Short vanity plates are the most wanted plates in America. We asked the official DMV site in 22 states about 35,612 2- and 3-letter plates to see how many are actually left.
Updated October 19, 2026 · data from each state's own plate lookup
| State | Open | Checked | Open rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 0 | 674 | 0.0% |
| Texas | 0 | 674 | 0.0% |
| Virginia | 9 | 668 | 1.3% |
| Ohio | 65 | 674 | 9.6% |
| Pennsylvania | 103 | 655 | 15.7% |
| Hawaii | 133 | 644 | 20.7% |
| Missouri | 146 | 674 | 21.7% |
| Idaho | 223 | 674 | 33.1% |
| Iowa | 235 | 674 | 34.9% |
| Louisiana | 236 | 669 | 35.3% |
| Minnesota | 256 | 669 | 38.3% |
| West Virginia | 278 | 674 | 41.2% |
| Washington | 283 | 656 | 43.1% |
| Montana | 314 | 673 | 46.7% |
| Kansas | 328 | 674 | 48.7% |
| North Dakota | 385 | 674 | 57.1% |
| Oklahoma | 431 | 674 | 63.9% |
| South Dakota | 485 | 674 | 72.0% |
| Oregon | 643 | 674 | 95.4% |
| Tennessee | 648 | 670 | 96.7% |
Hardest first. We track the 3-letter plates people actually want - words, initials and common combinations.
| State | Open | Checked | Open rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 63 | 1,081 | 5.8% |
| Texas | 156 | 1,080 | 14.4% |
| Virginia | 177 | 1,059 | 16.7% |
| Ohio | 228 | 1,079 | 21.1% |
| Missouri | 326 | 1,081 | 30.2% |
| Pennsylvania | 326 | 1,036 | 31.5% |
| Hawaii | 364 | 1,006 | 36.2% |
| Kentucky | 293 | 723 | 40.5% |
| Idaho | 466 | 1,081 | 43.1% |
| Louisiana | 458 | 1,047 | 43.7% |
| Iowa | 474 | 1,081 | 43.8% |
| Minnesota | 480 | 1,076 | 44.6% |
| Kansas | 489 | 1,081 | 45.2% |
| Tennessee | 459 | 926 | 49.6% |
| West Virginia | 545 | 1,081 | 50.4% |
| Oregon | 374 | 700 | 53.4% |
| Montana | 584 | 1,077 | 54.2% |
| Washington | 628 | 1,054 | 59.6% |
| North Dakota | 668 | 1,081 | 61.8% |
| Oklahoma | 756 | 1,081 | 69.9% |
| South Dakota | 832 | 1,080 | 77.0% |
| Washington DC | 547 | 629 | 87.0% |
Well-known names and car plates (GTR, AMG, ALEX…), and how many of the states we check still have them open.
| Plate | Open in | Share of states |
|---|---|---|
| OWI | 18 of 19 | 95% |
| UNDO | 19 of 21 | 90% |
| NEED | 19 of 22 | 86% |
| LSWAP | 16 of 19 | 84% |
| DATE | 18 of 22 | 82% |
| SHOP | 16 of 20 | 80% |
| BODY | 17 of 22 | 77% |
| OPEN | 17 of 22 | 77% |
| LIE | 16 of 21 | 76% |
| RIMS | 16 of 21 | 76% |
| TALL | 16 of 21 | 76% |
| CBUS | 15 of 20 | 75% |
| AKRON | 16 of 22 | 73% |
| EAR | 16 of 22 | 73% |
| DOLLARS | 13 of 18 | 72% |
| EMOJI | 15 of 21 | 71% |
| GIF | 15 of 21 | 71% |
| ANY | 15 of 22 | 68% |
| CARD | 15 of 22 | 68% |
| PLAN | 15 of 22 | 68% |
Every result comes from asking each state's official DMV plate lookup whether a plate is available, the same check a driver would do by hand. "Checked" is how many plates of that length we've asked that state about; "open" is how many it said were available at our latest check. States that only offer a registration lookup, and states we don't check live, are left out. Availability changes daily, and states review every request when you order.
Wyoming is left out: its lookup counts a plate as open if any one of its 23 counties has it. In Tennessee, Oregon and Washington DC the state's lookup shows most 2-letter plates as open; those states may still restrict short plates when you order, so treat their 2-letter numbers with care.
Source: VanityPlate Short Plate Report (October 19, 2026), https://vanityplate.org/reports/short-plate-report/ - data from official state DMV plate lookups.Writing about vanity plates? Use any of these numbers - just link back to this page. Press questions: [email protected].