Most Floridians most likely by no means paid numerous consideration to license plate frames. They’re simply seen as props put in for aesthetics for many drivers. And for sellers, they double as one thing that lets their brand journey round city as free commercial. However this informal perspective is about to alter. That is because of Home Invoice 253, which formally went into regulation on October 1, 2025. It mainly ups the penalty for obscuring a license plate from a easy effective to a second-degree misdemeanor. So now, if the body hides any half component on the plate – be it letters, numbers, or the registration sticker – it is higher to easily do away with it. These letters clearly embody the phrase “Florida” on the high or the county title on the backside. After all, you possibly can nonetheless use fancy frames…simply be sure that they don’t seem to be unlawful.
With the regulation in impact, many motorists at the moment are liable to being pulled over. In actual fact, WINK Information discovered that many drivers have been unknowingly breaking the regulation, even with frames put in straight by automobile sellers. Such frames usually look “official,” main folks to imagine they’re authorized. However that assumption will not minimize it beneath the brand new guidelines, turning them into options that make any automobile a police magnet.
It is value mentioning that the inspiration for the brand new regulation is definitely fairly previous. The Florida Statute 316.605 has required tags to be absolutely legible from 100 toes away since 1971. However legislators have now up to date the implications for violating it. Particularly, Invoice 253 states that it is “growing the penalty for knowingly altering a motorized vehicle registration certificates, a license plate, a brief license plate, a cell residence sticker, or a validation sticker or obscuring a license plate from a noncriminal visitors infraction to a second diploma misdemeanor.”
May you land in jail?
You would possibly even find yourself in jail for an illegal plate body. A second-degree misdemeanor doesn’t depend as a felony, but it surely’s nonetheless critical sufficient to get violators a most penalty of 60 days in jail alongside a effective of as much as $500. This would possibly sound relatively excessive, however the statute additionally contains an necessary authorized distinction: intention.
You see, prosecutors should show {that a} driver deliberately altered or coated their plate to safe a conviction. Because of this a component in your plate that is light within the solar could be very totally different from you bolting on a “College of Miami” body that covers the county title. In actual fact, the previous counts as pure put on and does not represent a felony act, based on Musca Legislation. Actual hazard arises solely whenever you knowingly intrude with visibility.
Moreover jail, breaking this regulation may additionally create a everlasting felony file that would affect future employment alternatives – it’s, in any case, a second-degree misdemeanor. So the best choice to remain secure could be a slim body that borders the white house of the plate solely.
What else is impacted?
Frames aren’t the one factor which may be scrutinized extra because of the new regulation. One part of the invoice additionally strictly prohibits the acquisition or possession of license plate obscuring gadgets. This contains any James Bond-style digital shutters or mechanical flippers designed to cover numbers from cameras. The mere possession of such devices is now a second-degree misdemeanor. Issues worsen for suppliers, since manufacturing or promoting such tech constitutes a first-degree misdemeanor. However on the high of the mischief rating lie those that are literally committing a criminal offense: utilizing the shutter whereas evading the police instantly fetches them a third-degree felony.
Lastly, the invoice cracks down on lighting mods. Individuals have been apparently utilizing emergency-style lights to impersonate the police. So now, except your journey is an ambulance, it should not show pink, pink and white, or blue lights which might be seen from the entrance. It is unclear if this provision applies to underglow lights, which usually are authorized/unlawful relying on the state you are in, so that you would possibly need to watch out with these. What’s clear is that utilizing emergency-style lights to power one other driver to cease is a third-degree felony.
