Were you aware that every time you get in to your car and start driving you may be breaking the law unintentionally. Now wait, before you start worrying too much for nothing let us take the time to explain to you what exactly we mean.

You’ve no doubt seen on your daily commute to work a countless number of cars with fancy covers and various decorations adorning the edges of their car’s license plates. These can vary from those common ones which get added on to the car’s license plate from your local car dealership where your car was purchased to perhaps putting on a frame to show their love and support for their favourite sports team. How about just wanting to add a little personal touch and style to their cars. Even something as simple and unexpected as those clear covers that cover the entire license plate can get you in trouble with the law. It’s important to understand why this happens and how the law looks at this.

The way the law and police officers deal with license plate covers is as follows.

Anything that obstructs a license plate’s display or even touches it is considered to be illegal.

The law states your license plate must be clearly and completely visible at all times and at all angles when using a license plate cover or any other kind of decoration.

Even though this may seem strange and odd even, there is a very logical explanation as to why having a license plate cover can get you in trouble. The reason behind this is that a license plate cover may obstruct a police officer’s ability to clearly see and read your plate in it’s entirety. This can also prevent a police officer from seeing which province the license plate was issued from in the event the car in question is visiting from another province. This can also affect others seeing your license plate in the event of an accident or even worse in a hit and run where the license plate is used to identify the offending driver, so police can find and catch them.

Despite the fact we all like to add our own personal touch to things and customize our personal belongings to suit our different and unique personalities it’s often best to simply leave you license plate without any type of cover or decoration thus ensuring you won’t find yourself in trouble with the law. In spite of everything we’ve mentioned in this article if you still really feel like you need to add some kind of cover or decoration to your car’s license plate you must ensure your plate is completely visible from all angles.

The information provided in this blog post is strictly meant for educational purposes only. This information should never be confused with getting proper legal advice. There is no substitute for legal consultation with an experienced and professional traffic ticket lawyer who understands the law and how it affects you. If you find yourself in a situation like this please do not hesitate to call us for more information or to book your consultation with us.