# How Are License Plate Numbers generated?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-license-plate-numbers-generated/267615
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 5, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-license-plate-numbers-generated/267615 "2004-10-05T07:01:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Page:** 2

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### Author: ![Rikster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9a140/32.png) [@Rikster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rikster)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-license-plate-numbers-generated/267615/21 "2004-10-22T03:44:06Z")

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> [@Ignatz](#):
>
> This is not unique to Mass. and is not necessarily corruption. My state government has a motor pool in the state capital whence vehicles are assigned to several regions all around the state for daily use by administrative/professional-level/law enforcement personnel. They are called “confidential” plates here and their users’ i.d. data do not show up on the computer database. I don’t know all the reasons, but it is mostly for logistical and accounting reasons.

Mr. cleancut wants to buy drugs from Mr. drugdealer who in turn gets nervous and calls his buddy working for MVA to run the plate. It should come back as no record for obvious reasons, which would make me even more nervous, but a sale is a sale and not everyone has that connection.  
My Bro in law used to work for MVA and if you queried one of those special plates you better had damn good reason as there were flaggs all over them causing lots of questions even though they turned up no information

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