Massachusetts License Plate Requirements and Penalties

Massachusetts license plate requirements start with a simple rule: every registered motor vehicle must display two plates, one on the front and one on the rear, and both must stay clean, legible, and free of anything that obscures the numbers. Trailers carry a single rear plate. Fines for display violations begin at $35 and rise with each repeat offense, and more serious infractions like driving unregistered or tampering with vehicle identification numbers carry much steeper penalties.

How Plates Must Be Displayed

State law requires two plates on most vehicles and one on trailers. When the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) issues only a single plate for a particular vehicle class, that plate goes on the rear so it stays plainly visible.¹

Both plates must remain legible at all times. The statute bans any device that obscures the plate numbers or obstructs their appearance.¹ Tinted covers, smoked plastic shields, and similar accessories fall squarely in this category. Under the RMV’s regulations, if a cover reduces the legibility of the plate or diminishes its reflective qualities, the plate is considered not maintained in good order, which is itself a violation.²

Frames, Borders, and Decals

Decorative plate frames are allowed, but only if they leave the registration number, state name, and every other required element fully exposed. A frame that covers even part of the lettering puts you in violation, so choose one with a wide enough opening.²

Your registration decal has to be affixed to the rear plate and kept current. A missing or expired sticker complicates verification during traffic stops and can trigger a citation on its own. If your decal is lost or damaged, the RMV lets you request a replacement online or by mail using your registration number and license or ID number.³

Getting Plates in the First Place

Plates come with registration, not separately. Once you register a motor vehicle, the registrar furnishes two plates at no additional charge; trailer registrations come with one.⁴ The standard registration fee for a passenger vehicle is $60, though fees vary by plate type and vehicle class.⁵

Registered vehicles also have to pass an annual inspection. If you just bought the vehicle, you have seven days from the registration date to get it inspected. Driving without a valid inspection sticker is a separate violation and can affect your insurance rate.⁶

Transferring Plates to a New Vehicle

Massachusetts allows a seven-calendar-day grace period to move your existing registration and plates from one vehicle to another. To use it, you must be at least 18, the new vehicle must be the same type with the same number of wheels as the old one, you must have already given up possession of the old vehicle, and you have to carry the transfer paperwork showing your registration number in the new vehicle at all times during those seven days.⁷

One point that surprises people: the RMV does not issue temporary registration plates to individual buyers. The transfer grace period is the only bridge. If you don’t have a currently registered vehicle to transfer from, there is no grace period, and you must complete registration before driving.⁷

Dealers work under different authority. A licensed dealer can issue a temporary plate valid for up to 20 days, intended for Massachusetts residents waiting on permanent plates or for out-of-state buyers transporting a vehicle home. Nonresident buyers have to show proof of residence outside Massachusetts along with insurance meeting the state’s minimum liability and property damage limits before the dealer can issue the plate.⁸

Replacing Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Plates

If a plate is lost, damaged, or stolen, you have to apply for a replacement. For plates issued under Section 5 of Chapter 90, the replacement fee is $10, and the application goes by mail to the RMV’s Section Five Division in Boston. When the plate was stolen, include a copy of the police report with the application.⁹

Specialty Plates

Massachusetts offers a range of specialty plates authorized under Chapter 90, Section 2F, which allows eligible nonprofits (or groups partnered with a 501(c)(3) charity) to sponsor their own plate series.¹⁰ Cause plates such as the Cape and Islands plate direct a portion of the fee to the sponsoring charity, with amounts varying by plate.¹¹

Several military plates are free to eligible drivers. Disabled veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 60 percent or greater who have lost the use of a hand or foot, or who have significant vision impairment, qualify for distinctive plates at no charge under Chapter 90, Section 2. Former prisoners of war receive distinctive plates or emblems without charge on presenting proof of POW status, and a surviving spouse may keep the plate until they remarry or cancel the registration.⁴

Gold Star Family plates are also issued at no charge, available to spouses, parents, children, siblings, and grandparents of service members who died on active duty. Each eligible family member may register one passenger vehicle or motorcycle. Step-relatives qualify only if a legal adoption took place before the service member’s death.¹²

Fines and Penalties

Most plate infractions fall under the general penalty provision in Chapter 90, Section 20. A first offense for a display violation, such as failing to display both plates, using a tinted cover, or letting plates become illegible, carries a fine of up to $35. A second offense within the same 12-month period is $35 to $75. Any further offenses in that same window run $75 to $150.¹³

Driving with expired or no registration is treated more seriously. A first conviction for operating an unregistered vehicle carries a fine of up to $100. Subsequent offenses jump to a maximum of $1,000.¹⁴

The heaviest penalties apply to tampering with a vehicle’s identifying numbers. Under Chapter 266, Section 139, intentionally removing, defacing, or altering the manufacturer’s identification number on a motor vehicle or trailer is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to three years in state prison, or both. Selling a vehicle knowing its identifying numbers have been tampered with carries the same penalty. Simply possessing a vehicle with altered numbers, when you know or should know they’ve been changed, can result in a fine of up to $500 or up to two years in a house of correction.¹⁵ Courts also weigh the broader circumstances of a violation: repeated offenses, attempts to evade law enforcement, or evidence of fraud can bring license suspension and additional criminal charges beyond the base fine schedule.

1
Mass.gov. Massachusetts Code c.90 Section 6 – Display of Number Plates; Temporary Number Plates
2
Justia. 540 CMR 22.02 – Display of Reflectorized License Plates
3
Mass.gov. Replace Your Vehicle Registration or Plate Decal
4
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90 Section 2
5
Mass.gov. Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Fees
6
Mass.gov. Vehicle Inspections
7
Mass.gov. Transfer Your Registration to a Vehicle or Trailer Purchased From an Individual
8
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90 Section 2D
9
Mass.gov. Application for Replacement Section 5 Plate
10
Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Special Plates Brochure
11
Mass.gov. Order a Special License Plate to Support a Favorite Cause
12
Mass.gov. Gold Star Family Plate Application
13
Justia. Massachusetts Code Chapter 90 Section 20 – Penalties for Violations
14
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90 Section 9
15
Justia. Massachusetts Code Chapter 266 Section 139 – Motor Vehicles or Trailers; Defacement of Identifying Numbers; Penalties