Things You Need To Know When Installing License Plate Accessories On Your Vehicle
There are a lot of fun accessories like license plate frames that have sayings on them or your favorite vehicle brand, but you need to be sure your accessories are legal. The laws surrounding license plates are different from state to state, so be sure to check before you put anything on or over your plates.
License Plate Frames
Anytime you are putting accessories near, around, or over the license plates on your car or truck, you run the risk of obscuring the plate. License plate frames don't cover the entire plate, but they can cover the registration tags on the plate, making it difficult for law enforcement officers to see that the car is legally registered.
In many states, adding license plate frames is legal, but the area near the tags needs to be shaped in a way that allows officers to see the entire tag. If you are considering putting a license frame plate on your car, it is a good idea to trial fit the frame to be sure it will allow the visibility required before you permanently mount the frame.
Most novelty license plate frames are cut out in the right spots because the manufacturers understand the need for the tag to be visible. However, some accessories come from overseas or other places that might have different laws, so they may not meet the standard.
License Plate Covers
Another accessory to be careful about using on your car or truck is license plate covers. Many of these covers are entirely transparent but are still not legal in some states. The cover does not obscure the plate, but it affects the reflective image printed on the face of the license plate.
Police officers often shine a light on the plate to cause the reflective image to show as a way of verifying that the plates are legitimate plates. Often counterfeit plates will not have reflective images, so it is a good test. However, plates covered in plastic do not reflect properly, so these covers can be a problem.
You may want to consider a solution, and it will allow you to use the cover when the car is parked while keeping it legal on the road. You can mount the license plate cover with some hook and loop tape, so you can take the cover off and put it in the car when you go out.
Check with your local police because some jurisdictions allow clear covers, and others limit them to daytime use.
Talk to an auto accessories store to get license plate frames, including Ford license plate frames.