The “Secret Message” On This California License Plate Is Now Going Viral.

One California pickup truck owner ordered a custom license plate that has since gone viral. That vanity plate, which included the letters and numbers 3J0H22A, may not seem very controversial. However, when the plate is viewed in a mirror, the true message becomes clear. Anyone who looks at the Toyota pickup truck through their side mirrors or rear-view mirror will see a message that has a lot of shock value.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has rules around what is appropriate for a vanity license plate. These personalized plates cannot break any of the following rules. Plates in California cannot “Be offensive or slang in ANY language,” “interchange letters and numbers to look like other plates,” or “resemble an existing license plate.”

However, this driver managed to break the rules because they created a plate that was only controversial when viewed through a mirror. When looking at the plate by a mirror, the plate reads as “A**hole.”

Plates can be modified “with your own combination of letters, numbers, and other characters,” notes the state’s DMV. “Standard plates that are personalized allow for 2 to 7 characters. Other personalized license [plates can have] a varying number of characters based on what kind of plate you choose to personalize.”