FOSAMA license plates pulled by Virginia DMV

The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles has given Gloucester, Va., resident Rick Sanders 30 days to exchange his ”FOSAMA” vanity license plates for less offensive plates, MSNBC reported. Yes, the DMV issued them, but, in a letter, the department said it made an error, and the license plates violate its guidelines because they are "profane, obscene or vulgar in nature."

Sanders, whose previous license plates read, “H8UBIN,” denies his plates are profane. "It can be meant as 'Fight Osama, forget Osama,' whatever you want it to be," he told MSNBC.

In fact, Sanders told Norfolk, Va., ABC affiliate WVEC TV, he’s offended by the replacement plates the DMV sent him. They read: "6668UP,” which Sanders told MSNBC he interprets as, “the devil ate you up.” "I don't like anything with 666 on it," Sanders told WVEC TV.

More from GlobalPost: Auspicious Thai vanity license plate sells for $223,000

A DMV spokesperson told MSNBC that license plate numbers are generated randomly and officials will work with Sanders to find him a plate he likes.

"I definitely want another plate," Sanders said, according to MSNBC. "I don't appreciate the plate they sent me. I would like the chance to pick my own."

Sanders told WVEC TV he is also considering fighting the DMV's decision to pull his plates. Sanders said he’s been driving around with them for seven years, and he’s never heard a complaint.

"People come up behind me, they're laughing, they're giving me the thumbs up,” he told WVEC TV. “They're laughing at me. I've never had anybody look at me and tell me, ‘I can't believe you have that on your license plate.’ "

However, a DMV spokesperson told MSNBC, given how many years have passed since Sanders registered the tags, it’s likely that someone didn’t like what they saw and alerted the DMV.

More from GlobalPost: Texas officials fight against Confederate flag license plate