OK woman frustrated after new personalized plate gets flagged as stolen out of Dallas
YUKON, Okla. (KFOR) — An Oklahoma woman says she's had two encounters with Oklahoma police officers in less than two weeks over her personalized plate that's been flagged as stolen out of Texas.
Trisha Grant told News 4 she ordered the plate in April, after filling out a Service Oklahoma application. Other than inappropriate plates, the application only mentions that a request that conflicts with the Oklahoma regular license plate numbering system or one which has been assigned to someone else will be declined. The application lists the cost as $26.60, and to allow four months in most cases to receive it. Grant says her personalized plate, which she received in the mail on June 10, was inspired by her faith.
"It just says forgiven," said Grant. "I love Jesus, I like to, you know, feel like I'm forgiven."
On Wednesday, Grant said she was at her Oklahoma City church when she received alerts on her phone through an app, someone was at her front door in Yukon. She said her son and husband also called her, realizing Oklahoma City Police officers were at their residence.
"I went out to the car, and when I got out to the car there was two police officers," said Grant.
Grant said Oklahoma City officers asked her where she got her plate and informed her a flock camera had flagged it.
"They ended up telling me that it was stolen, and I was like, excuse me," said Grant. "They said it was stolen off of a truck in Dallas, Texas."
Grant said law enforcement told her to go to a tag agency to have the matter resolved.
"So I went to the tag agency and they told me it was all good," said Grant.
News 4 obtained footage of a Yukon traffic stop involving Grant on June 13. In the video, you can see a Yukon Police officer approaching Grant and explaining she was being stopped over the plate after a different flock camera flagged it again.
"Hey, I think there's going to be some confusion," the officer can be heard saying.
Grant doesn't appear to be confused at all, explaining that she has relevant documents, she said a tag agent said to keep on her in case there was any more confusion. She said she was frustrated specifically in this second case because she was on her way to work the same morning.
"I mean, I work in a preschool, so, you know, I don't want parents thinking I'm committing a crime," said Grant.
Spokespeople for the Oklahoma City and Yukon Police departments confirmed Grant's incidents in email correspondence and a phone call Monday, saying that it would be on the Dallas Police to lift the flag.
A Dallas Police spokesperson responded to multiple questions from News 4 Monday pertaining to the incident; those questions and answers are included below:
Q: Can we please get a copy of case 120322-2024?
A: A copy of the report can be requested from Open Records here: City of Dallas Open Records Center. We can release the following preliminary information: On August 5, 2024, Dallas Police took a report of a vehicle stolen from the 7700 block of Forest Lane. The preliminary investigation determined that an unknown suspect took the victim’s vehicle without permission. This is an ongoing investigation documented under case number 120322-2024.
Q: Can you confirm if the license plate 4GIVEN out of either Oklahoma or Texas are flagged as stolen?
A: The Oklahoma plate in question is flagged as “stolen” in NCIC due to the ongoing Dallas Police auto theft case.
Q: Can you confirm if Dallas PD has been contacted about having this flag removed?
A: On June 13, 2025, Dallas Police was contacted by Oklahoma police about the plate being marked as stolen. Dallas PD advised that the Oklahoma agency which issues license plates should reissue new plates since the plates in question are still flagged as stolen in NCIC due to the ongoing investigation.
Q: Did Dallas PD deny removing the flag?
A: The flag was not removed since the plates are connected to an ongoing investigation.
Q: If that request from police was denied, what would Mrs. Grant need to do in order to get the flag removed?
A: The owner of the plates should contact the Oklahoma agency which issues license plates for assistance with getting new plates. The flag will not be removed since it is connected to an ongoing investigation.
News 4 reached out to a Service Oklahoma spokesperson regarding why the plate was approved in the first place, and received a separate set of responses to questions Monday, which can be read below:
Q: If an Oklahoma plate is flagged as stolen, is Service Oklahoma notified?
A: No. Service Oklahoma does not have visibility into license plates that are reported stolen to law enforcement, whether in Oklahoma or out of state.
Q: Would Service Oklahoma have been alerted to a stolen plate at the time of issuance?
A: No. When we issue personalized plates, the system checks for availability of the plate configuration but does not have visibility into past stolen license plate reports tied to that combination. We do check Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) for theft records but not license plate numbers.
Q: Is there a holding period before a license plate number can be reissued? If a plate is canceled, how soon can that plate number be reissued?
A: Standard issue and specialty plates are not reissued with a previously used number. The only exception would be during a statewide plate reissue, and even then, no active number would be reused. Personalized plates follow a different process. If a personalized plate expires, it must remain inactive for at least 13 months before it becomes available again. However, if a personalized plate is canceled, it may become available as soon as 90 days after cancellation. This difference exists because personalized plate combinations are customer-selected and limited in availability, making them easier to manage and return to circulation once they are no longer in use.
Q: What can be done to resolve this situation?
A: Service Oklahoma has no way of knowing when a plate has been reported stolen. Unlike vehicles, which are tracked by their Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs), license plate numbers are not connected to national or state theft databases. Once a plate has been reported stolen it may remain listed as such in law enforcement databases, especially if it was never recovered. Because of that we strongly recommend replacing the plate with a new personalized plate or a standard issue plate. Otherwise, there is a chance the individual may continue to be pulled over. We have also reached out to the Department of Public Safety to alert them to the situation and ask if any action can be taken on their end regarding the stolen status of the plate in their system.
Grant says she does plan on ordering a new plate, but the situation has been very stressful.
"I am frustrated," said Grant. "I mean, it's not, some people might say it's not a big deal, but, I mean, I think it is."
News 4 asked her what she would say to other Oklahomans thinking about ordering a personalized plate in the future.
"I guess, just think really hard about whether it's worth it or not, but it kind of meant a lot to me," said Grant. "So it was worth at least trying to stand up for myself."