The desire for a sleek black-on-black look has some California drivers crossing the line of license plate legality.
The state does offer two black plates, but a third, illicit version has been spotted on the roads. It’s a metal plate, black background with white numbers and “California” in cursive — the so-called lipstick design that has been the default since the 1990s. The look is achieved with a vinyl wrap, and it can get the car’s owner slapped with a hefty ticket.
Here’s the rundown on black plates, legal and not.
Legal: 1960s legacy plate
A specialty plate introduced in 2015, it is modeled on the California plate introduced in the mid-1960s: black background, yellow numbers, “California” in block letters. It’s available from the Department of Motor Vehicles for an extra $50.
Two other proposed legacy plates — black-on-yellow from the 1950s, yellow-on-blue from the 1970s — didn’t get enough preorders to go into production.
Legal: Digital plate
A 2022 bill allowed California drivers to buy a digital screen that displays the license number and registration tags. Among the customization options is a white-on-black display.
The digital plate is available only for the rear of the car; a conventional plate must be used on the front.
The Granite Bay company Reviver sells its RPLATE for $899, plus a service fee of $35 to $125 a year.
Illegal: Vinyl wrap
For substantially less — about $65 for a set of two — a driver can buy a kit to change the look of a license plate. It includes a sticky-back rectangle of black vinyl, plus adhesive numbers and the “California” logo in white or another color of your choosing. The aftermarket items are pressed onto the plate in the appropriate configuration. Registration tags can be added, or you can cut windows in the vinyl to display those that are on the old plate.
This method is unequivocally illegal, violating the vehicle code’s prohibition on modifying a license plate, and the fine can exceed $1,000. Most sellers include the disclaimer that wrapped plates are not street-legal.
Illegal: Any hand-painted version
Charming, in a rustic way, but it’s still going to get you busted.
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