Vermont could allow motorists to put emojis on their license plates 🤦‍♂️

Lawmakers in Vermont are debating whether to let motorists request a license plate with an emoji on it. The bill that could put smiley faces on thousands of custom and state-issued plates hasn’t been signed into a law yet.

Representative Rebecca White, a Democrat from the town of Windsor, introduced the draft bill this month. If approved, it would create a new type of license plate that adds an emoji to the random numerical sequence assigned by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. Drivers would be able to choose from six pre-approved emojis, according to the bill, though White hasn’t revealed which ones she has in mind yet. ☹️

Similarly, how many numbers they’d be accompanied with hasn’t been decided, or at least made public.

Motorists who wish to get a little bit more creative with the registration number would also be allowed to apply for a personalized plate that consists of an emoji plus letters and/or numbers. They’d have the same six emojis to choose from, and they’d need to follow Vermont’s standard vanity plate guidelines. Perhaps “LOL ” would be acceptable. 

Whether to let smileys into Vermont’s automotive landscape is hardly the most consequential question lawmakers need to mull an answer to, and the state’s House of Representatives hasn’t revealed when it will make a decision. If the bill becomes a law, it’s reasonable to expect the Green Mountain State will charge drivers an emoji fee.

Other states in America could follow Vermont’s example. California already lets motorists apply for a vanity plate that includes a heart, a star or a hand outline. The move wouldn’t be unprecedented, either. Drivers registering a car in the Australian state of Queensland can pay about $340 for the right to put one of five emojis on their custom plates.