FMUSLMS license plate revoked by Minnesota DPS
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (KMSP) - The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says personalized license plates that say FMUSLMS should never have been issued and that DPS agents will be revoking the plates immediately. Fox 9 confirmed the plates were ordered by a man from Foley, Minn., who purchased his truck from a Big Lake, Minn. resident.
"This personalized license plate should never have been issued; it is offensive and distasteful," DPS said in a statement. "We are in the process of revoking and taking possession of the plates today. The Department of Public Safety apologizes for this error. The Driver and Vehicle Services Division is reviewing its process for approving personalized license plates today and will immediately provide additional review and oversight of applications."
A Snapchat photo of the license plate was shared over the weekend on the Facebook page of Somali community activist Haji Yusuf. He told Fox 9 the photo was taken by a St. Cloud high school student. Yusuf is a member of the advocacy group Unite Cloud, working with the entire St. Cloud community to stop discrimination, especially against Muslims.
The Department of Public Safety confirmed the license plates were issued in June 2015. The application was processed at a deputy registrar's office in Foley, Minn. and reviewed by DVS. The personalized plates were produced by MINNCOR Industries.
"I am appalled that this license plate was issued by the State of Minnesota," Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said in a statement. "It is offensive, and the person who requested it should be ashamed. That prejudice has no place in Minnesota. I have instructed the Commissioner of Public Safety to retrieve this plate as soon as possible and re-review agency procedures to ensure it does not occur again."
Personalized license plate application and process
A copy of an application can be found here.
Personalized plates are available with the standard plate background for Passenger Automobiles and Pick-Up Trucks with up to seven (7) characters (including spaces) total. A character is an upper-case letter, space, hyphen, or number.
You must apply for personalized plates at a deputy registrar office or by mailing an Application for Special Plates (PS2010) and appropriate fees to:
Specialized Plates may be displayed on passenger class vehicles, one-ton pickups, motorcycles and self-propelled recreation vehicles (any gross weight).
Maximum number of characters allowed on license plate (including spaces and/or hyphens) is seven (7) for passenger class vehicles, personalized vertical motorcycle plates are limited to four (4), and personalized plates for all other vehicle types (one-ton, RV, standard motorcycle) are limited to six (6) characters (including spaces and/or hyphens).
More information about personalized plates may be found here.