Nevada license plate with shortened message to ‘Go back to California’ revoked by DMV

RENO, Nev. — A revoked Nevada license plate that was meant to “drive away” Californians is getting one last chance to go back on the streets.

The plate — which reads “GOBK2CA,” short for “Go back to California” — was recalled by the state Department of Motor Vehicles in May after it received a complaint, KOLO-TV first reported. Now the vehicle owner is appealing the recall and will have a hearing on Wednesday, according to the Reno-area news station.

A section of the Nevada Administrative Code applied to the recall prohibits defamatory references to a person or group.

“In this case, the defamed group is Californians,” DMV spokesperson Eli Rohl told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He adding that the department “regularly” turns down license plates that share the same message.

A special license committee meets every Monday to review reported license plates, before determining which ones violate Nevada statute.

The DMV reviewed more than 700 license plates from July 2022 to early March. Denied license plates include the puzzling “GGGGGGG,” the overly rude “U 1D1OT” and many no-so-subtle allusions to profanity, according to KLAS-TV in Las Vegas.