We had to fill out a form and snail-mail it to the DMV

Oh geez, that's pretty bad. I'm suprised, it being California and all. The Virginia DMV has a fantastic site where you can type in the plates you want and it will show you what it looks like and tell you if it's available. I believe it also gives you alternate choices. You can even select the many different types of VA liscense plates (colleges, veteren's, motorcycle, etc.), and it will show you how many spaces you can use and exactly what it will look like.

I didn't happen to order it over the web, but I could have. It was for a new vehicle so I ordered them when I registered.

DiGNAN
13653
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Matt