Florida Statutes
Fla. Stat. § 316.605 (2025)
Licensing of vehicles.
✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
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316.605 Licensing of vehicles.—
(1) Every vehicle, at all times while driven, stopped, or parked upon any highways, roads, or streets of this state, shall be licensed in the name of the owner thereof in accordance with the laws of this state unless such vehicle is not required by the laws of this state to be licensed in this state and shall, except as otherwise provided in s. 320.0706 for front-end registration license plates on truck tractors and s. 320.086(5) which exempts display of license plates on described former military vehicles, display the license plate or both of the license plates assigned to it by the state, one on the rear and, if two, the other on the front of the vehicle, each to be securely fastened to the vehicle outside the main body of the vehicle not higher than 60 inches and not lower than 12 inches from the ground and no more than 24 inches to the left or right of the centerline of the vehicle, and in such manner as to prevent the plates from swinging, and all letters, numerals, printing, writing, the registration decal, and the alphanumeric designation shall be clear and distinct and free from defacement, mutilation, grease, and other obscuring matter, so that they will be plainly visible and legible at all times 100 feet from the rear or front. Except as provided in s. 316.2085(3), vehicle license plates shall be affixed and displayed in such a manner that the letters and numerals shall be read from left to right parallel to the ground. No vehicle license plate may be displayed in an inverted or reversed position or in such a manner that the letters and numbers and their proper sequence are not readily identifiable. Nothing shall be placed upon the face of a Florida plate except as permitted by law or by rule or regulation of a governmental agency. No license plates other than those furnished by the state shall be used. However, if the vehicle is not required to be licensed in this state, the license plates on such vehicle issued by another state, by a territory, possession, or district of the United States, or by a foreign country, substantially complying with the provisions hereof, shall be considered as complying with this chapter. A violation of this subsection is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318.
(2) Any commercial motor vehicle operating over the highways of this state with an expired registration, with no registration from this or any other jurisdiction, or with no registration under the applicable provisions of chapter 320 shall be in violation of s. 320.07(3) and shall subject the owner or operator of such vehicle to the penalty provided. In addition, a commercial motor vehicle found in violation of this section may be detained by any law enforcement officer until the owner or operator produces evidence that the vehicle has been properly registered and that any applicable delinquent penalties have been paid.
History.—s. 1, ch. 71-135; s. 1, ch. 76-31; s. 1, ch. 78-55; s. 6, ch. 84-260; s. 58, ch. 85-180; s. 10, ch. 86-243; s. 19, ch. 87-198; s. 26, ch. 91-221; s. 239, ch. 99-248; s. 2, ch. 2005-47; s. 39, ch. 2005-164; s. 18, ch. 2007-196; s. 10, ch. 2010-223; s. 14, ch. 2014-216; s. 66, ch. 2016-239.
Note.—Former s. 316.284.
Civil Citations under F.S. 316.605
Driver's license points · R = revocation · S = suspension§316.605TAG - None/Obscured/Defaced/Improper display
§316.605(1)TAG - None/Obscured/Defaced/Improper display
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 38
cases (8 in the last 5 years), 1991–2025 · leading case: Jermaine D. English v. State of Florida, 191 So. 3d 448 (Fla. 2016).
Jermaine D. English v. State of Florida, 191 So. 3d 448 (Fla. 2016). “§ 316.605, Fla. Stat. -8- (2015). Contrary to the majority’s statement that the statute does not distinguish among the types of obscuring matters, defacement,1 mutilation,2 and 1.”
State v. Diaz, 850 So. 2d 435 (Fla. 2003). “While the Legislature has required that permanent license plates must be "plainly visible and legible at all times 100 feet from the rear or front," § 316.605(1), Fla. Stat. (2000), the Legislature has failed to mandate a distance at which temporary tags must be fully legible.”
State of Florida v. Dylan Morris, 270 So. 3d 436 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019). “” § 316.605(1), Fla. Stat. (2017). The defendant’s license plate looked like this: Defense counsel argued the license plate frame did not obscure any of the words, although it covered part of a few letters.”
Sands v. State, 753 So. 2d 630 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000). “Prior to the legislature specifically authorizing the placement of temporary tags on the interior of a car's rear window, drivers risked being stopped and being issued a citation for a violation of section 316.605, Florida Statutes. Section 316.”
Harris v. State, 11 So. 3d 462 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009). “Harris asserts the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress because he was improperly stopped for violating section 316.605, Florida Statutes (2006).”
United States v. James Bernard Braddy, 11 F.4th 1298 (11th Cir. 2021). “” Fla. Stat. § 316.605 (1). Thus, even if Officer Sullivan was mistaken that § 32-6-51 applied, Braddy was still in violation of § 40-12-262 by obstructing the view of his Florida license plate in violation of § 316.”
State v. St. Jean, 697 So. 2d 956 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997). “” This was asserted to be a violation of section 316.605, Florida Statutes (1995).”
State v. Pena, 247 So. 3d 61 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018). “605(1) does not require the county name be ‘plainly visible’ because it is not an essential ‘identification mark’ on the state’s license plate.”
State v. English, 148 So. 3d 529 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014). “§ 316.605(1), Fla. Stat. (emphasis added).”
Calvin Eugene Baker v. State of Florida, 164 So. 3d 151 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015). “There, the court held that an officer had the authority to conduct a traffic stop under the plain reading of section 316.605, Florida Statutes, where the alphanumeric designation was obstructed by the license tag’s light and attached wires hanging down in front of it.”
Dontray Chaney v. City of Orlando, FL, 483 F.3d 1221 (11th Cir. 2007). “Chaney was given a traffic citation for operating a vehicle with an obscured license plate, in violation of Fla. Stat. § 316.605 . 2 He was also charged with the misdemeanor offense of resisting an officer without violence, in violation of Fla.”
United States v. ,000.00 in United States Currency, 749 F.3d 709 (8th Cir. 2014). “2010) (unpublished per curiam) (holding that a license plate frame obscuring the registration decal provided an officer probable cause to believe a motorist violated a state law requiring “‘all letters, numerals, printing, writing, and other identification marks’ .”
— 316.605(1) — 20 cases
Jermaine D. English v. State of Florida, 191 So. 3d 448 (Fla. 2016). “§ 316.605, Fla. Stat. -8- (2015). Contrary to the majority’s statement that the statute does not distinguish among the types of obscuring matters, defacement,1 mutilation,2 and 1.”
State v. Diaz, 850 So. 2d 435 (Fla. 2003). “While the Legislature has required that permanent license plates must be "plainly visible and legible at all times 100 feet from the rear or front," § 316.605(1), Fla. Stat. (2000), the Legislature has failed to mandate a distance at which temporary tags must be fully legible.”
State of Florida v. Dylan Morris, 270 So. 3d 436 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019). “” § 316.605(1), Fla. Stat. (2017). The defendant’s license plate looked like this: Defense counsel argued the license plate frame did not obscure any of the words, although it covered part of a few letters.”
State v. Pena, 247 So. 3d 61 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018). “605(1) does not require the county name be ‘plainly visible’ because it is not an essential ‘identification mark’ on the state’s license plate.”
State v. English, 148 So. 3d 529 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014). “§ 316.605(1), Fla. Stat. (emphasis added).”
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