Delaware Bans Tinted Plate Covers and Anti-Camera Sprays

Delaware issues one plate and it lives on the back. Section 2126(a) requires the number plate assigned to a motor vehicle to be attached to the rear at all times, the exception being truck tractors attached to trailers or semitrailers, which display on the front. Special license plates may go on the front or the rear, but where a special plate is on the front, the regular numbered plate or a duplicate special plate furnished under Section 2121(h) must still be on the rear. Section 2126(b) sets the physical conditions: securely fastened so the plate cannot swing, at a height of not less than 12 inches from the ground measured from the bottom of the plate, in a place and position to be clearly visible, and maintained free from foreign materials and in a condition to be clearly legible.

The cover rule is Section 2126(c)(1), and it is drawn around concealment rather than around a list of banned products. No number plate or any portion of it may be covered with tinted material, and no other material may be placed on or around the plate that would conceal or obscure any information contained on it, including the registration expiration sticker. The sentence that follows is the safe harbour: plate frames that do not conceal or obscure any information on the plate, including the expiration sticker, are not prohibited. That is the practical test in Delaware. A dealer frame that crops the sticker or the state name fails it; a slim frame that touches nothing does not. Section 2126(c)(2) adds a rule aimed at illuminated frames: operating or using a plate frame containing scrolling, strobe or blinking lights around a license plate for any purpose, including advertisement or conveying a message, is prohibited except during a special organized event such as a parade or car show.

Section 2126(e) is the provision that makes Delaware harsher than a simple obstruction rule. It reaches any kind of device, product, plate cover or object, expressly including any image altering device or spray, held for the purpose of hindering, inhibiting, impeding, impairing or preventing the photographing, recording or imaging of a license plate in connection with enforcement of the motor vehicle code or any local or municipal traffic laws. Selling, offering to sell, transferring, possessing and using are all separately unlawful, so the offence is complete before the product ever reaches a car. The enforcement it protects is real: 21 Del. C. Section 4101(d) lets the Department of Safety and Homeland Security or the governing body of a city or county run a traffic light signal violation monitoring system, and Section 4101(d)(3) sets the owner assessment at not more than $110, rising by up to $10 if unpaid after 20 days, up to $20 after 45 days and up to $30 after 90 days.

Retailers carry their own duty. Section 2126(f) makes it unlawful to sell any license plate cover or frame that would violate subsection (c) if placed on a Delaware plate unless the seller posts a sign in close proximity to the product stating clearly and conspicuously that it is illegal to put that cover or frame on a Delaware plate. Enforcement in the field runs through 21 Del. C. Section 2144(a), under which the Secretary, an authorized agent of the Department or any police officer may on reasonable cause require a driver to stop and submit the vehicle to further inspection, and may issue a written notice requiring a certificate of inspection and approval within 5 days. Section 2144(b) then bars operating the vehicle after that notice except to reach the owner's or driver's residence or place of business within 20 miles, or a garage.

A tinted or obscuring cover, or an illuminated frame, violates Section 2126(c) and draws a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $200 under Section 2126(d). Breaching the display and mounting rules in subsections (a) and (b) is cheaper, at not less than $25 and not more than $50. A conviction under Section 2126(e) for selling, offering to sell, transferring, possessing or using an anti-camera device, product, cover or spray carries a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $1,000 for a first offense, and not less than $200 and not more than $2,000 for each subsequent violation occurring within 3 years of the original violation.

A retailer convicted under Section 2126(f) of selling a non-compliant cover or frame without the required sign is fined not less than $50 and not more than $100 and must pay the purchaser restitution of 10 times the purchase price. Separately, an officer acting under Section 2144 can put the vehicle off the road until a certificate of inspection and approval is obtained within 5 days.