WHO KNOWS CA license plate laws?!?!?

[Cheesypuff]

to make a long story short, my car in the US (that my cousins driving(it's registered in her name))

anywho... a cop gives her a ticket because she doesn't have a license plate on the front of the car.

when i was first issued the plates to put on the car, i got 2. BUT, the front bumper did NOT have a place to put the front plate (no screw mounts or anything). So i didn't put the front plate on. the back had screws and a mount to put the plates on...so i put it on the back (it's required) BUT I COULD HAVE SWORE i read in CA law that if the front of the car does not have a place for the front plate, you are not required to put it on there. SO i didn't. after 2 years of having the car...it finally gets a ticket. anywho...

what do you guys know about this law?

[lights]

what kind of car? unless the car has a bumper exemption of some sort (pretty rare), you gotta mount that sucker, take it into the sheriff or chp and get it signed off.

and even those WITH bumper exemptions get ticketed, and have to mount it somehow, and then get it signed off.

[Sirrich3]

There are several cities in California that requires you to have plates on both front and back of the car. I do have a coworker that was given a citation to have the front plate installed within 30 days or else...

[InfiniteNothing]

I've seen ricers that drive around with their licence plate on their dash kinda in the windshield.

[lights]

you'll still get a ticket for that. especially in SD.

[mechmike0034]

I love that Alabama's a "one-plate-state"...

[thresher]

Florida too - I will miss that now that I am back in Texas.
Cheesy,
I ran into the same problem on Tuesday(!) with my FL truck that I registered in TX. It didn't come with any mounting stuff of any sort even though it's a 2003 F150. I asked the DPS guys what I was supposed to do and they said to KEEP MY ORIGINAL REGISTRATION showing destination delivery and they can't hang me for no front plate. I hope this helps. TX has very strict tags laws (as I am sure you remember) so I am sure so yocal will pull me over and I will have to show my original FL paperwork on this one every now and then. Good luck!

[shaggyucla]

duct tape?

[bachviet]

CA has 2 license plates law and cops give more tickets on that nowaday even if your car is parked because of the red light cameras. My co-worker got a warning at the airport while dropping his mother off.

[ray]

2 plates for cali.

[shaggyucla]

Yep two plates, i learned the hard way. There was a procession of cop cars pulling people just for that the other day in Poway (where my parents live) and i got dinged- didnt have one on my new truck
They need two license plates for those red light cameras (which i kind of like because it stops morons from running reds)

[hapoo]

Me and other people i've talked to have gotten tickets for it... specifically at LAX, the cops there are really anal about it. I had to drill into my front bumper and put a frame on it.

[SKinAZ]

California law requires a license plate to be displayed from and securely fastened to the front of the motor vehicle, UNLESS only one plate was issued (as mentioned above). Did you get two plates?

Link

Display of License Plates
5200. (a) When two license plates are issued by the department for use upon a vehicle, they shall be attached to the vehicle for which they were issued, one in the front and the other in the rear.
(b) When only one license plate is issued for use upon a vehicle, it shall be attached to the rear thereof , unless the license plate is issued for use upon a truck tractor, in which case the license plate shall be displayed in accordance with Section 4850.5.
Amended Sec. 27, Ch. 594, Stats. 2003. Effective January 1, 2004

[Cheesypuff]

what kind of car? unless the car has a bumper exemption of some sort (pretty rare), you gotta mount that sucker, take it into the sheriff or chp and get it signed off.

and even those WITH bumper exemptions get ticketed, and have to mount it somehow, and then get it signed off.

i have a honda civic. the front bumper was replaced with another stock bumper. but it didn't have mounts. i SO could have swore there are is a law saying you didn't need one!

darn darn darn!

EDIT!!!


OH PISS!!

Chapter 1. Original and Renewal Registration; Issuance of Certificates of Title
Article 9. Display of Plates, Tabs, and Stickers

section number 5200. (a) When two license plates are issued by the department for use upon a vehicle, they shall be attached to the vehicle for which they were issued, one in the front and the other in the rear.
(b) When only one license plate is issued for use upon a vehicle, it shall be attached to the rear thereof , unless the license plate is issued for use upon a truck tractor, in which case the license plate shall be displayed in accordance with Section 4850.5.
Amended Sec. 27, Ch. 594, Stats. 2003. Effective January 1, 2004.



CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP!!! I know i read the law somewhere that if you don't have mounts on front you don't need it! I KNOW IT!!! I'm NOT CRAZY!! well...maybe i am. but thats totally besides the point.


edit again....SKinAZ posted the same law i did while i was still writing my post.

[Jcranmer]

/me is happy that both states (KY and IN)I have lived in only require a single plate. I only learned from a post here some time ago, that some states require 2 plates!

[ufcrusher]

Florida too - I will miss that now that I am back in Texas.
Cheesy,
I ran into the same problem on Tuesday(!) with my FL truck that I registered in TX. It didn't come with any mounting stuff of any sort even though it's a 2003 F150. I asked the DPS guys what I was supposed to do and they said to KEEP MY ORIGINAL REGISTRATION showing destination delivery and they can't hang me for no front plate. I hope this helps. TX has very strict tags laws (as I am sure you remember) so I am sure so yocal will pull me over and I will have to show my original FL paperwork on this one every now and then. Good luck!

Ha, I just ripped off my front plate brackets on my F-150. Its a simple clip in the threads into the bumper. Either way, when I moved from Florida to California they made me screw in the plates onto the front (I didnt have a front license plate bracket installed on my Probe GT). They didnt care. Damn California. The sad thing is I found that I DID have a front bracket that came with the car when I bought it. It was just in my garage in a box of parts.

If you go to your local Ford dealership, they should be willing to put one on for you.

[catch22]

The DMV sent you two plates then you are required to have both plates on. Years ago I got the a ticket for not having a front plate on my camaoro (92). When I went to court, I showed them paperwork from the DMV stating they only sent one, and the judge dismissed the ticket. on my camaro, there was no spot (factory brackets) for a front plate. The DMV knowing this only sent me one, therefore the judge said I was only required to put on what the DMV sent me.

[Milenko]

2 plates are required in California. However, only the rear needs to have the registration sticker....that's the law.

[ShawnLee]

If I responded to this to say that you need to show whichever plate(s) you've been issued, I'd be repeating what others have said and therefore neffing.

Eh, screw it. I already typed it up.

Neff.

[renovation]

Check with the dealer which will have a frame of some kind to adapt to your make and model of car. He'll be more then happy to mark it up 10 fold now that is not a brand new car and was not on it when you bought it.

[Cheesypuff]

I DON'T WANT TO DRILL HOLES IN MY BUMPER!!!!!!!!! fdkajfkejakjfakjfajfa

ARG!!!!!

[Maarchk]

umm why is it such a pain or bad thing to have a front license?
Are you guys late night street racers in your F-350s'? and hondas? Ok maybe i see the honda... but i mean do you really have issues with having a front plate?

Drilling holes when you didn't have holes, that sounds annoying, but just the premise of people being excited about a 1 plate state, i dont get... But i'm from cali. Its always been two...
I'll give you a little hint. Go to the junk yard, get a license plate and attach to the front. You aren't breaking the 2 plate law and if they take your pic.. oh wait that car aint mine its in the junkyard...

[Cheesypuff]

yeah...it's just my bumper looks so sleek with no holes and no plate in the front. drilling holes...sniff sniff.

i'm not worried about the drag or less aero dynamic it is, i just don't wanna drill holes in my bumper.

[Cheesypuff]

CHECK THIS!!!! =)

http://www.petitiononline.com/caplate/petition.html

To: California Legislature

To: CA Legislators
We, the Undersigned, petition the State of California to revoke the current law requiring the display of a front license plate on passenger vehicles.
We support the current and future licensing fee structure, but ask that the law reflect that a front license plate is no longer required. We believe that there are significant benefits in not requiring front license plates and our reasons for this belief are briefly summarized in the paragraphs below.

First, eliminating the need for a front license plate will significantly reduce the state costs associated with production, storage, and shipping. Second, a front license plate restricts the performance of passenger vehicles. Modern cars aren't being designed with front plates in mind anymore, because mounting brackets that are necessary to hold the plates interfere with the cars' aerodynamics and often get damaged during the car-washing process. Third, unnecessary damage is sustained from minor bumper-to-bumper collisions, because the front mounting brackets on passenger cars can cause cracks and abrasions to the rear bumpers of the cars that they hit. Finally, police officers will be more productive in stopping dangerous motor vehicle violations such as drunk driving, reckless driving, speeding, etc., because their time won't be compromised by a California motorist who simply didn't have a front license plate on display.

Law enforcement officials might be opposed to a measure abolishing the front license plate requirement, because they might believe that losing the extra plate will make it more difficult for them to do their jobs in the best possible manner. However, in the 20 or more states that have abolished the front license plate requirement, there is no evidence of a decline in public safety as a result of the plate removal.

Sincerely,

[bachviet]

Signed!

[davez32]

i just got pulled over yesterday for no front license plate. i own a 1990 Nissan 300zx witch is lowered exhaust tinted windows and he pulls me over for no front plate. i was pissed because i was minding my own business and there are so many cars out there with no front plates. i don't even have a mounting place on my front bumper for a plate. why don't they just go catch people acting like idiots and leave us alone. i think he pulled me over just because its a sports car. he let me off with a warning.

[MrGreg]

I'm fairly certain this qualifies for a golden shovel award.

[Thesifer]

I'm fairly certain this qualifies for a golden shovel award.

Well hey, at least he had some story to add to it, and didn't just go about creating a new thread about exactly the same thing.

[Markel]

Well hey, at least he had some story to add to it, and didn't just go about creating a new thread about exactly the same thing.

Maybe he saw Apex's avatar:

[mechmike0034]

I live in a one-plate state - no worries...