Florida License Plate Law Continues To Confuse Drivers Hit With Fines

Back in October, the state of Florida enacted a law that dictated what license plate covers can be used and what information on the plate is required to be visible at all times. On the surface, that hardly seems newsworthy for anyone apart from people who are actively involved in any license plate-related malfeasance in the state of Florida. However, the law seems to be a little more strict than drivers initially thought and can, in practice, seem a little more confusing than initially thought. 

Originally, the law was put in place to prevent people from outright covering their license plates and, according to ABC News 3 in Florida, stem fraud and hit-and-runs. That all seems well and good until regular people not committing fraud were getting pulled over and issued warnings.

Now, license plate frames could be infringing on the new law and drivers want clarification as to what is and isn't allowed.  

The actual bill, Florida HB 253, mentions a "license plate obscuring device" and defines in part that such device "interferes with the ability to record any feature or detail on the license plate." License plates display more than just the tag number. It has the registration sticker and in some cases, the county where the car is registered. All the information that is on a license plate needs to be immediately visible. Some wider license plate covers or borders can obscure those numbers or county names. 

If you are a resident of Florida and are still unclear about whether your license plate cover is infringing on the law, the easiest (and most extreme) course of action is to just take the license plate frame or cover off entirely. That way there is no confusion. If you still want to customize your car a little bit (and who doesn't?) it might be worth calling your local police department's non emergency line and getting clarification.