One day you may get pulled over for no front plate, while you may have it in your window, the officer may tell you it must be on the front bumper. Show him the law and have him point out where it says that. In my previouse car I had beat that argument 3 times, and did not get a ticket. Enjoy!

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.

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.

f) No covering may be used on license plates except as follows:
(1) The installation of a cover over a lawfully parked vehicle to
protect it from the weather and the elements does not constitute a
violation of this subdivision. Any peace officer or other regularly
salaried employee of a public agency designated to enforce laws,
including local ordinances, relating to the parking of vehicles may
temporarily remove so much of the cover as is necessary to inspect
any license plate, tab, or indicia of registration on a vehicle.
(2) The installation of a license plate security cover is not a
violation of this subdivision if the device does not obstruct or
impair the recognition of the license plate information, including,
but not limited to, the issuing state, license plate number, and
registration tabs, and the cover is limited to the area directly over
the top of the registration tabs. No portion of a license plate
security cover shall rest over the license plate number.

5202. Every license plate issued by this State or any other
jurisdiction within or without the United States shall remain
attached during the period of its validity to the vehicle for which
it is issued while being operated within this State or during the
time the vehicle is being held for sale in this State, or until such
time as a vehicle with special or identification plates is no longer
entitled to such plates and no person shall operate, nor shall an
owner knowingly permit to be operated, upon any highway any vehicle
unless the license plate is so attached. Special permits issued in
lieu of plates shall be attached and displayed on the vehicle for
which issued during the period of their validity.

 

i wonder if my tinted license plate cover is cool



i haven't had any problems with it thus far...

thanks for the post,

 

Hmmmmm.........good info, printed page and is now in my mailbox!

 

It is illegal to not have front plates. When i bought my G, the dealer made me sign a liability form for not drilling brackets on my front bumper. under Vehicle Code 11713.17...

(a) Following the retail sale or lease of a motor vehicle for which the department issues two license plates, a dealer may not deliver the motor vehicle unless either of the following occurs:
(1) The motor vehicle is equipped with a bracket or other means of securing a front license plate.
(2) The dealer obtains a signed written acknowledgment from the person taking delivery of the motor vehicle acknowledging both of the following:

(A) The person expressly refused installation of a bracket or other means of securing the front license plate.

(B) The person understands that California law requires a license plate to be displayed from and securely fastened to the front of the motor vehicle and that the hardware necessary to securely fasten the front plate is available from the dealer.

(b) A manufacturer or distributor may not sell or distribute in this state a new motor vehicle for which the department issues two license plates, unless that motor vehicle is equipped or provided with a bracket or other means of securing the license plates.

As for your concern...
5201.G = No casing, shield, frame, border, or other device that obstructs or impairs the reading or recognition of a license plate by a remote emission sensing device, as specified in Sections 44081 and 44081.6 of the Health and Safety Code, shall be installed on, or affixed to, a vehicle. F goes on to state that no covering can be used on front license plate.

Also, you technically are not aloud to have large objects on your dash...let alone stickers over a certain size on your windshield. The small parking permit stickers on your windshield must be under a certain size and i think dealerships are at the maximum size with their registration stickers...as for the temporary parking permits your recieve and place on your dash, that is even illegal to drive around with. Just trying to clear things up...public policy grad student here, laws and policies are my life...Haha

 

the problem with the OPs idea is this:
26708. (a) (1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the windshield or side or rear windows.
(2) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or upon the vehicle which obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view through the windshield or side windows.

If you have gotten out of tickets 3 times while having a plate affixed in on the windshield, consider yourself lucky. You could have received a violation anyway.

 

heh, i know my cover is illegal. ive had it for 6+ months with zero problems...and plenty of cops have tailed my ****.

 

I'm confused. Where is your argument that having it in the front window is legal? It clearly states:

How is having it in the window considered securely fastened to the
vehicle?

 

Interesting...

I bought mine used from Mission Viejo Infiniti a couple of years ago and never received a front plate. I wonder if my hypothetical out would be the fact that I was never issued two plates...

 

I dunno what it is with cops and G's. I've been tailed a ton of times....I'm certain my plates have been run at least 10 times. I have tints on my windows, but I also had them on my previous car and never attracted attention from police. Wierd.

That argument will never fly. It's still incumbent on you to obtain the second plate from DMV.

FWIW, I think police pay even more attention to lack of a front plate than they do to tinted windows.

 

Sorry dude after 6 front plate tickets I think Ill bet my life on it that the front plate must be bolted to your bumper or somewhere infront of the car and must be able to be viewed from any angle.

NO ZIP TIES NO TWOWAY TAPE etc etc....

Ive tried everything trust me they wont sign it off. Sometimes you luck out and the cop is cool but with the luck I have I dont even waste my time I went as far as making a custom bracket.