Mounting Front License Plate, Legal Question

UPDATE: Got a pretty reliable answer as far as the mounting plate goes:

Anyway, I saw that another Californian member of the forum chopped up and recessed his front license plate:



I like the look of it and would like to do it to mine but I'm not going to bother if it's something that will just get me instantly pulled over. All I could really find on the CA DMV site is:

5201. License plates shall at all times be securely fastened to the vehicle for which they are issued so as to prevent the plates from swinging, shall be mounted in a position so as to be clearly visible, and shall be maintained in a condition so as to be clearly legible. The rear license plate shall be mounted not less than 12 inches nor more than 60 inches from the ground, and the front license plate shall be mounted not more than 60 inches from the ground...

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I think it's clearly visible. A red light or security camera should still be able to make it out and there's no other info on the front plate since the expiration date is on the back. So what's the verdict?

 

That's better than not having one at all. I know a lot of people that don't run a front plate in CA at all and they have never been pulled over.

 

When reading "legalese", anything could be interpreted to mean anything.

In the piece you quoted, it says "the license plate".

If I were a cop and wanted to hassle people, in my mind I would consider "the license plate" to be the ENTIRE plate, with the state name AND the border.

If you want to have just the numbers, move to Belgium!

 

I have a feeling that is defacing government property. I would avoid it.

Just dont run one, I havent run one on any of my cars in the past 7 years in California. I do have one on my taco because the holes in the bumper bug me

 

x2. I think you would be pulled over with that rather then not having one because that catches your attention. I havent had my front on since I bought the truck. I just carry under the rear seat just in case.

 

It's not clearly visible..... only the numbers are.

If you travel out-of-state, nobody knows what state you're from. Colors are irrelevant. I would think the 'state' is just as important as the numbers are.

 

I'm gonna have to go along with the rest of what's being said here. If you cut it in any way then that will get you in trouble for "altering" it. If the whole thing isn't visible then that'll get you negative attention too. Not having one at all if your state issues 2 of them is also asking for negative attention. Even if you get out of it, you'll still be pulled over, asked about it & go into some show-n-tell routine about why it isn't on the truck. I would just run with it, ugly as it may be.....or frame it with a nice brush bar or light bar of your choosing to take attention away from the ugly plate

 

better watch out some douche in here might pm the mods to delete this cause its related to "criminal activity" or cause your talking about doing something illegal

 

Did you make 2 threads on this?

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/northern-california/52284-front-license-plate-mounting.html

 

Dude.... was that necessary? If you don't like the way the forum is run, then go somewhere else.

The original poster was asking a question whether it was legal or not.

 

x2

 

One more opinion here..... I've seen numerous vehicles with license plate frames that cover all the info that your plate is hiding but at least you are showing a plate. Bottom line, you're just giving a LEO an excuse to pull you over and he then has probable cause to find whatever else may be an issue.

 

I'd think you would need to have the State and Lic Number showing to be legal (as someone above posted). I see a lot of cars with no front license plate, and I've never been pulled over for not having one on other cars I've owned. I will say that I did get 2 parking tickets that had a fine for no front plate without a parking violation, but that was a few years ago.

 

IMO, it was more necessary at this point than the person making the thread about mods allowing people on here to discuss drugs and such from last week. Now that thread was exponentially more uneccessary than this one. (not that I'm condoning anything illegal) I think he was just taking a stab at that stupid thread, which needs more stabs had it not been closed...but anyway, back on topic, I'd just roll with it if it was issued. Yeah it's ugly but so is wasted time dicking around with why it's not on there, or why is it covered or whatever.

 

Does anyone know of a molded piece that can be added to the bumper to instead of having it just screwed on? My buddy has a Frontier and it has a nice molded area for the plate instead of the two screw holes right on the bumper.

 

This thread has nothing to do with that other thread. The original poster asked a question about whether it was legal or not.... What's wrong with that? Why do we need to assume it has anything to do with actually doing anything criminal?

People install fog lights & driving lights illegally according to the DMV all the time. Some people might even exceed lift laws in their state.

Being illegal to the DMV doesn't make you a criminal.

People need to understand the difference between...... Illgally walking your dog without a leash VERSUS doing drugs, stealing, racing, etc.

 

in jersey you are busted. you cant even have a license plate trim that covers any words like the state.

 

i wouldnt mess with the front license plate. leave it on completely. and i dont know how you guys in CA get away with no plates. on my 98 i didnt have a front plate and i got ticketed in the parking lot of college all the time saying no front plate. i even once had a cop stand in the middle of the road and pulled myself and another vehicle over on sunset blvd. while he was writing me the ticket i saw his partner pull over 3 more cars that didnt have a plate by just standing in the middle of the street with his flashlight flashing towards the curb. also having it exposed on the dashboard is illegal

 

I haven't had my front plate on since I bought my truck a year ago. I try my best to avoid putting a front plate on. Iff need be you can make a quick mount with stuff from home depot. No holes drilled in the bumper for me!