New Jersey Plate Frames and Covers: Readability Is the Whole Test

The operative words in R.S. 39:3-33 are "conceals or otherwise obscures." The protected information is the name of the State, the registration number furnished by the commission, any part of an insert the commission issues to be inserted in and attached to the plate, and the state name, registration number or expiration date on a temporary registration certificate or temporary registration plate. A dealer frame that surrounds the plate without touching any of that is lawful. A frame whose bottom rail sits over the word NEW JERSEY, or a tinted cover that washes out the characters, is not.

The 2023 amendment is the part most New Jersey drivers have not caught up with. P.L. 2023, c.49 was approved on May 8, 2023 and took effect on the first day of the second month following enactment, July 1, 2023. It added a sentence that does two things at once. It makes partial concealment not a violation where the information "can still reasonably be identified or discerned," and it says in the same breath that such concealment is "therefore not a basis for a lawful stop." That second clause removes the traffic stop, not just the ticket, which is unusual drafting for an equipment offence. The same amendment directs the Attorney General to issue such guidance as the Attorney General deems necessary for law enforcement officers to properly interpret and enforce the section.

The section carries other duties that a frame cannot cure. Plates must be displayed not less than 12 inches nor more than 48 inches from the ground, in a horizontal position, and in such a way as not to swing. The upper limit is relaxed for the rear plate on tank trucks, trailers and other commercial vehicles carrying inflammable liquids and on sanitation vehicles used to collect, transport and dispose of garbage, solid wastes and refuse. Where two plates are issued they go on the front and the rear; where one is issued it goes on the rear. Motorcycles display a plate on the same terms. Separately, all registration plates must be "kept clear and distinct and free from grease, dust, or other blurring matter, so as to be plainly visible at all times of the day and night," so road grime is a violation of the same section on its own footing.

The penalties split three ways. Displaying a fictitious number, or a number other than the one designated for the vehicle in its registration certificate, draws a fine not exceeding $500 or up to 60 days in the county jail. Any other violation of the section, which includes the frame and holder offence and the dirty-plate duty, draws a fine not exceeding $100, with imprisonment for up to 10 days in default of payment. A second conviction for the same violation may be fined at double the first-offence amount, with up to 20 days in default, and the statute states that this doubling does not apply to the display of a fictitious number. The section also forbids affixing an advertisement plate designed with a combination of letters, numbers, colors or words to resemble a real registration plate in the position normally reserved for one, during the gap between applying for registration and receiving the plates.

The product ban is where New Jersey is genuinely strict. R.S. 39:3-33c, added by L.2015, c.49, makes it unlawful to sell, offer for sale, distribute, transfer, purchase, receive or possess any merchandise, including but not limited to retractable license plate holders, reflective spray or anti-photograph license plate covers, knowing that the merchandise is designed or intended to conceal or degrade the legibility of any part of any marking on a plate for the purpose of evading law enforcement. The fine is not to exceed $500, and mere possession is enough. The section carves out one party only: a newspaper that accepts or publishes classified advertising for such merchandise incurs no liability.

S. 39:3-33 and carries a fine not exceeding $100, rising to double that on a second conviction for the same violation, with 10 days in the county jail in default of payment and 20 days on the second offence. L. 49 is that the covered information can still reasonably be identified or discerned, in which case there is no violation and no lawful basis for the stop that produced it. Displaying a fictitious number is treated far more seriously: up to $500 or 60 days in jail, and the doubling provision for repeat offences does not apply to it.

S. 39:3-33c with a fine of up to $500, and the state does not need to show the device was ever mounted on a vehicle.