Under California’s front license plate law, every standard passenger car, SUV, truck, and van registered in the state must display two plates — one on the front and one on the rear. Vehicle Code Section 5200 requires it, and there is no exemption for vehicles that came from the factory without a front mounting bracket.1California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5200 (2025) A missing front plate is a correctable infraction. Fix it quickly and you pay about $25. Ignore the ticket and the bill climbs to roughly $196.
Which Vehicles Need Two Plates
The rule is tied to how many plates the DMV issued for the vehicle. If two plates were issued, both must be displayed. If only one was issued — the case for certain trailers and motorcycles — it goes on the rear.1California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5200 (2025) For ordinary passenger vehicles, two plates are always issued, so two plates must be mounted.
Age and vehicle type don’t change the answer. California does not carve out a front-plate exemption for classic cars, collector vehicles, or exotic imports. If the DMV issued two plates for the car, both plates belong on the car.
What the Fine Costs
A missing front plate is classified as a Category 1 infraction. The base fine is $25, but state penalty assessments, county surcharges, and court fees stack on top of every California traffic fine. Together, those add-ons push a Category 1 infraction to approximately $196.2California Courts. Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedules Miss the 20-day window after the mailed penalty notice and a 50 percent late charge is added on top.
How to Clear a Fix-It Ticket
In almost every case, a missing or improperly mounted plate is written as a correctable violation — the ticket most drivers call a “fix-it ticket.” The officer notes on the citation that the charge will be dismissed once the problem is corrected.3California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 40522 (2025)
The path to the $25 resolution is simple: mount the plate, take the vehicle to a law enforcement officer who signs off on the correction, and submit that proof to the court before your due date. The court then dismisses the violation and collects a $25 processing fee.4California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 40611 (2025) Skip that step and you owe the full fine, plus the late surcharge if you also miss the payment deadline.
One practical note. A front plate violation is in itself a low-stakes ticket, but it gives an officer legal grounds to pull you over. That stop can then surface anything else — expired registration, an open warrant, signs of impairment — which quickly becomes the bigger problem.
No Factory Bracket? You Still Need One
This is the most common point of confusion. Many European sports cars, certain Tesla models, and various imports arrive without pre-drilled holes for a front plate. California law does not care. The requirement applies to every vehicle issued two plates, regardless of what the manufacturer built into the bumper. Owners of these vehicles are still required to mount the front plate somehow.
The same applies to parade and car-show driving. No provision in the Vehicle Code creates a blanket exemption for exhibition vehicles. The moment the car moves on a public road without its front plate, it’s in violation.
Mounting Options That Don’t Require Drilling
If your bumper has no factory holes, there are several ways to comply without permanent modification:
- Tow-hook mounts, which thread into the factory tow-hook receiver behind the bumper and extend a bracket forward. Affordable and widely available, though the plate often sits slightly off-center.
- Vehicle-specific grille or bumper clip mounts that attach to existing structural points without drilling.
- Industrial-strength adhesive mounts that bond a bracket directly to the bumper surface. These work well in warm climates but can fail in extreme conditions.
Any of these satisfies the law as long as the finished mount is secure, visible, and within the height limit. The method doesn’t matter; the result does.
How the Plate Must Be Mounted
Section 5201 sets the mounting rules. The front plate has to be securely fastened so it doesn’t swing, positioned so the characters read upright from left to right, and kept clean enough to be legible. It cannot be mounted higher than 60 inches from the ground.5California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5201 Nothing on the vehicle — a bumper guard, tow hook cover, bike rack, or aftermarket grille — can block it from view.
The law doesn’t require the plate to be centered on the bumper or placed in any one specific spot. Secure, visible, legible, and under five feet off the ground is the whole standard.
Plate Covers and Tinted Shields
California treats devices designed to hide or distort a plate more harshly than a simply missing plate. Section 5201.1 makes it illegal to sell, manufacture, or drive with any product intended to prevent a plate from being read, whether by a person or by an automated camera. Erasing a plate’s reflective coating or painting over it falls under the same prohibition.6California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5201.1
The fines are steeper, and these are not correctable. Selling or manufacturing an obscuring product carries a $1,000 fine per item. Driving with one, or altering the reflective coating, costs $250 per violation. Tinted plate covers sold online are exactly what the statute targets.6California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5201.1
Temporary Plates From the Dealer
If you just bought a car from a California dealer, you won’t drive off without plates. Dealers are required to electronically report the sale and produce a temporary license plate before delivery for any vehicle that doesn’t already have plates.7California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 4456.2 You drive on the temporary plates until the permanent ones arrive in the mail.8California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Registration for a Vehicle Purchased from a Dealer
The mounting rules apply to temporary plates too. Section 5201 includes them by name: they must be securely fastened, visible, and legible.5California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5201 Taping a temporary plate inside the windshield doesn’t satisfy the law.