TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A recent law that took effect in Florida may have some drivers wondering: “Can I be arrested over my license plate?”
The answer? It depends.
The law in question — House Bill 253 — makes a number of changes to existing rules for motor vehicle crimes in Florida, and license plates play a big part in these changes.
For example, HB 253 sets up harsher penalties for drivers who try to mimic a police officer with red-and-white lights while trying to pull someone over.
[RELATED: Here are all the new Florida laws that took effect on Oct. 1]
But HB 253 also says that alterations to license plates now constitute a second-degree misdemeanor, rather than a noncriminal traffic violation.
This applies to any of the following situations:
- Mutilating or defacing a registered license plate
- Changing the plate’s color
- Applying reflective material, spray, covering or anything else that can obscure the plate
- Attaching an illuminated device that can prevent someone from reading the plate
[BELOW: Do I really have to light my Florida license plate?]
On Monday, the Florida Sheriff’s Association put out a message to clarify some of the misconceptions about their own “FSA” plate.
“FSA license plate frames are not designed to cover or obscure any part of a license plate and do not violate the new law when installed correctly,” FSA officials wrote.
In short, so long as a driver isn’t obscuring the important parts of the license plate, it should be safe under the law.
That being said, anyone who is found liable under this law may face a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.
New crimes under HB 253
However, that’s not all. Under this law, people are also entirely prohibited from doing the following:
- Buying or owning a “license plate obscuring device”
- Second-degree misdemeanor — Punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine
- Creating or selling a “license plate obscuring device”
- First-degree misdemeanor — Punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine
- Using a “license plate obscuring device” in the commission of a crime
- Third-degree felony — Punishable by up to 5 years’ imprisonment and a $5,000 fine
What counts as a “license plate obscuring device?”
HB 253 defines this term as follows:
“...A manual, electronic, or mechanical device designed or adapted to be installed on a motor vehicle for the purpose of:
1. Switching between two or more license plates to permit a motor vehicle operator to change the license plate displayed on the motor vehicle;
2. Hiding a license plate from view by flipping the license plate so that the license plate number is not visible;
3. Covering, obscuring, or otherwise interfering with the legibility, angular visibility, or detectability of the primary features or details, including the license plate number or validation sticker, on the license plate; or
4. Interfering with the ability to record the primary features or details, including the license plate number of validation sticker, on the license plate."
House Bill 253