CNN
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If you’re a parent, getting out before a car ride with the kids probably goes a little something like this:
Parent: “Did you go to the bathroom?”
Child: “No, I don’t have to go.”
Parent: “Go now, you might not get the chance later.”
For one New Hampshire woman at least, it was pretty much the standard conversation she had with her four children…so much so that she made it her personalized license plate for 15 years.
Wendy Auger is proud of her “PB4WEGO” plate and told CNN she’s never had any problems with it. Until now.
New Hampshire asked Auger, in a letter she received Aug. 16, to return her license plate because it included a phrase related to “sexual or excretory acts or functions,” Auger said.
“I’m not a political activist,” she said. “But it’s an experience that didn’t offend me and it’s part of who we are as a family and who I am. There was no reason for them to take it away from me.”
The reminder letter stated that Auger had 10 days to return his plate with the option to choose another personalized plate at no additional cost or to have one assigned to him.
If Auger chose to get a regular license plate, he would be reimbursed for part of the cost of his personalized plate, the letter said.
After hearing about Auger’s situation from a mutual friend, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu got involved.
“When this was brought to my attention, I contacted the Division of Motor Vehicles and strongly requested that they allow Wendy to keep the license plate she has had for 15 years,” Sununu told CNN in a statement.
“I recently left him a message on his phone to tell him the good news: his license plate will not be recalled.”
Auger said she was happy to have been able to keep a piece of her family with her.
“I wasn’t going to go down without a fight,” she said.
For New Hampshire residents, the cost of a personalized license plate includes the price of your city and state registration fees, plus $40 for the personalized plate fee, plus a one-time $8 fee, according to the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles.
CNN reached out to the New Hampshire DMV for comment but did not receive a response.
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