removing front license plate, legal? Options

[celicamike]

Hey guys, I hate the way the license plate looks on the front of my 6gc, does anyone know what the law is in California regarding this? Am I required to have a license plate on the front of my car or is only the back OK?

[Dr_Tweak]

If you're issued a front plate, then it's not legal to run without one. That said, I ran without a front plate in VT for a couple of years and no one noticed.

-Doc

[hurley97]

im in jersey and i got pulled over once for not having it. since then i keep it under my seat in case i get pulled over again, in which case i'll tell them it just fell off and i havnt had a chance to put it back on.

[Bitter]

some people never get noticed for not having a plate, and some people cant leave the driveway without one. i dont get it!

[airfron]

I live in SoCal too and i have been driving with no front plate for more than a year so far with no ticket. When i bought the car it was not attached to the front bumper but in the glove box???

However it is illegal and driving without one an officer is permitted to pull you over based on that alone and ticket you. its just a fix-it ticket though and a pita

[Akira_g4]

Same goes for me and i live in Cali, bay area. havnt had the license plate in front for about 7 or so months and i havnt had a problem. ive always thought that it was ok to not have a license plate in the front. i mean i constantly see corvettes with no front license plate so i thought it applied to everyone

[soulshadow]

Over here at Arkansas were only issued 1 license plate so, it usually goes in the back.

[hitcachi]

im in jersey and i got pulled over once for not having it. since then i keep it under my seat in case i get pulled over again, in which case i'll tell them it just fell off and i havnt had a chance to put it back on.

lol! I've been pulled over for not having one about 90 times. And thats exactly what i do. Sometimes i tell them that i dont want to drill holes in my bumper. Casue there seriously are no mounting holes in my bumper.

[sinner96ST]

my buddy took his plate off of his 01 z28 camaro, so i took mine off.

the more you look around here (in illinois at least) for people without front plates, the more you see. i never noticed how many people ride without one, i've never been stopped or pulled over regarding my front plate, and it's been off for about 2 years.

it just boils down to how strict the cops are around your area. around here, they could give a **** less about the front plate, obviously. i've had cops walk up to me and ask me about the car, while staring at the plateless front bumper, never saying a word.

it looks better without the front plate, almost a totally different car. i feel sorry for people who think they have to have them on all the time.

[Bitter]

yep, its hit or miss here in IL. ive been in 2 accidents without my front plate and both times neither officer said anything.

[tomazws]

It's 100% illegal in Cali. They need to take a picture of your front plate when you zoom pass a red stop light. Though, cops in my area don't usually give a damn. I've had my front plate inside the car for almost 2 years already, no trouble. Cops pulled me over, wrote me tickets for speed, wrote me tickets for not obeying stop signs, and they never said anything bout my front plate...

Ok, let's not jinx myself... knock on wood...

[brthrurik]

In Oregon the ticket for no front plate is 180$ and no more fix it tickets either...

[zachattack15]

Louisiana must not care about this. Not one single person has a front plate other than those custom air brushed ones.

[j0e_p3t]

my cousin got pulled over for not having a front license plate. but then he told the cop it was on his windshield, and he let him go. but i'm not sure if its okay to have it on the dashboard behind the windshield. but since i'm getting my car done soon, i'll probably tell them to shave my front plate holes and i'll just stick the license plate on my windshield. and if i still get a ticket for that, i'll just use hurley's alibi.

[hurley97]

when i first got the car i kept it in the window. i got pulled over once for not stopping at a stop sign and the cop noticed it and said i had to put it on the front. i think its one of those obscure things that cops usually forget to check for but if you have it in the wrong place they'll notice it...so i keep mine under the seat, its a little bent so if needed i'll tell them someone hit it and it wont stay on

[sinner96ST]

i've heard cops 'warn' people that putting the plate on the dash can turn it in to a projectile in a head on collision.

whether or not this is true remains to be seen, but it's still something to think about. having a metal plate fly at you at X mph when you're coming to a sudden stop.

[yoter88]

i live in northern cali... im now on my fifth car and i just put my plate in the corner of my front window.... pigs never look at me twice!!! i love it! i always hear bout ppl with a little civic dumped on 15's and a coffee can on the back of their car gettin pulled over for it all the time!!! so priceless...

[robdrummer]

This may help, it's good and bad at the same time. i was told that if you have a bra on the front of ur car u don't have to have a plate on the front. thats how my one friend doesn't have it on his mazda 3.

-RTC

[S_C_M]

Louisiana must not care about this. Not one single person has a front plate other than those custom air brushed ones.

Louisiana doesn't require a front plate. Seems like they don't require a rear one sometimes based on the number of people I see running without one, heh.

[creis]

I had mine in my front window got pulled over for it and given a ticket because saying i did not have one, even though the law states were it was placed is legal, as long as its clearly visible from the front of the car. I got a $200 ticket, took it to court were he read the cops lieing statment, literaly, the cop lied saying I was trying to race the car next to me which was compleatly bs, like the old guy in the car next to me happen to be driving next to me because were were maybe 100 ft from the stoplight we both started at, my bad for driving safely, should have halled to get passed him so the cop would not see us together. anyway the judge refused to see my prof or here my full statment just said I was very stupid to try and fight the ticket and did the maximum fine.

I say leave it on!

thats in WA though.

whether or not this is true remains to be seen, but it's still something to think about. having a metal plate fly at you at X mph when you're coming to a sudden stop.

if its lose then yeah, but only in a rear end collition where everything is shoved back twards the trunk, in a head on everything in the car is gana be shoved forward. and it would be extreemly hard to get hit by it hard enough to hurt, its got no momentum and unless its perfectly lined up with a bar or something its just gana slide off

This post has been edited by creis: Sep 21, 2006 - 4:06 PM