According to Gizmodo:
“I don’t care who you are-Lindsay Lohan or Governor Schwarzenegger-you have to display a plate or risk being pulled over or cited,” says state DMV spokeswoman Jan Mendoza.
This was the line echoed by CHP officers, traffic lawyers and DMV officials again and again. Not only did a legal precedent prove elusive, no one was even able to drum up a theoretical case where a public citizen-regardless or stature, office, or bank account size-could get away with non-display of plates.
“It simply wouldn’t happen,” says Mendoza of such an allowance.
Fine. But looking at nuances state law, traffic enforcement, and a few public records, the case of Steve Jobs’ perpetually missing plates becomes less mysterious.
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First, it should be noted that it actually is legal is the state of California to drive without a license plate-for 90 days. Car dealerships generally have up to 30 days to file the necessary registration paperwork with the DMV when anyone buys a new or used car. Once received, those plates can take another 4-6 weeks to arrive at a person’s doorstep. Yes, in the interim you must display a temporary registration tag in front driver’s-side window, but it still grants you a degree of wiggle room.
Most local traffic enforcement officers admitted to being less than Bronsonian about singling out a car with no plates, using it more as an excuse to pull someone over if something else seemed suspicious.
“Normally, an officer will not pull over a car that looks new to check the registration,” notes Deputy Gregory Talyor of the Santa Clara Sherrif’s Office.
“Frankly, we have better things to do with our time,” says Cupertino Officer Sandra Powell.
Here’s the other thing: Even if you do get nabbed by the popo for failing to display your plates, the consequences are downright wimpy.
While the fine can go up to $65 (assuming everything else is in order and you don’t want to correct the infraction), in most cases, the worst you’ll get what’s known as a fix-it ticket. That’s essentially a $10 slap on the wrist if you can later prove that you’ve remedied the offense.
Actually, the Temp sticker goes in the rear window, not the front, and a missing front plate ticket is way more than a few bucks.
I’ve had a few Corvette’s, and the later models with the plastic front end would look like crap with a front plate instead of the insert with the “CORVETTE” inlay, so I did that instead on my 98 Convertible.
I was pulled over almost immediately and wasn’t given a ticket, but a warning and was told the fine was around $200 for no front plate.
After that, I would keep the front plate in the car and if I was pulled over, I would tell the officer I just lost my job and need to sell the car, and I took the front plate off and put the insert in its place to take pics as I’m putting the car up for sale, and would show the officer the front plate which I kept in the car.
Of course, it helped that I kept the car washed and polished (not waxed!) and in immaculate condition, so I never got a ticket, but at times was made to put the front plate on the car, on the spot.
IDK what the exact dollar fine is, but it’s in the hundreds of dollars for no front plate once they’ve been issued by CA DMV and you have received them.