D.C. Auxiliary Lamps: Two Fog Lamps at 12 to 30 Inches, Two Spot Lamps

Chapter 7 of Title 18 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations is written as a closed scheme. 18 DCMR § 700.2 makes it an offence to drive or move on any street or highway a vehicle that is equipped in any manner in violation of the chapter, and § 700.4 permits additional parts and accessories only where they are not inconsistent with the chapter's provisions. So the question for any aftermarket lamp in the District is not whether a rule forbids it by name but whether § 711 or § 714 describes it.

Section 711 covers the four categories drivers actually add. A spot lamp is capped at two, and § 711.1 controls how it is used rather than where it sits: on approaching another vehicle no part of the high-intensity portion of the beam may be directed to the left of the prolongation of the extreme left side of the vehicle, nor more than one hundred feet ahead of the vehicle. Fog lamps are capped at two and carry a mounting band of not less than twelve inches and not more than thirty inches above the level surface the vehicle stands on, plus an aiming test measured at twenty-five feet: with the vehicle unloaded, none of the high-intensity portion of the light to the left of the centre of the vehicle may project higher than four inches below the level of the centre of the lamp. Fog lamps meeting that standard may be used together with lower head-lamp beams under § 715. Auxiliary passing lamps are capped at two and must be mounted between twenty-four and forty-two inches, and auxiliary driving lamps are capped at two between sixteen and forty-two inches. Section 711.5 applies the multiple-beam requirements of § 715 to any combination of head lamps and auxiliary passing lamps.

Section 714 covers the decorative and utility lamps. A vehicle may carry not more than two sidecowl or fender lamps emitting amber or white light without glare, and not more than one running-board courtesy lamp on each side, again white or amber without glare. Back-up lamps are capped at two, may not be lit while the vehicle is moving forward, and may not exceed 750 beam candlepower per lamp. Hazard warning lamps must flash simultaneously, white or amber to the front and amber or red to the rear, be visible at night from at least fifteen hundred feet, and be paired with an illuminated indicator inside the vehicle that flashes at the same frequency and is plainly visible to drivers of all heights in bright sunlight. Commercial vehicles eighty inches or more in overall width may carry up to three identification lamps to the front in amber and three to the rear in red, placed in a row and mounted horizontally.

Red flashing lights and sirens are off limits to private vehicles. Under 18 DCMR § 712.1 only the Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles may register a vehicle as an authorized emergency vehicle, and the list is short: fire and police department vehicles, ambulances, official government-owned vehicles used for emergency care or preservation of life, health and property, and Animal Care and Control Agency vehicles responding to an animal-related emergency. Section 712.2 then requires such a vehicle to carry a siren, exhaust whistle or bell audible at 500 feet and at least one lamp showing a flashing red light visible at 500 feet to the front. Nothing in Chapter 7 gives a private owner a route to that equipment.

One District rule that catches out-of-town drivers is 18 DCMR § 703.10: whenever the windshield wipers run continuously because of poor visibility, the headlamps must be lit as well. The same subsection limits the consequences, providing that a violation is not evidence of negligence or contributory negligence and that an officer may enforce it only as a secondary action after stopping the driver for a suspected violation of another traffic regulation.

The District's moving-infraction schedule at 18 DCMR § 2600, adopted effective August 7, 2026, prices improper lights under §§ 703 through 711 at $75, an illegal headlight device under § 718 at $75, no lights running under § 703.1 at $75, one light running under § 704.1 at $75, no rear lights under § 705.1 at $75 and no stop lights under § 706.1 at $75. Enforcement is by the Metropolitan Police Department, and the citation is adjudicated by the Department of Motor Vehicles under the D.C. Traffic Adjudication Act. Beyond the fine schedule, D.C. Code § 50-2201.03(f) supplies a criminal fallback for any breach of a rule made under the Traffic Act, allowing imprisonment of up to 90 days and a fine capped at $500 by § 22-3571.01(b)(3), prosecuted in D.C. Superior Court. A vehicle that does not conform to Chapter 7 can also be failed at its periodic inspection under 18 DCMR § 601.