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Old 08-17-2019, 04:53 PM
 
344 posts, read 347,847 times
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I notice around a third of local vehicles are not displaying a front license plate. Is that legal?

A few people mount it on their dashboard rather than bumper. Is that ok?
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Old 08-17-2019, 05:54 PM
 
2,480 posts, read 7,147,195 times
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A while back (years ago) there was an oops when some bill went through that missed this law and it was legal to not have it on the front. It has since been fixed and the front plate is required again. But I don’t think it’s a huge deal for police to pull you over for not having one.
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Old 08-17-2019, 09:20 PM
 
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A missing front plate gives police probable cause to pull you over. At that point they can smell illegal substances, see something suspicious, etc. The fine for the missing plate is "up to $200", but the other things they might find make it a bigger deal.
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Old 08-17-2019, 09:53 PM
 
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In Texas you are required to have front license plates.

The cars your seeing without front plates must have had recent body work done on the front bumper and they either forgot or intentionally decided not to drill on the plates.

No, it is not okay to mount the license plate on your dashboard, it is meant to be mounted on the bumper.
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Old 08-17-2019, 10:09 PM
 
Location: Tricity, PL
61,888 posts, read 87,385,514 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lhafer View Post
A while back (years ago) there was an oops when some bill went through that missed this law and it was legal to not have it on the front. It has since been fixed and the front plate is required again. But I don’t think it’s a huge deal for police to pull you over for not having one.
Yes. Front plates are required in Texas, although I am driving about 20 years now without having it mounted on the front of my car. Just got lucky, but I know the consequences...
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Old 08-18-2019, 05:15 AM
 
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I drove around without one for a couple of years until I got pulled over a few months ago. I was given a ticket which would be waived off if I could get the front plate mounted within a set period of time and send in proof in the form of a photo which I did. The cops were pulling over a number of cars for this same violation: this was on South Rice near 59.
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Old 08-18-2019, 10:42 AM
 
814 posts, read 678,496 times
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But it is completely legal to have an unreadable back plate: tow trailer damage, bike rack, etc.?
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Old 08-18-2019, 10:53 AM
 
63 posts, read 55,267 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by resonator View Post
But it is completely legal to have an unreadable back plate: tow trailer damage, bike rack, etc.?
No it is not, those are all illegal as well yet people still do it. Just like how people don’t mount front license plates.
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Old 08-18-2019, 11:18 AM
 
Location: Houston
940 posts, read 1,904,609 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lhafer View Post
A while back (years ago) there was an oops when some bill went through that missed this law and it was legal to not have it on the front. It has since been fixed and the front plate is required again. But I don’t think it’s a huge deal for police to pull you over for not having one.
I got pulled over specifically for this and nothing else near Giddings by a DPS trooper and given a warning.
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Old 08-18-2019, 11:49 AM
 
Location: Florida
2,442 posts, read 2,534,619 times
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Front license plate can interfere with an air flow in radiator on some car models so people don't mount them on those vehicles. Also it is legal to place front plate on a windshield and some people do this, however it might look ugly.
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