License plate covers, frames and tinted shields in Colorado

The core prohibition is unusual in how it is measured. Most states ask whether a human officer can read the plate; subsection (2)(b) asks whether an automatic identification system can, which reaches toll readers on E-470 and the I-25 and I-70 express lanes, automated school-bus cameras authorised by C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5, and licence plate recognition used by law enforcement. The subsection lists examples "without limitation", so a product not on the list is still caught if it defeats a reader. Angular distortion is called out by name, which is aimed squarely at the lenticular and prismatic covers sold as making a plate unreadable from an angle while looking clear head-on.

Subsection (2)(a) is the second layer and it applies whether or not any camera is involved. A rear plate must be horizontal, at least twelve inches from the ground measured from the bottom of the plate, in a place and position to be clearly visible, maintained free from foreign materials and clearly legible, at the approximate centre of the vehicle measured horizontally, and mounted on or within eighteen inches of the rear bumper. The front plate must be displayed horizontally in the location designated by the vehicle manufacturer, maintained free from foreign materials, and clearly legible. Those mounting rules came in with Senate Bill 18-028, effective March 29, 2018. The "free from foreign materials" wording is what an officer relies on for a dealer frame or a novelty surround that overlaps the characters, and the centre-of-vehicle and eighteen-inch bumper requirements rule out the off-centre or hitch-mounted plate positions common on lifted trucks.

Colorado is a two-plate state. Under 42-3-202 (1)(a)(I) the owner must attach one plate to the front and one to the rear, and only motorcycles, autocycles, street rod vehicles, trailers and semitrailers, and special mobile machinery are permitted rear-plate-only display under (1)(a)(II). So removing the front plate to fit a smooth bumper is itself a violation, not merely a cosmetic choice, and 42-3-202 (1)(a)(III) requires plates to be displayed during the current registration year.

The validation tabs create a trap that catches otherwise innocent frames. Section 42-3-202 (1)(b) places the current month tab in the bottom left corner of the rear plate and the current year tab in the bottom right corner, and requires that the tabs be visible at all times. A frame with a thick bottom rail, or one carrying a dealership name across the base of the plate, covers exactly those two corners. Subsection (2)(a)(I) separately requires the plate to be securely fastened so it cannot swing, which reaches the spring-loaded and flip-up mounts marketed for hiding a plate.

One narrow exemption exists. Under 42-3-202 (4), notwithstanding subsections (1) to (3), the owner of a military vehicle may choose not to display the assigned plate provided the plate is physically in the vehicle and available for inspection by any peace officer who asks for it. There is no equivalent allowance for collector, street rod or show vehicles, which remain bound by the display rules. The Department of Revenue may also require a plate to be replaced outright under 42-3-201 (5)(b) where that is necessary to keep plates legible as required by 42-3-202 (2), so a plate degraded by a scratched cover can be ordered replaced rather than simply ticketed.

Section 42-3-202 (3) splits the penalties. A violation of the cover and unreadability rule in subsection (2)(b) is a class A traffic infraction and, in the words of subsection (3)(b), "shall be punished by a fine of one hundred dollars". Every other violation of the section, including the mounting, height, centring, legibility and tab-visibility requirements, is a class B traffic infraction under subsection (3)(a); the penalty and surcharge schedule at C.R.S. § 42-4-1701 (4)(a)(I)(B) sets that at a $15 penalty plus a $6 surcharge, within the statutory class B range of $15 to $100. Class B infractions carry no licence points, because 42-4-1701 (3)(c) removes the Department of Revenue's authority to assess points under 42-2-127 for them.

Altering a plate rather than covering it is a different order of offence. Under C.R.S. § 42-3-121 (1)(b) it is unlawful to display, possess or offer for sale a registration number plate knowing it to be fictitious, stolen, cancelled, revoked or altered, and 42-3-121 (2)(b) makes that a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense, punishable under 42-4-1701 (3)(a)(II)(A) by ten to ninety days imprisonment, a fine of $150 to $300, or both. Traffic infractions themselves are civil matters under 42-4-1701 (1) and are heard by a county court judge or magistrate. Because a plate that a camera cannot read is generally a plate an officer has already noticed, plate-cover charges in Colorado tend to arrive alongside the stop rather than in the post.