License Plate Frames Can Get You a Ticket in Connecticut

It's called the license plate frame law and believe it or not, if you have one of these on your car, you're breaking the law in Connecticut and could get a ticket.

It just happened back in March to one Connecticut woman who had a Boston Red Sox plate frame on her car. According to wfsb.com, when Joann Frye of East Windsor got pulled over by police for a routine traffic violation. The ticket she received had an additional $117 fine for "mutilating a license plate," simply because she a plate frame around her rear license plate.

Many of us have these plate frames of our favorite sports team, our Alma Mater or even from the dealership where the car was purchased on our cars, and yes you could get a ticket for having it there. Especially if it's blocking anything written on the license plate.

It’s statute 14-18 section C on the books in Connecticut and it reads, “Official number plates when displayed upon motor vehicles shall be entirely unobscured and the numerals and letters thereon shall be plainly legible at all times.”

Which, in layman's, terms means, all plates should have nothing shielding them.

I have never heard of nor seen anyone get a fine for one of these plate frames. I myself have even had them on my car for years, but I think it may be time to get it off before a police officer, who might be having a bad day decides to enact statute 14-18 section C and wack me with a ticket for $117.

By the way, this same law is in effect for most states in the country, including New York.

New York State Law Section 375 says that license plate frames and windshield decals are illegal. The license plate frames are illegal because they restrict police from correctly scanning your plate. The windshield decals are illegal because police say they're restricting your view.