Vanity plates are fairly common in some states such as California. The number of vehicles licensed at any given time in CA has grown to numbers necessitating the use of creative plate composition. In less densely populated​ states, license plates are primarily composed of 3 alphabetic and 3 numeric characters. Standard CA plates consist of seven characters and now allow four different​ shapes: hand,​ heart, star, and plus sign to be imprinted on the license plate as well. In a state devoid of corrosive road elements such as​ salt, vehicles may last longer. Combined with the large population​ size, the need exists for a greater pool of possible plate results.