There are 9.3 million personalized license plates on the roads of the US. People love to show off their personality with their cars, and having a personalized license plate is a big part of it.

Read on for 5 tips to help you get custom plates for your ride.

1. Choose your Custom Plates Wisely

After you fill out the form to have a custom license plate, it will be sent for approval. A staff member at the DMV will examine your requested vanity plates to ensure they comply with the rules. Staff will use a slang dictionary, an acronym dictionary to research if your requested characters are offensive.

Your application will be rejected if your custom plates are deemed offensive. If the characters spell out or are an acronym for an offensive phrase, it will be rejected. Same goes if the characters are offensive in another language or when spelled backward.

Make sure to follow the rules for acceptable characters. You cannot exceed 8 characters for passenger plates, 7 for motorcycle plates and 4 for special plates.

If your vanity plates are rejected, you will get a refund and a written explanation as to why your application was not approved. But, it’s better to ensure you comply with the rules the first time.

Check out these 5 cool ways to customize your car without going broke.

2. Change your Plates At Renewal Time

You can apply for custom plates at any time. The cost for personalized plates is charged each year at renewal. So if you just renewed your plates recently, it might be best to wait until your the next renewal period.

The most cost-effective way to get vanity plates is to apply 3 months before your current plates are up for renewal. That way you get your new plates without having to pay an extra renewal fee.

3. Reserve Your Personalized Vanity Plates

If you know exactly what you want your personalized license plate to read but need to wait to order it, you can reserve your plate message.

You can reserve your plate message for up to 2 years in advance. So if you have a special occasion coming up (like getting married or graduating from university) you can reserve your custom plates and get them once the big event has taken place.

Remember, the DMV can’t issue plates that are duplicates of another active license plate. Do a number plate search to see if your chosen plates are available.

If another plate has been expired for at least 2 years, then the DMV will re-issue that license plate configuration.

So it’s smart to reserve your plates now so that someone else doesn’t snap up your custom plates.

4. Install Theft Proof License Plate Screws

Protect your custom license plate against theft by using theft-proof screws to install your plate.

The DMV will not re-issue custom license plates that were stolen until the plate is expired. This is to protect you from driving around with the same plate number as one that has been stolen and may be used in illegal activities.

The last thing you want is to have to wait until that plate expires before you can enjoy your custom vanity plates again. So protect your investment with theft-proof screws.

5. Consider Special Plates

Besides having custom characters on your vanity plates, you can also choose special plates to represent and support a specific organization. For example, collegiate plates show your school spirit and help support scholarships at the school.

Likewise, special interest plates help raise money for specific causes. For example, you can support cancer research, litter prevention and so on. A set amount from the sale of each special plate goes towards the organization.

Bottom Line on a Personalized License Plate

We hope you found these 5 tips on personalized license plates useful. Remember, the fee for having a personalized license plate is payable each year at renewal time.

Next, check out these 10 must-know vehicle maintenance tips.