New North Carolina Law bans license plate covers/frames

[jake75]

I was in NC last week and read a newspaper article that said effective 12-1-09 it would be against the law to use license plate frames/holders or covers. That would include the frames that the dealers use for advertising as well as those you buy at Auto Zone, Target etc. Reason is that they obscure the plates. Warnings until 1-1-10, then $100 fine. Though I am in Ohio I took mine off a long time ago but I wonder what NC would do to an out of state driver that had those covers etc.

[midnighthunder89]

I thought there were always against the law, I think in michigan if a cop needs a reason to pull you over they could use that but most do not care.

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by midnighthunder89 »I thought there were always against the law, I think in michigan if a cop needs a reason to pull you over they could use that but most do not care.They are against the law in MI as far as I know. As for plate frames, that is a different story - dealers advertise by putting their names on plate frames that border the plate.

[Old Tele man]

...if it covers the word "ARIZONA" at the top of our plate, it's illegal, otherwise it's OK here.

[808 Vibes]

I just use the clear flat shields to keep my special plates nice and to keep from decal theft, but they finally wised up and printed the license plate number on the decal.

[midnighthunder89]

I have had a Tinted one on for a long time it makes it easier to clean off when I have long drives in the snow.

[lovemyraffe]

The license plate covers I can understand, but the plate frames? That's just stupid.

[jake75]

New Law Bans Certain License Plate Frames (12/3/2009)Makers of customized license plate frames could be forced to change the size and style of their products following an amendment to a law in North Carolina. The new law, which was enforced for the first time Tuesday, prohibits the covering of the state name, year sticker or month sticker by a promotional frame. "This is just part of the business and you have to roll with the punches," says Rick Russell, owner of License Plate Ad Co. (asi/67350). "We continue to adapt our styles."The law, one of 52 recently-passed statutes in North Carolina, does allow for the use of transparent frames that don't interfere with toll collection systems that take pictures of license plates. Between now and November 30, 2010, violators will only receive a warning for using a restricted frame. After the grace period ends, the penalty will include a $100 fine and $130 in court costs.While license plate frames are common for promoting car dealerships, colleges and sports teams, sponsors of the legislation have argued the frames make it more difficult for police to collect registration data. The North Carolina law follows similar legislation recently enacted in other states. Earlier this year, a comparable license plate law went into effect in Arizona, following the actions of legislators in other states including New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.Another article stated "License plate frames that cover part of the state name or registration stickers are against the law."

[ColonelPanic]

Last time I was at the license branch I saw a couple displays about this particular subject. Apparently they don't care much for frames here either. I've never had a problem over the years and I usually had portions of the state name and expiration stickers covered plus a smoked cover on top of the plate. But it looks like something they're beginning to enforce now.Not sure what they do with it, but when they came out with the flat plates here in '03, they started putting a barcode at the bottom... I suspect that isn't supposed to be covered.I bought a perimeter frame that the plate sits into and is completely visible, they'd better not have any problems with that. Of course the downside to this design is you can't use clear covers to go over top of the plate though, they won't fit (maybe if you trimmed the edges down perhaps.)

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[Whelan]

I never liked them. They make the car look ugly as I have NEVER seen one that was clean and new looking. It seems people put them on and then never touch them again, they get dirty, faded and you cannot even tell what state the person is from. Eye sores due to lazy people.And to have a cover to keep people from stealing stickers and stuff? Couldn't they just as easily unscrew it? CT for years had the sticker with the year on it for your plate, people stole them constantly. To the point where people put the plate with the sticker in the windshield on the dash or something. How about a novel idea for car companies, make an insert. Use a tempered glass or something similar and allow the plate to be slid into place from inside the trunk/hatch thus solving multiple issues.

[beemerphile1]

It has always been illegal in Ohio to obscure any part of the plate. It isn't generally enforced but I have read about at least one occasion where it was. Most of the dealer frames are illegal because here in Ohio there is something on almost the entire plate. By law not one single thing can be obscured.