States that allow you not to show a front license plate when they are required?

A

atikovi

Joined
Apr 27, 2010
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Noticed this on Car Wizard,

plate.jpg

I assume you pay an extra fee so you don't have to display a front plate? Any other states have this?
 
I can't speak for every state but in my state its only rear plates, you only get 1 plate per vehicle. I don't see it as impossible to pay extra to avoid a front plate but I don't know any state which offers this.

I think some states just give you 1 plate, others give you 2.

Did lookup South Dakota and it seems to be an option for a limited use plate. Reminds me of how some states handle antique plates.

Apply for a Rear Plate Only​

A rear plate is only available for vehicles with an annual mileage of less than 7,500 miles that are not used for general or commercial use. Applicants will be required to supply a current odometer reading at the time of annual registration. Applicants must pay a $25 special plate fee in addition to the registration cost for the initial registration and each renewal. $7.50 is also assessed for the cost to mail the license plates.
 
If it's required, then you'd have to show it, no? Not sure I understand the thread.

Not sure I'd pay extra to avoid the plate. I guess if I had a car that didn't already have a spot for a front plate, it might be tempting. EZ Pass can read plates so if I forget my transponder it'll still work. [For a while I had 3 for 4 cars. Didn't see the need to get a fourth. Worked well when one of the transponders stopped working.]
 
atikovi said:
Did you see the picture posted? Why would it say on the plate, Rear Plate Only, if you're required to have front plates?
Click to expand...
No I did not see that. Font too small to see "quickly". Might need to post a second pic with an arrow, too easy to overlook.
 
@3800Series answered your question. In South Dakota if you have a show car etc (less than 7500 miles/year) it can be registered as "rear plate only." With that type of registration, no front plate is issued and the car is not required to have a front plate.

In Virginia if the car qualifies and is registered with antique plates, and it was manufactured without a place to mount a front plate, you are allowed to drive it without a front plate.
 
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Vermont is weird. It is a 2 plate state. However, for $35 you can buy, from the DMV, a "Vermont Strong" commemorative plate that you mount ON TOP OF (not in place of,) your front license plate. It totally covers the front license plate. The $35 goes to a State flood relief fund.

Technically, you still have a front plate on your car. But nobody can see it.

I guess that shows how unimportant the State considers front plates for traffic enforcement.

I bought one for each of my 3 cars.
 
k1xv said:
Vermont is weird. It is a 2 plate state. However, for $35 you can buy, from the DMV, a "Vermont Strong" commemorative plate that you mount ON TOP OF (not in place of,) your front license plate. It totally covers the front license plate. The $35 goes to a State flood relief fund.

Technically, you still have a front plate on your car. But nobody can see it.

I guess that shows how unimportant the State considers front plates for traffic enforcement.

I bought one for each of my 3 cars.
Click to expand...
Never thought about that until you mentioned it—I’ve seen that a few times and didn’t think anything of it.

You guys are more crunchy than I thought… :ROFLMAO:
 
AZ stopped issuing 2 plates per vehicle about 30 years ago to save money. AZ also has over 100 speciality plates available currently.
 
IL requires front plates but the only time I have ever seen it enforced was when LEO wanted to pull someone over as an excuse or meter maids in downtown Chicago. I believe IL has just started going to 1-plate only but of course, yearly registration still costs the same.
 
Jon 1, 2025, Utah will join the states that only require a rear plate. Currently, the law allows for no front plate, if there is no means to attach a front plate. Also, the current front plate law is a secondary offense.

I have never heard of anyone, including myself, that has been ticketed for not having a front plate. And I've had a few "visits" with the Highway Patrol on the side of the road. None have even mentioned that I didn't have a front plate displayed.

FYI for Utah bound travelers, one of the concessions for the UHP, is that the new bill will make it illegal to have any license plate cover or frame, which interferes with being able to read the plate or the stickers. Since the UHP is going to have to depend upon only a rear plate, they want to be able to electronically read the license plate with near 100% reliability.
 
Question was answered

Topic is re-opened and will be closed if legal advice is offered. Again.
 
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I rented a Camaro in Nevada in 2001. Never been there before, drove all over.

Noticed all the other cars had two license plates. Mine only had a rear one.

When I got back to civilization and internet, I noticed their law (at the time) was "you must have a front plate unless there's nowhere to put it."

That rental agency was sketchy-- my car had an alarm system but they didn't include the remote fob. So I had to unlock and open this nine foot long door and get in the seat and turn the ignition on all within the space of 15 seconds or else the alarm would set off.
 
Pew said:
I believe IL has just started going to 1-plate only but of course, yearly registration still costs the same.
Click to expand...
I know they have considered going to one plate only, but it hasn't been passed or approved that I am aware of. But like you said, enforcement is spotty at best. Very lax.
 
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California requires front and rear plates. However, it is not unusual to see vehicles with only rear plates. From what I see, a missing front plate by itself is unlikely to get you pulled over. The fine is only $25.
 
Pennsylvania has a lot wrong with it but at least we only have one plate. A few years ago they stopped sending out the yearly sticker showing you had paid the annual registration fee. If you get a special plate or vanity plate you only pay a one time fee, every year after that your annual registration is the same as a regular plate. One side note of no yearly sticker is the fact people have been stopped in other states when police saw a plate showing a sticker from four years ago.
 
Ohio required front plates for years, until 2020, and I routinely drove cars without them for years with no issues.
YMMV depending upon the state you're driving through and how hungry the local traffic enforcement folks are.
 
Iowa requires two...been pulled over twice for no front plate. Once about 8am on my way to a 5k run, and once on my way to coach my son's soccer practice. One was a red Audi A3, and the other was a Fiat 500 Abarth.
 
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