The front license plate law in California, set out in Vehicle Code Section 5200, requires every vehicle issued two plates by the DMV to display one on the front and one on the rear.1California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5200 (2025) There is no exemption for cars that came from the factory without a front bracket. Skipping the front plate is a correctable infraction with a total fine of roughly $196 after penalty assessments, though fixing the plate and having the correction verified drops the cost to a $25 processing fee.
What the Law Actually Says
Section 5200 is short and blunt: when the DMV issues two plates, both must be displayed, one front and one rear. Standard passenger cars, SUVs, trucks, and vans always receive two plates. Only certain trailers and motorcycles get a single plate, which goes on the rear.1California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5200 (2025)
Section 5201 governs how the plates are mounted. Both plates must be securely fastened so they don’t swing, positioned so the characters read upright and left to right, and kept clean enough to be legible. Nothing on the vehicle — a bumper guard, tow hook cover, bike rack, aftermarket grille — can block the plate from view.2California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5201
Where the Front Plate Has to Sit
The statute doesn’t demand a specific spot on the bumper. The front plate can go anywhere that keeps it securely attached, clearly visible, and no higher than 60 inches (five feet) from the ground.2California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5201 Off-center is fine. Low is fine. Taped inside the windshield is not, because that fails the “securely fastened” test.
The Fine and the Fix-It Ticket
A missing front plate is a Category 1 infraction under California’s Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule. The base fine is $25, but state penalty assessments, county surcharges, and court fees stack on top of every traffic fine, pushing the total to roughly $196.3California Courts. Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedules Miss the payment deadline (20 days from the mailed penalty notice) and a 50 percent late charge is added.
The saving grace is that a missing or improperly mounted plate is almost always written up as a correctable violation, commonly called a fix-it ticket. The officer notes on the citation that the charge will be dismissed once you prove you’ve corrected the problem.4California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 40522 (2025) Mount the plate, get a law enforcement officer to sign off on the correction, submit the signed citation to the court before your due date, and the violation is dismissed on payment of a $25 processing fee.5California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 40611 (2025) Ignore the ticket and you pay the full fine plus any late surcharge.
There’s a second cost worth knowing about. A missing front plate gives an officer legal grounds to pull you over, and that stop opens the door to scrutiny of everything else: expired registration, warrants, signs of impairment. If any of that applies to you, the plate is the least of the problem.
No Exemption for Sports Cars, Classics, or Car Shows
The most common misconception is that a car built without a front mounting bracket is off the hook. It isn’t. The law applies to every vehicle the DMV issued two plates for, regardless of what the manufacturer put in the bumper. European sports cars, certain Teslas, and various imported models arrive without pre-drilled front-plate holes, and their owners are still required to mount a plate.
Age and collectible status don’t create an exemption either. Vintage and classic vehicles issued two plates need both plates displayed.
Parades and car shows are the third myth. Nothing in the Vehicle Code exempts exhibition or parade vehicles, so removing the front plate for a weekend show technically puts you in violation the moment you drive on a public road, even if local enforcement often looks the other way.
Mounting Options When Your Car Has No Front Bracket
If the factory didn’t drill holes for a front plate, you don’t have to drill any yourself. A few common solutions work with what’s already on the car:
- Tow-hook mounts thread into the factory tow-hook receiver behind the front bumper and extend a bracket forward. They’re inexpensive and widely available, though the plate usually sits slightly off-center.
- Grille or bumper clip mounts are vehicle-specific brackets that attach to existing structural points on the grille or bumper with no permanent modification.
- Adhesive mounts use industrial-strength pads to bond a bracket directly to the bumper. They hold well in warm climates but can fail in extreme conditions.
Any of these satisfies the law as long as the finished result is securely fastened, clearly visible, and within the 60-inch height limit. The attachment method doesn’t matter; the result does.
Plate Covers and Anything That Obscures the Plate
California treats products designed to hide or distort a plate more harshly than a plate that’s simply missing. Section 5201.1 makes it illegal to sell, manufacture, or drive with any product intended to prevent a plate from being read, whether by the human eye or an automated camera system. Erasing or painting over a plate’s reflective coating falls under the same prohibition.6California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5201.1
The fines are steeper and, importantly, not correctable:
- Selling or manufacturing an obscuring product: $1,000 per item.
- Driving with an obscuring device, or altering the reflective coating: $250 per violation.
Tinted plate covers sold online are the kind of product this statute targets. Unlike a missing plate, these violations don’t qualify for the fix-it discount. You pay the full fine.6California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5201.1