No matter your alma mater, don't count on getting UOFUH8R or BYUH8R on your license plate any time soon.

Every month the Department of Motor Vehicles deciphers approximately 600 personalized license plate requests, and many requests - like UOFUH8R -- weren't approved.

Every month, DMV employees have to make judgment calls on what is socially acceptable and reject what isn't. If you were to try it, you would have to be up to date on ever-changing drug slang and sexual innuendos -- in multiple languages. You would have to check to see how the plate reads when it is upside down and reversed. There is no computer rejection program, just a handful of state guidelines that lead to case-by-case decisions.

"There's more art involved than science," said Charlie Roberts, public information officer for the Utah State Tax Commission.

Roberts said the employees are constantly reviewing web pages to remain updated on gang violence, drug abuse, etc. and checking with people in the community sensitive to racial and ethnic slurs.

However, the individual nature of those decisions means a request that may slip through one day won't the next. A database search of Tax Commission documents of every rejected and accepted personalized license plate in the state of Utah from 2001 to the end on 2007 shows many inconsistencies.

GUNER, GUNRNNR and GUNSLGR didn't pass mustard - GUNNER did. SKIPUNK, PUNKSTR and PUNKROC were ok, but SLCPUNK was denied. GLADI8R was rejected to protect the public welfare, but GLADY8R slipped through - which may actually be more offensive to English professors. Perhaps most curious, 1PIRATE was denied out of the public's welfare, but PIRATES was ok. The Spanish word for bandit (BANDIDO) was rejected, but the English version was ok.

"It is a subjective call," Roberts said. "A lot of it has to do with how the sex and drug lingo changes."

While sexual or drug references are the most common rejections, comprising 63 percent of the denials in Utah, they are not the only reasons plates are not accepted. Obscene, vulgar or profane requests were the next most common reason for denials, followed by plates that endanger the public welfare. Utah law also gives the DMV the authority to deny plates that express "contempt, ridicule, or superiority of a race, religion, deity, ethnic heritage, gender, or political affiliation" or illegal activity and gang terminology.

Utah has been the home of various lawsuits challenging the DMV's decisions that have garnered national attention. In 2005, an administrative law judge ruled that the plate 'GAYSROK' was ok. Last summer, the courts rejected 'MERLOT' as an alcoholic reference, despite the car being the color merlot.

"Some of the guidelines are silly, especially the ones involving alcohol. It is a legal product sold in the state of Utah -- why can't you have that on your plate?" said Brian Barnard, a Salt Lake attorney.

Barnard represented two American Indians in a case that challenged the plate 'REDSKIN' -- which was defended by fans of the athletic team. That case went to the Utah Supreme Court in 1999 where it was decided the standard of review should be "the objective, reasonable person." Justice Christine Durham said in the ruling that the term was a "racial epithet," and once it went back to the Tax Commission the plate was revoked.

Barnard said that litigation is one way to help the Tax Commission sort out what should be allowed and what shouldn't.

Utah's laws state that license plates are a non-public forum, giving them the authority to censor without violating the First Amendment. This non-public forum is also a big revenue generator for the state. Ordering a personalized license plates cost $55 and every time a motorist who has a specialty plate renews his or her registration they must pay an extra $10.