Massachusetts Bans Any Device That Obscures a Number Plate

The operative language is in the second sentence of G.L. c. 90, § 6. Massachusetts wrote it twice over: the plates shall be kept clean with the numbers legible, and separately they shall not be obscured or the appearance obstructed in any manner by the installation of any device obscuring said numbers. The first half reaches road salt, mud and a February slush coating, which matters in a state that treats its winters the way this one does. The second half reaches hardware, and it is the plate cover rule.

Three features of the drafting decide most real cases. The phrase is "in any manner," so the statute does not care whether the obstruction comes from tint, a mesh, a lens that distorts the view from an angle, a spray or a mechanical shroud. The object of the sentence is "any device," which reaches a bolted frame, a snap-on cover and a dealer surround alike. And the section forbids obstructing the "appearance" of the plate as well as the numbers, so a device that leaves the characters technically readable while hiding the state name, the registration month sticker or the plate's colour is still within the prohibition.

What the section does not do is set a light transmittance percentage or a viewing angle. Massachusetts made this a legibility and obstruction test, judged by an officer looking at the plate, rather than a metered standard. A genuinely clear, undistorting cover that obscures nothing does not violate the words of § 6, and the practical risk with such covers is that road film, condensation or a scratched surface turns a compliant cover into a non-compliant one without anything being changed on the vehicle.

Section 6 carries three further requirements that ride alongside the cover rule. Massachusetts is a two-plate state on the face of the statute: one number plate is to be attached at the front and one at the rear of a motor vehicle, one at the rear of a trailer, and if the Registrar issues only one plate it goes on the rear so that it shall always be plainly visible. During the period when the vehicle is required to display lights, the rear register number shall be illuminated so as to be plainly visible at a distance of sixty feet, which means a cover that dims the plate lamp is a violation of the illumination clause even where it might survive the legibility clause. And no number plates other than those procured from the Registrar or authorised by him for temporary use may be displayed, which is what puts novelty and vanity front plates outside the law.

If a plate is lost, mutilated or its register number becomes illegible, § 6 does not leave the owner to improvise. The owner or person in control of the vehicle shall apply for a new number plate, and the Registrar shall then issue a permit allowing a temporary number plate bearing the same register number until a regular plate is made and delivered. The temporary plate must conform to the regular plate and be displayed the same way.

Enforcement is not only roadside. Massachusetts still runs a periodic safety inspection under G.L. c. 90, § 7A, and the statute lists the items the annual maintenance inspection must cover: brakes, stop lamps, lights, directional signals, horn, vehicle identification number, steering and suspension systems, glazing, windshield wipers and cleaner, number plates, tires, fenders, bumpers, external sheet metal, reflectors, splash guards, chock blocks, safety belts and exhaust system. Number plates are on that list by name, so an obscured plate is a lane-inspection item and not merely something an officer may notice in traffic.

One more consequence follows from the registration structure. G.L. c. 90, § 9 makes it an offence to operate a vehicle on any way unless it is registered in accordance with the chapter and carries its register number displayed as provided in section six. A plate obscured badly enough that the register number is not displayed as § 6 requires therefore exposes the driver to the § 9 offence as well, which is punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars for a first offence and not more than one thousand dollars for a subsequent offence.

c. 90, § 6, which sets no penalty of its own, so the chapter's general penalty section applies. c. 90, § 20, a person convicted of a violation of any provision of chapter 90 for which the punishment is not otherwise provided shall be punished by a fine of not more than thirty-five dollars for the first offense, not less than thirty-five nor more than seventy-five dollars for a second offense, and not less than seventy-five nor more than one hundred and fifty dollars for subsequent offenses committed during any twelve-month period.

Section 20 reaches violations of the Registrar's own regulations made under section thirty-one on the same terms. c. 90, § 9 is also in play, and that section carries a fine of not more than one hundred dollars for a first offence and not more than one thousand dollars for any subsequent offence. c. 90, § 7A, so a cover that defeats legibility will keep the vehicle from passing inspection until it is removed, and the owner of a plate whose register number has become illegible is required by section 6 to apply to the Registrar for a replacement rather than to clean it up privately.