Indiana vehicle lighting laws, set out primarily in Indiana Code Title 9, Article 19, Chapter 6, require every car and truck on the road to have working headlamps, taillights, brake lamps, turn signals, and a lit rear license plate, each meeting a specific visibility distance. Get any of it wrong and you can expect a citation, points on your driving record, and possibly higher insurance premiums.
When Your Lights Have To Be On
Headlights are required from sunset to sunrise. They are also required any time weather or other conditions keep you from clearly seeing the road ahead. Rain, fog, snow, and heavy overcast all qualify.
The visibility distances written into Chapter 6 assume ideal conditions: a straight, level, unlit road with clear air and an unloaded vehicle.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-19-6-2 – Application of Illumination and Visibility Requirements; Measurement of Mounted Height of Lamps In real weather or on a hill, your actual range will be shorter, which is exactly why the rule kicks in when visibility drops.
Whenever your headlights are on, your taillights must be on too. Most newer vehicles wire this automatically. Anything with a manual switch needs a quick check that flipping on the headlamps also lights the rear.
What Each Light Has To Do
Every vehicle needs two headlamps, one on each side of the front, that illuminate a person or object at least 500 feet ahead. Misaligned, dim, or cracked headlamps can fail that 500-foot threshold even when the bulb is still lit.
Taillights must emit red light visible from at least 500 feet to the rear and must stay lit whenever the headlamps are on. A burned-out taillight is one of the most common reasons Indiana drivers get pulled over, and it often opens the door to a broader look at the vehicle.
Stop lamps come on when you press the brake pedal. They have to emit red or amber light visible from at least 100 feet to the rear. That distance sounds short, but it assumes clean lenses. Faded or grimy covers cut the effective range fast.
The rear license plate must be lit by a white lamp whenever the headlamps are on, positioned so the plate remains readable at night under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108.2eCFR. 49 CFR 571.108 Standard No. 108; Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment A dead plate light on its own is enough for a ticket.
Turn signals must be visible from both the front and rear of the vehicle. Front signals emit white or amber light; rear signals emit red or amber. Use them every time you change lanes or turn. In a crash, failing to signal is strong evidence of negligence in addition to being a moving violation.
If your signals fail on the road, standard hand signals through the driver’s window keep you legal until you can repair them: left arm straight out for a left turn, bent up at the elbow for a right, bent down for slowing or stopping.
High Beams and When To Dim Them
High beams help you see farther on dark, empty roads, and they blind other drivers at close range. Indiana requires low beams within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle and within 200 feet of a vehicle you are following. That applies on two-lane roads and divided highways alike. Drivers who ride high beams constantly rarely notice the problem, because the glare only lands on the other person.
Fog Lights, Auxiliary Lights, and Light Bars
Your vehicle may carry no more than two auxiliary lights, mounted between 12 and 42 inches above the ground. You cannot run auxiliary lights and high beams at the same time. Stacking high-intensity beams creates dangerous glare, especially in fog, where the extra light scatters back at you and everyone around you.
Off-road LED light bars are popular on trucks and SUVs but generally are not street-legal for on-road use. The wide-angle, high-intensity output blinds other drivers. If you have one mounted, cover or disconnect it before driving on public roads. Any lighting that impairs the vision of other drivers can draw a citation.
LED and HID Bulb Swaps
Swapping halogen bulbs for LEDs or HIDs is one of the most common upgrades and one of the most misunderstood. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 draws a line between two headlamp types.3National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 571.108–NCC-230201-001 LED Headlights
An integral beam headlamp is a self-contained unit in which the bulb, reflector, and lens are engineered together. LEDs are allowed in integral beam headlamps as long as the LEDs are wired in series so that if one fails, all of them shut off, and the assembly otherwise meets FMVSS 108 performance standards.3National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 571.108–NCC-230201-001 LED Headlights
A replaceable bulb headlamp is different. No LED replacement bulb has been approved for use in a replaceable bulb headlamp housing under federal standards. FMVSS 108 requires every replaceable light source to match the dimensional and electrical specifications filed with NHTSA, and as of early 2024 no LED submission for this category has been listed in the federal docket.3National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 571.108–NCC-230201-001 LED Headlights The same problem applies to HID (xenon) kits dropped into halogen housings. The optics were designed for one type of light source, and swapping in another scatters the beam unpredictably, often blinding oncoming drivers while cutting your own useful visibility.
NHTSA regulates what manufacturers sell but leaves post-sale modifications to state law. Indiana officers can cite you if your aftermarket lighting fails state performance and visibility requirements, even when the bulbs themselves were sold legally. A replacement headlamp or bulb carrying a “DOT” marking is certifying that it conforms to FMVSS 108.2eCFR. 49 CFR 571.108 Standard No. 108; Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment Product without that marking should be treated as off-road-only equipment.
Underglow and Decorative Lights
Indiana does not have a single statute banning all underglow, but several rules limit it. Red and blue lights are reserved for emergency vehicles, so those colors on any private car will draw a stop immediately. Flashing or rotating lights are also prohibited on non-emergency vehicles.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-19-6-19 – Flashing Warning Lights If you install underglow, keep the tubes hidden behind body panels so the light source itself is not directly visible, stick to white or amber, avoid any flashing pattern, and expect an officer’s read of “distracting” not to favor you.
Exemptions Worth Knowing
Emergency vehicles, including police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks, may use flashing red, blue, or combined colors that would be illegal on any other vehicle.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-19-6-19 – Flashing Warning Lights Antique vehicles classified under Indiana Code 9-19-11-2 do not have to meet every modern lighting standard, but only if they are not used as regular daily transportation. A pre-war car without turn signals can go to shows and occasional outings; you should not rely on the exemption for a daily commute. Commercial trucks, buses, and trailers 80 inches or wider carry additional federal lighting requirements under 49 CFR 393.11 that go well beyond passenger-car rules.5eCFR. 49 CFR 393.11 – Lamps and Reflective Devices
What a Lighting Ticket Costs
A lighting violation is typically a non-moving infraction. The base fine looks modest, but court costs stack on top. In Hamilton County, a standard passenger vehicle traffic offense carries a $35.50 fine plus $139.50 in court costs, totaling $175 for a single ticket.6Hamilton County, IN. Passenger Vehicle Fines and Costs Amounts vary across Indiana’s counties, so your total could be higher or lower depending on where you are cited.
The Bureau of Motor Vehicles also assigns 2 points to your record for failing to use headlights and 2 points for missing brake or signal lights. Points stay active for two years from the conviction date. Two or more traffic violations within 12 months can trigger a mandatory defensive driving course for drivers 21 and older, and 10 traffic violations in a 10-year period can lead to classification as a habitual traffic violator, which carries a five-year license suspension.7IN.gov. Drivers Manual Chapter 5 – Points, Suspension, and Insurance Requirements One lighting ticket will not get you there alone, but it counts toward the running total.
Insurance carriers see these points too. A pattern of equipment violations reads as negligence to underwriters, and premiums can rise even when a single lighting ticket is minor in isolation.
Keeping Your Lights Legal
Indiana does not require periodic safety inspections for most vehicles. The only recurring check is the emissions test required for vehicles registered in Lake and Porter counties, and that program does not look at lighting.8Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Emissions Testing Program No one will catch a dead taillight for you.
Walk around your vehicle once a month with the headlights, taillights, brake lights, and turn signals active. Check headlamp alignment by parking about 25 feet from a flat wall at night; both beams should hit at roughly the same height without aiming upward into oncoming traffic. Clean the lenses regularly. Road grime and UV haze can cut light output well before the bulb dies. Cracked lenses let moisture in, which shortens bulb life and gives an officer an obvious reason to stop you. A replacement bulb takes minutes and costs a few dollars. The ticket costs a lot more.