Can You Decipher These Virginia Vanity License Plates?

You might even see these tags as you're driving around Northern Virginia.

By Michele Kettner • Posted April 2, 2025 at 9:58 a.m.

Steve/stock.adobe.com

If you’re stuck in NoVA traffic, there’s a good chance you’ll spot a car with a vanity license plate.

According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, there are more than 930,000 personalized license plates in Virginia — that’s about 11 percent of registered vehicles in the commonwealth. We asked readers to send in their clever tags. While some are easy to figure out, there are a few that require some deciphering.

GI Jose vanity license plate graphic — Answer: GI Jose

Node.js vanity license plate graphic — Answer: Node.js (Javascript program)

Love to Stand-up Paddleboard vanity license plate graphic — Answer: Love to Stand-up Paddleboard

Song Bird vanity license plate graphic — Answer: Songbird

Hot Wheels vanity license plate graphic — Answer: Hot Wheels

Hate 3 Putt vanity license plate graphic — Answer: Hate 3 Putt

x-files vanity license plate graphic — Answer: X-Files

travel size vanity license plate graphic — Answer: Travel Size

Feature image, stock.adobe.com

This story originally ran in our April Issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.

Michele Kettner

Audience Engagement Editor

Michele Kettner joined Northern Virginia Magazine in 2020 after spending two semesters as an editorial intern at the magazine. The University of Maryland graduate is currently the audience engagement editor and covers everything from can’t-miss things to do and holiday events to new restaurant and store openings throughout Northern Virginia.