CA Drivers Are Modding License Plates To 'Look Pretty' – Now Cops Are Cracking Down

There's often nothing wrong with making small tweaks here and there to personalize your vehicle, whether they're on the inside or outside. But a seemingly harmless change can sometimes lead to owners getting in trouble with the law. Some of the most regrettable vanity plates have unintentionally led to their owners facing legal trouble, as have some owners' efforts to make their vehicle's plates look more appealing. The latter, in particular, has caused problems in San Diego, California, with law enforcement cracking down on plate customization.

The issue stems from license plate wrapping, which involves changing the plate's color scheme by sticking a layer of plastic onto the plate. Despite this innocent intention, license plate wrapping can make a plate difficult to identify from a distance, hard to see in certain lighting conditions, and could theoretically be used to disguise a plate for illegal activity. 

Speaking to NBC 7 San Diego, Officer Anthony Carrasco of the San Francisco Police Department noted that many try it out because "[t]hey want to make their license plate look pretty," completely unaware of the fact that it violates state law. Carrasco urged those interested in license plate wrapping to avoid it, as plates are one surface where getting artsy isn't in one's best interest. After all, the consequences for getting caught driving around with a customized plate are quite steep.

While many California drivers might not know it, license plate modification laws are indeed covered by state legislation. 2024's California State Assembly Bill 2111 illegalizes the alteration of license plates, especially in any way that obscures the contents of the plate to the human eye or electronic plate-reading devices. California Vehicle Code Section 4464 covers similar ground as well. During his conversation with NBC 7 San Diego, Officer Anthony Carrasco revealed that the San Diego Police Department had confiscated around 34 modified plates over the course of a month. Of course, confiscation is just one, comparatively small element of the repercussions for plate wrapping.

You can be punished in several ways if caught with a wrapped plate in California. As mentioned, confiscation is all but guaranteed, and once the plate is taken, you don't get it back. You have to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles for state-approved replacements at your expense. On top of this, you're likely to receive a ticket and have to contend with all that comes with that: fines, court dates, and the like. Your vehicle could even be impounded. This also comes with financial implications, as impound fees can get quite costly.

It's one thing to take care of your license plate and clean it; it's a whole other can of worms to make additions to it. Pplate wrapping is no joke, and in the state of California, trying and failing to get away with it comes with serious punishments.