0

Assuming the car is legally registered, and you have two of the same license plates, would it be legal to have a license plate flipper that flips between the two identical license plates and drive this on a public road?

I'm aware that some states have banned license plate flippers specifically, but some states (Georgia for example) only require the license plate to not sway and be visible and unobstructed at all times (https://law.stackexchange.com/a/19228/76031). So would this theoretically be public street legal?

This question was inspired by this YT short: https://youtube.com/shorts/LGIsQAfsyWw?si=OrBh-V0eY_QLrhba

ohwilleke
  • 257,510
  • 16
  • 506
  • 896
Eric B
  • 109
  • 3

2 Answers2

4

There is no answer common to the entire United States.

The legality depends entirely on the wording of the statute, and each jurisdiction may enact such a restriction differently.

For example, one could ban them outright using language such as:

  • "The use, possession, installation, manufacturing or sales of any device capable of..."

Alternately, another jurisdiction could choose to focus only on curtailing the specific act these devices are intended to enable by stating:

  • "It is illegal to use any device to switch the license plate to display a different number while driving."

In the first example it would be illegal, while in the second it would be legal. You would have to research the law in any state you plan to drive if you owned such a device.

P.S. The likelihood of having legally issued identical plates is irrelevant to a legal analysis of the hypothetical question being asked.

Michael Hall
  • 5,108
  • 2
  • 21
  • 41
1

No

You are only allowed to display the government issued plates and you only get two - one for the front and one for the back.

Getting a replacement requires you to return the damaged plate or to swear or affirm a statutory declaration that the plate has been lost or stolen. If you do the former, you still only have two plates, if you lie on a stat dec, you’ve broken the law.

Dale M
  • 237,717
  • 18
  • 273
  • 546