Licence Plate Laws

[RWB]

I am curious how it works with licence plates on the front of vehichles... are they required? Or is it a state by state thing?

I am looking at this replacement front bumper HERE (http://www.truckperformance.com/vehicle.search/?productID=288585) and I am unsure if it has a licence plate thing.

Or is there something I can buy that will allow me to attach a licence plate on it.

Just for reference I am also getting the following:

http://www.truckperformance.com/products/?productID=415695
http://www.truckperformance.com/products/?productID=1027896

That's all so far, but I am looknig into other things also :) I can't find a replacement grill and stuff though.

[primesuspect]

In michigan, there is no front license plate law. You can put whatever the hell you want up there.

It's probably state-by-state.

[shwaip]

not required in PA...it's state by state.

[Al_Capown]

Not required in Indiana.

[Black Hawk]

Not required here either...although we're not a state :p

[karatekid]

Required in New York (I wanted to be different.)

[TheSmJ]

Required in Missouri.

[Geeky1]

They're required in CA, but I don't have one. I lost the screws for the bracket, and besides, it just looks awful. Half the cars around here don't have them, and I've never heard of anyone getting pulled over for it. You may get a ticket for it if you get pulled over for something else, but I've never heard of that happening, either.

[Rot Katze]

not required in Florida

[Enverex]

Required on front and back, unobstructed, readable font and clean at all times here, but thats the UK for you.

[GnomeWizardd]

Def not required in Fl

[qparadox]

Required here in BC. Most motor vehicle laws are province to province here as well.

[Jimborae]

Required on front and back, unobstructed, readable font and clean at all times here, but thats the UK for you.

And don't forget of a certain size & spacing too, jeez I sometimes think we live in a police state over here. ;)

[Camman]

it's required in NH but noone ever gets stopped for it. People I know who have like aftermarket bumpers or whatever just keep the bracket and plate in their trunk so if they get pulled over they can say it just fell off and they need to get a new bracket first.

[profdlp]

Required in VA but not in WV.

I think the main reason states have them is so you can't park backed up to a wall, leaving the vehicle unidentifiable.

I don't know if it's still true, but some states made you display your registration as to be visible outside the car, usually by mounting it on the dashboard or steering column.

[TheSmJ]

Your VIN number is already on your dash. I believe one can be identified by checking to see who the VIN is regestered to.

[mmonnin]

Bastard Ohio Laws. We gotta have em.

[a2jfreak]

Not required in Texas (pretty sure you already knew that, though).

[Clutch]

Not sure if it is a law in NC or not. I got one on the front, but I'm thinking about taking it off.

[edcentric]

Not in OK
Yes in WI

[fatcat]

Front and back in Vermont, they pull ya over if even snow is covering it...

Only back in Kentucky...and that can be the rear window as 1/3 the cars in Kentucky dont have rear bumpers anyways ;p

[RWB]

Not required in Texas (pretty sure you already knew that, though).

Well actually they changed that last year man... at least according to a cop that pulled my brother over.

But I am in FL right now, and I am just gonna drill and replace instead. I have it, might as well use it.

[a2jfreak]

If that's true, then I'm legal in my 2K but illegal in my 2K3.
Oh well. :D

[celcho]

the reason they have them on the front and back is probably to make the car identifiable from both sides. that way if you are going the other way someone (or a cop) can still get the tag number. though criminals can just take the tags off, i suppose. although that is suspicious as it is.

[muddocktor]

No front plates for Louisiana. :)

a2j, since when did Texas get rid of front plates? They used to require front plates in the 60's and 70's.

[tefleming]

DC requires front plates. AR doesn't.

My sister (who lives in DC, but drives a car from AR) actually got out of a parking ticket because the dumb cop mistook her front vanity plate (Its styled just like an Arkansas plate) for a real one. the license plate number on the ticket read: "AR-WOO PIG"

pwned

[a2jfreak]

I don't know about the Law from the 60's and 70's but I've been driving for the last 9 years or so and it hasn't been required in that period.

Now, RWB could be correct that the law is now in effect again, but if that's true I have been unaffected by its change.

No front plates for Louisiana. :)

a2j, since when did Texas get rid of front plates? They used to require front plates in the 60's and 70's.

[bothered]

Required on front and back, unobstructed, readable font and clean at all times here, but thats the UK for you.

The numbers\letters have to be made of a reflective material as well. I have seen some on one car in the car park at work at night that weren't, from a certain angle you couldn't see a couple of the letters, they 'disappeared' I was told this was so they couldn't be photographed by speed cameras and were illegal!
Motorists are hammered over here!

[topherice]

Yes in IA.

[Khaos]

Front liscense plates are required by law in Texas. You'll be hard pressed to find a cop that will pull you over for not having one, though. I keep mine on there because the campus police are Nazis and will use any excuse to pull students over.

It's a pretty new law, passed a year or two ago.

[RWB]

I just got back from my search on parts for my truck(which I found nothing :()... I was told front Licence plates are NOT required in Florida...

Thanks for clearing that one up for Texas too though Khaos, I was unsure myself... but I was right about it being a year or so ago ;)

Since I found nothing from the Junkyard or even PepBoys... looks like I now have the excuse to buy BRAND NEW from online vendors! :P

Good bye $1000...

[CB]

it's required in NH but noone ever gets stopped for it. People I know who have like aftermarket bumpers or whatever just keep the bracket and plate in their trunk so if they get pulled over they can say it just fell off and they need to get a new bracket first.


It's exactly like that in Ohio. When I lived there, I never had a front plate... Now that I'm in Kentucky, it's not required at all.

[GHoosdum]

I've seen people in KY get away with having no plate at all - as long as there's a shotgun hanging in the back window...

[MJO]

Required in Denmark as well.
A lot of people seems to forget about it though.
Probably to avoid getting an ticket for speeding, we have camera vans at the side of the road.
No front license plate makes it very hard to identify the car.
But you will get a fine if you are missing your front license plat if you are pulled over.

[Straight_Man]

And don't forget of a certain size & spacing too, jeez I sometimes think we live in a police state over here. ;)

Kinda interesting, in US most states PRINT the plates for you, and issue renewal stickers so plates last until they wear out. Even TEMp plates can be preprinted or be at least computer numbered stickers with plate temp number hand written in marker by a state employee before issuing.

Florida is kinda weird, it is the only state I know of where you go into license plate office and can get any of 17 designs of plate (some get mailled to you, most on hand, except for custom number plates, those get mailled in my part of Florida). Then you can go on web, renew plates with reg tax payment, and they mail you your new stickers annually so long as your driver's license data checks out good. Also, in Florida and most US states, the VIN that plate is for is on computer record, so VIN in field can be compared to plate. Even the county sheriff's deputies can type in a check in thier laptops in their patrol cars (local city cops can also, and state police), gets name, address, VIN and plate number that SHOULD be on vehicle. Then cop looks at what you handed him in form of the reg paper you have to have in vehicle, checks that against computer and against plate.

One reason that is done, is cops stop behind vehicle. You exit vehicle, stand between police vehicle and yours, if any questions about your behavior at all. They have run plate beofre they even come up to vehicle, and if it does not match make and color and model of car they see, there will be another patrol car in front of your car shortly in the county I live in-- could be from city, state, county, or one of each, as all law enforcement here has specific in-dept freqs and all departments freqs which they can request backup on.

But most is done by computer and by preprint tags. Even most of the boats use reg numbers, THOSE are stickon numbers plus reg tags right now. Even motorcycles and bikes get preprinted license plates and tags down here.... One of the major employments at prisons is pressing(plates have inverse-embossed(raised) in metal numbers on them) and printing license plates....

John.

[LawnMM]

Required front and rear in Colorado. I don't remember who brought up temp tags but I can tell you from a law enforcement perspective they're a pain in the ass. Fake ones are pretty easy to spot, but you run into trouble when you call to check on them. Dealerships are supposed to send in the registration info daily so there is something to match the temp tags up to when the tag is called on. The problem is its frequently done weekly and even monthly. So chances are the tag you call on is going to have zero information available on it even if it is valid.

The fun part is that criminals are still too stupid to make up their own, they steal them off other cars, so when there is info available...they're nabbed ;D

[RWB]

This thread resurrection is kinda funny. Today I realized I still don't have my front licence plate from when I took it off in Florida. Now I am wondering if I should go ahead and put it back on since I am back in Texas. :wtf:

[LawnMM]

I'm busy and catching up on threads...lay off! :thumbsup: