A new Florida law, effective October 1, imposes harsher penalties on anyone altering or obscuring vehicle license plates. Drivers caught using or even owning license plate–obscuring devices now face up to 60 days in jail and $500 in fines under House Bill 253.
The law classifies the offense as a second-degree misdemeanor, expanding penalties that previously amounted to a $60 traffic ticket. It also criminalizes the manufacture and sale of such devices, which are now considered a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to $1,000 in fines and one year in jail.
Drivers who obscure plates while committing or fleeing a crime can be charged with a third-degree felony, facing up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines.
Florida authorities say the crackdown targets so-called “ghost cars”—vehicles made untraceable by tampered or hidden plates, often used to evade law enforcement or toll systems.
Under HB 253, motorists cannot alter or cover any part of a license plate, registration sticker, or validation decal with sprays, coatings, tinted covers, or reflective materials that obstruct legibility or visibility.
The Florida Department of Transportation has not yet outlined how it will enforce these new provisions, even though obscuring devices remain widely available online through major retailers.
The new plate law joins several other October traffic measures in Florida, including Trenton’s Law targeting repeat DUI and BUI offenders and a vehicle lighting law imposing fines up to $5,000.
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