Yes. Nebraska requires most passenger vehicles to display a license plate on both the front and the rear of the car. The two-plate rule comes from Nebraska Revised Statute 60-399, with the plate-issuance details in Section 60-3,100. Drivers whose vehicles lack a factory front bracket can pay for a single-plate alternative, and the state has already passed legislation that will drop the front plate requirement for most vehicles starting January 1, 2029.
The Two-Plate Rule
Section 60-399 prohibits driving or parking a motor vehicle on Nebraska highways unless it displays the “proper number” of plates required under the Motor Vehicle Registration Act.1Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statutes 60-399 – Display of Plates; Requirements For a standard passenger car, that means two. Section 60-3,100 assigns them: when two plates are issued, one goes on the front and one on the rear.2Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statutes 60-3,100
The Single-Plate Option for Cars Without a Front Bracket
If your passenger car was not manufactured with a bracket on the front to hold a plate, Nebraska law lets you skip the front plate without drilling into the bumper. You can register instead for a single rear plate paired with a windshield decal that goes on the driver’s side.2Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statutes 60-3,100
The alternative costs $50 a year, nonrefundable, on top of your regular registration, plus the cost of the decal. You pay the county treasurer at registration time, and the money goes to the state’s Highway Trust Fund. For owners of high-end or aerodynamically designed cars where a bracket would leave permanent damage, most find the fee worthwhile.
How the Plates Must Be Displayed
Nebraska sets specific mounting standards. The bottom edge of the plate must sit at least twelve inches off the ground, and the plate must be fastened upright so it cannot swing.1Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statutes 60-399 – Display of Plates; Requirements Every letter, number, and identification mark must stay “plainly visible” in daylight and under artificial light at night, which means keeping the plate clear of mud, snow, grease, or anything else that blurs the text.
The statute also prohibits altering the design, color, or appearance of a plate while it’s on your vehicle. Tinted covers, decorative overlays, and heavily tinted frames all invite a citation if they make the characters harder to read. A plain frame that leaves every character and the registration decal fully visible is generally fine. A cover that darkens the plate or defeats its reflective coating is not.
Aftermarket no-drill brackets and tow-hook mounts are acceptable so long as the plate ends up upright, secure, twelve inches off the ground, and legible. Placing a plate inside the windshield does not satisfy the statute. A Nebraska appeals court held that a front plate propped in a windshield, where the officer could not clearly read the numbers, was itself a traffic violation and gave the officer probable cause to stop the driver.1Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statutes 60-399 – Display of Plates; Requirements
What It Costs If You Get Caught
Failing to display both plates is a traffic infraction. Under the Nebraska judicial fine schedule, the base fine is $25, and court costs add $49, for a total of $74.3Nebraska Judicial Branch. Appendix 3 Waiver/Fine Schedule A separate $25 base fine applies when plates are present but not “clear and visible.” Both are waiverable, so in most cases you can pay without appearing in court.
The fine itself is modest. The larger risk is the stop. A missing or obscured front plate gives an officer legal grounds to pull you over, and courts have consistently upheld those stops. Once the stop is underway, anything the officer sees in plain view, from an open container to the smell of alcohol, can support further investigation. The plate violation is a non-moving offense, so a paid ticket generally won’t move your insurance rate. Unpaid tickets, though, can create their own problems with both the courts and your insurer.
Vehicles That Don’t Need Two Plates
Some vehicles are issued only one plate. When that’s the case, it goes on the rear.2Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statutes 60-3,100 Motorcycles and trailers fall into this group because their design won’t accommodate a front plate. Truck-tractors and vehicles registered under the International Registration Plan run the opposite way, displaying a single plate on the front.
Historical and Vintage Plates
Vehicles with a model year at least thirty years old can qualify for historical or vintage plates. Owners can also use original-year plates from the vehicle’s year of manufacture in place of regular plates.4Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statutes 60-3,130 – Historical License Plates; Conditions Either way, use is limited to test drives, parades, and hobby-related activities.5Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. Historical Plates The applicant must also own at least one other vehicle with regular plates for daily transportation. A reproduction or kit-built car styled to look like a classic qualifies only if the vehicle itself has existed for thirty or more years, counted from the year on its title.
Visiting From a One-Plate State
If you’re driving through Nebraska with a car registered in a state that requires only a rear plate, you generally won’t be ticketed for the missing front plate. States extend reciprocity to visitors, and your out-of-state plate signals where you’re registered. That protection stops once you become a Nebraska resident and register the vehicle here.
Replacing a Lost or Damaged Plate
If a plate is lost, stolen, or damaged past legibility, you need a replacement. Nebraska charges $4.10 per plate for any new, duplicate, or replacement plate.6Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. Registration Fees and Taxes Your county treasurer’s office handles the transaction. If the plate was stolen, file a police report first; that record protects you if the plate later surfaces on another vehicle. Don’t drive around without a plate while you wait, since the same stop rules still apply.
The Front Plate Goes Away in 2029
Starting January 1, 2029, Nebraska moves to a single rear plate for most vehicles. Language already written into Section 60-3,100 states that the license plate for a registered motor vehicle or trailer will be “prominently displayed on the rear” of the vehicle.2Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statutes 60-3,100 Truck-tractors and vehicles registered under the International Registration Plan will keep their single front plate.
Until then, the two-plate rule stays in full effect, and officers will keep citing drivers who don’t comply. If your car has no front bracket and you’d rather not modify it, the $50 annual single-plate option covers you until the 2029 change takes effect.