Overview

• U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster approved a consent order after the BMV conceded it erred in rejecting the two plate requests.
• The agency will review its database to unlock words that are not offensive, disparaging or socially insensitive and will post instructions for people who believe a request was wrongly denied.
• Court filings cited inconsistent decisions, noting approvals for terms like STR8, HETERO, ATHEIST, BAPTIST and HINDU, alongside rejections of GAY, LESBIAN, MUSLIM and JEW.
• The case was dismissed following the agreement, which narrows enforcement to a clarified standard focused on offensive or disparaging content and social insensitivity.
• Ohio rejects hundreds of vanity-plate applications each year—939 in 2024, 777 in 2023, 758 in 2022 and 827 in 2021—and a separate lawsuit over a 2022 denial is on appeal.