Washington law in regard to front license plate
 

So several of my 86 buddies has been pulled over for not having front plate, some got off lucky with a fix it warning, some not so much.

I'm trying to get to the bottom of this issue, and those of you who has a law degree or a firm knowledge of the subject please chime in, since my interpretation of the law could be wrong.

According to RCW46.16A.200 article 5.

most of us has been issued 2 plates from the dealer. however, unless modified, the stock vehicle does not have a visible/obvious location to mount the front plate. I know there are plenty brackets/mounts on the market that would utilize the tow fitting and use it as a mount, but this does not come with the vehicle.

My question to those who are more knowledgeable in the subject is, are we obligated to purchase aftermarket part, or modify(drilling, gluing etc.) the stock vehicle to comply with this particular law, or is article 5(b) pretty much says we do not have to. If there is such a law, can you please provide the documentation please.

Thanks in advance.


Edit: Conclusion. article 5(b) only grant vehicles on a list hidden somewhere in a police cash cow safe. driving without a front plate is illegal although not always enforced. time to invest in a plate holder, i think i'll do the magnetic DIY.

There is an oem front bumper bracket. No excuse hoss. It was in your trunk when you bought the car or the dealer forgot

doesn't that still require you to drill holes on your vehicle?

All plate brackets are drilled into the front bumper by the dealership. Some were not installed at the request of the buyer. Personally, I requested them not to drill mine as I bought the tow hook mount once my temp tags were up.

I did however eventually sell off my tow hook mount and just flipped the stock bracket upside down and drilled it into the grill area with some screws.

https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...32394397_o.jpg

There are two dimples in the oem grille where you drill for the bracket. No exception, have to have a plate. I got a fix it warning.

Yeah the dealer is supposed supply you with one to put on front of car. But i have not had my front plate on since i had my car and don't plan on putting it on anytime soon.

This is what the dealer did for me but I've since bought a tow hook one. They asked me if I wanted it drilled into the bumper and told them no way that's gonna happen.

I've gotten pulled over for it once, got a fix it ticket and now I had taken it off again.

I haven't been running a front plate since may of this year and haven't even received a second look from a cop. It's all luck, and I'm sure it's really local area dependent. I have a feeling the cops south of Seattle might care more. I'll still run without one even if I get a fix it ticket. If I get like 2-3 in a short period I may reconsider :)

The law is pretty straight-forward. I know you (nor I) want it to be that way, but it is what it is, and there isn't a sort of hidden stipulation that is going to change that. The license plate needs to be affixed to the front bumper of the car - if you don't want to have a front license plate, then go without it, but that doesn't change the fact that it is something you can get ticketed for. Some people try to argue it a technicality, and stick the license plate in the dash, etc., but that is still incorrect and ultimately something that can get you a ticket or hassled.

I went through this as well when I first got my car - trying to research what the exact wording was, what the chances were of it being an issue, etc. I had people tell me that they've never had a front plate on any of their vehicles and have never had an issue with it, and I also had a manager with a M3 that got ticketed for not having a front plate so many times that he was mandated to put it on (couldn't even get away with just paying the fee).

I know you want it to be different, and are being responsible in wanting to find a way for it to work "legally", but the law is what it is - even if you found some means of dancing around it, the cop that might pull you over for it likely won't see it that way, and it isn't worth the time, nor headache trying to argue something like that in court.

Therefore, you just need to make a choice. I felt that my odds of being pulled over were low, and cops had better things to do in a larger city than pull me over for that (so long as I'm not driving like an ass) - then three weeks later I had a meter maid ticket me for it (the ticket explicitly stated that the front windshield is not a proper place to display the front license plate, FYI). To this day, I still feel that I wouldn't have to worry about a cop pulling me over or ticketing me for this, but I park in downtown Portland too often to hope to avoid another hyper-vigilant meter maid not nailing me for it again.

I've since installed the GrimmSpeed relocation kit, and it's grown on me - it even protected my car from sustaining significant damage in a hit and run I had earlier this year. I know that's not what you want to hear as I went through the same feelings, and asked similar questions when I was trying to decide what to do about it. The week after this all happened, I made it a point to count out how many cars I spotted without a front plate - I want to say it was around 1 in 20, but most of the cars were older pieces of junk that I knew would never get slapped with a ticket for it like I did, and it made me angry.

I doubt that a cop will pull you over for it specifically, but they could use it as a reason to pull you over - and then you might need to worry about what they'll say about your exhaust, or your tint, etc upon closer inspection of your car - that's an extreme case, but there it is; for me, it wasn't worth the lack of having peace of mind whenever I parked knowing that I might get ticketed again. I used the relocation kit that I had to purchase (lest I drill into my front bumper) as an excuse to later get a personalized license plate (which I've never had, nor could justify paying for) that I would want to display.

As far as having to drill etc - every car will come with holes pre-drilled before it is sold by the dealership, unless the buyer specifically requests that it not be done (in some states, you don't even have the option of doing the later - even if you bring a relocation kit with you when you go to sign the paperwork and pick up the vehicle; I of course requested that my car not have the holes drilled into it). Therefore, there really isn't anything of weight there that you can attempt to argue against having to display a front plate.

However, if you really don't want the plate on (and don't get unlucky like I did with a meter maid) I'd say leave it off for now. If you get pulled over for it or ticketed, I don't see why you wouldn't be let off with just a warning the first time, or have the charges dropped completely for showing up in court (and affixing it, which you'd have done anyway if you didn't decide to try leaving it off first). GL!

because the car came with a bracket from the factory you are required to run a front plate. there is a very small list of exempt vehicles which you can find here

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/nor...te-waiver.html

x(plate tickets)=ferrari

solve for x.

My neighbor is a sheriff and he was telling me that he had never ever pulled someone over just because of front plate. Coincidentally, he son drives a FRS turbo-ed w/o front plates.

all comes down to the risk you want to take over the issue.

I was pulled over and when there was no other issue to be ticketed for, I received the one for no front plate. When I went to court it was pay the FULL FINE. (Judge said no such thing as a fix it ticket) You were guilty at the time the citation was written but it doesn't matter if you have it on now. Now that was in my old car that was bought new and 10 years old at the time.

I've driven by cops, sat next to cops, followed cops, been going strong since early July.

Also never had one on my abarth. My wrx did get pulled over once though in 2012.

http://i65.tinypic.com/e0qro2.jpg

I love threads like this because all the people who have never been pulled over will chime in with how special they are and how police don't care. And then someday it will happen to them and they'll shut up about it forever. I've had a State Patrolman pull a U-turn, tail me for 8 miles, and then pull me over and give me a fix-it ticket for no front plate on my Evo. I explained to him that it normally is tied into my front grill but blocks my intercooler and since I was on my way to the SCCA National tour I had removed it. Whether that got it down to a fix-it from a regular ticket or not, I don't know, but that's not the point. If an officer wants an excuse to pull you over and check for other possible offenses you're giving it to them for free. If nothing outside of your car is wrong and you're driving legally then they don't have any cause and you won't ever get pulled over.

Front plate or accept the risk. That's how it is and how it always will be until someone actually pushes a proposal/bill through to change it. My advice to anyone that wants to run without one... Make sure you aren't doing anything else wrong. Don't smell of weed or alcohol, don't have your seat-belt unbuckled, don't have a tail light out, etc. If you're going to get pulled over for a front plate they're going to look for everything else possible, too.

Hey I know the answer to end all the argument to all this nonsense:

Do what you wanna do. No questions, no concerns.

That is all ^-^

As @Locust stated, I'm one of the fortunate who was never ticketed. I don't consider myself special I just couldn't get myself to drill the bumper on my Corvette or my Cayman. I knew what the risks were/are and should I have been cited there would be no argument on my behalf.


With that said my FRS is more of a everyday driver and is likely to have more exposure, it came with a bracket installed already (upside down I now realize) and it has a front plate.


The "you have to pay to play" rule applies here.

@Babel were you parked in the industrial park off Bishop this morning?

Yea I work at mccallum Rock drilling right by buck wild coffee.

Ah you're that dude across the street down like 100 ft behind the fence area huh lol.

Just had a co-worker get pulled over by a cop specifically for not having front license plate (note that he was driving speed limit and what not). IMO, it's just not worth the trouble. But to answer the question, by law, you are required to have a front license plate

This state sucks hardcore is many ways.

No, I'm from Rochester. Just happened to be down that way and noticed your car as I drove past. Small town, took a wild guess.

I mean, how much are front plate tickets REALLY?

In Oregon they are 150-200+

in wa i think its 114 or 144. can't remember how much it was the last time my buddy got one.

What? It's like $34 I thought. Speeding tickets aren't even $114 unless you're going more than 10 over.

Oh sorry. There is a what I thought silver scion at the electrical company down the street thought it was you.

Does anyone know a silver 04-07 wrx from Adna Chehalis area? Damn **** head rode my ass this morning onto i5 cut off a semi to get as far ahead of me as he could then ran a left red by jack in the box. He must work over by me because he passed me as I was parking and gave me a friendly honk honk.

Dumb ass.

So.... 200 every five years or so maybe... its a good trade off.

I can't find the exact amount now, but found a post from 07 where a guy said it was 101$ for it if you didn't get the "fix-it" kind of ticket.

also, seems like its now considered a moving violation. I'm reading over the RCW to see if that's indeed the case.

http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.16A.030

ok looking it over seems like 46.16a uses the pricing from this document

https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rule...CLJIRLJ6.2.pdf

Switching license plates, loan of license or use of another's
(RCW 46.16A)
$93
Altering or using altered license plates (RCW 46.16A.200) $93

so looks like 93$ is the least you can be fined for no front plate.

Ex-Cop and Tried it
 

I was a cop long time ago and I will say that you should never break the law even if "some" cops do not enforce it. There are plenty of solutions out there for front plate placement based on your preferences.

Now that said, I myself used to drive a vehicle without a front place for many years. I went ticket free for about 6 years but I only drove the vehicle in the summer on nice days. One day a police officer pulled me over because of it and going 30 on a 25. I got a fix it ticket. No problem right? Well, the judge I went before to get it fixed was in a really bad mood and did forgive the fine but only downgraded it to a warning so that if got busted again I could not use the same excuse again.

It's not the cop you should fear, it's the judge! Lesson learned on my part. Also keep in mind that our cars are ticket magnets. They are the number 1 ticketed vehicle in at least Oregon. ;-)
:sigh:

My fix-it ticket was just get another State Patrolman to sign off on the sheet that I fixed it and then mail it back to the guy that pulled me over. A bit of an inconvenience as I had to drive out to the State Patrol office to find an officer (you can't really just pull up next to one on the side of the road and ask...) but simple enough fix.

You guys have it much easier up there. It probably stays in your electronic record though.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Just run a plate, why give the cops another reason to pull you over?

Because I don't support ISIS

i got tagged in downtown portland by a damn meter maid the one night i forgot that they have the power to write you up for no plate up front :(

Running your car with no front plate is a $124 infraction in WA.

Like many have mentioned, running no plate in front gives the officer reason to pull you over and cite you for other things. You will be amazed at how many people drive around with suspended licenses or no insurance.

Your driving behavior and attitude usually determines what will happen next and the severity of the infraction(s).

A fool and his money will be soon parted.

thanks everyone for your inputs. i have updated the original post.

I honestly make enough I could care less.