

#1 The Licence Plate On His Hearse

Image credits: blargsnarg

#2 I Was At The Right Place At The Right Time

Image credits: Papi_Queso

#3 Very Appropriate License Plate

Image credits: SelectAll_Delete

Bored Panda reached out to license plate collector, trader, and the man behind LicensePlateTok Ethan Craft to talk about all things license plates.

Ethan has been interested in license plates since he was a kid. He recalls his dad and him driving for what felt like hours—just too long for the then 3-year-old—so he decided to keep himself busy by pointing out the different license plates he saw on the road.

"I guess it worked a little too well and now I’m still interested in plates more than 20 years later," joked Ethan. The seemingly very innocent game quickly turned into a passion and eventually into an entire TikTok channel.

#4 These 2 Cars Had Some Pretty Identical License Plates

Image credits: BanginBananas

#5 This Car Outside My Hotel

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#6 This License Plate With All B’s And 8’s

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#7 License Plate Checks Out

Image credits: Veraciouz

Besides regular license plates that don't usually say anything worthwhile unless you get lucky, there are also vanity license plates. And this is where humankind's creativity blossoms. Sure, you have your personal names or nicknames, but you can be crazier than that. The only limits are the space you have on the plates themselves and quantity of words available in whatever language you use, minus all the words your mom told you never to say.

"Almost everyone likes to show a little personality when they can, and custom personalized license plates are a great way to do that," elaborates Ethan. "One reason they seem to be becoming more common is that now they’re all over the world in Europe and Australia and the Americas, whereas they were once pretty limited to the United States. But seeing a funny or interesting plate on the road, that always makes my day."

#8 Number Plate Of A Van Delivering Portaloos

Image credits: Andy_Cohen_1979

#9 Smart Lad

Image credits: LaziestUsernameEver

#10 Drunk Drivers Hit My Car And Fled The Scene. I’d Be More Upset If I Didn’t Have The Best Vanity Plate

Image credits: Schmorgus-borg

#11 This Guy's License Plate

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#12 Best Tesla Vanity Plate

Image credits: ivegot2legs

It's been roughly 20 years that Ethan has been collecting license plates at this point, and it has been growing exponentially ever since he kicked off @LicensePlateTok.

"I haven’t done a full count recently but I must have hundreds, maybe even over 1,000, mostly from the U.S. and Canada, but I really want to expand my international collection and hopefully get a plate from every country in the world one day," said Ethan.

According to PD insurance, it is estimated that there are roughly 1.45 billion cars out there in the world. Double that and that's how many license plates there should be in theory. And hence you can imagine just how much room is there for creativity if you account for all the different countries and states with all of their different designs matched with people's ingenuity for shoving witty puns and one-liners into an average of 6 to 8 characters.

And Ethan's favorite license plate is also one of the more unique ones in the world: "It’s hard to pick just one favorite but I really love the license plates of the Northwest Territories in Canada, which are cut out to be in the shape of a polar bear."

#13 My Mom Caught This Bear In Front An Appropriate License Plate In Lake Tahoe

Image credits: South_Lake_Taco

#14 "Not OJ" License Plate

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#15 Two 666 License Plates In A Row

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#16 Best Number Plate Ever

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#17 Couldn't A Ford The New License Plate?

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Now, you might think that something as simple as a license plate—a metal rectangle with the most basic of automotive identification information on it—will stay just that and that there isn't much room to innovate.

There is.

Ethan shared with us, as well as in one of his videos, that there is such a thing as "digital" license plates. They have actually been a thing for several years at this point, being run as a pilot test in California. Basically, they are "an iPad on the back of your car that shows the plate number", as Ethan put it.

And while the novelty and technology sounds cool, providing a tad bit more customization and even acting as a safety feature (notifying if a car was stolen), it comes at a much steeper price. Besides that, it's only a matter of time until someone hacks them and uses the built-in GPS to track people and do other sorts of invasive maneuvers.

"California has also recently launched wrapped plates for the front of peoples’ cars only, which are basically stickers for people who don’t want to drill holes into their front bumper," added Ethan.

#18 Lamborghini Aventador The License Plate Gave Me A Good Laugh

Image credits: -WeepingAngel-

#19 Tops My Interesting License Plate List

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#20 Do License Plates Get Any More Metal?

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#21 This Guy Decided He Didn’t Need A State License Plate, He Just Needed To Rep Blue Lives

Image credits: Witchfingers

#22 Finally Got My Personalized Plate

Image credits: ThorThimbleOfGorbash

Ethan hopes people take more time to look at and appreciate license plates as they really have a lot to offer, despite their simplicity.

"There’s so much history and so many variations, no matter what you’re interested in or where you are from, there is bound to be a cool plate or two in your area. But I’ve heard from some of my followers that my account has helped get them interested in plate collecting, and that’s really my only goal. I’m thrilled to be 'the license plate guy' and the public face of the hobby I love so much."

You can check out more from Ethan on his TikTok channel, where he talks about all things license plates—delivers the latest news, breaks down the history, reviews the different designs, and just straight up educates folks on license plates.