My state requires a front plate on your vehicle.  Once in highschool I rebuilt an old corvette, and I didn't want to screw up the front with holes for a plate mount...so I drove it without one at first. It took about 2 months before I got pulled over and ticketed for not having a front place.  Fast forward 15 years, and bought a newer pickup truck that didn't come with a front plate....I got lazy, never put one on it...a few months later...pulled over for no front plate. A few years after that, I bought a nice sports car that didn't have a front plate, and the special front mount I needed was over $100....so you guessed it, I drove it without a front plate...and about 6 months later got pulled over. Needless to say, my state requires a front plate....and LEO's enforce it...like they should.

That bring up my question......I always see people in really expensive Range Rovers, Audi's, BMW's, Porches, and Mercedes driving around with no front plates on......how do they get away with it?  Does LEO not both pulling them over because they know they have a lawyer that will make the ticket go away? Or do they get ticketed for it, and just not care?  

....just wondering.

Easy. You just don't put it on.

No one cares.

Did you even read one word of my post?

They must be tight asses in MO because I drove around in CA for decades without a front plate.

Haven't run one on any of my vehicles in over 10 years.

I'm in nebraska. They now have a special interest plate and they only give you a back license plate if you pay the extra fee. I do that for my Mustang.

I don't have a front plate on my truck, but I try to keep it clean. I think the cops quit worrying about it since technically some "show" or "weekend driver" type vehicles don't require 2 plates.

I've never been pulled over in my truck for it.

Long term lots at LAX will nab you for no front plate when you leave.

I hate the front plate law. They be ugly!

I think we're supposed to have it here in Texas, too. I've had my truck for over 3 years and I have not had a plate on it the entire time. I have been pulled over several times and it was not mentioned at all. I see other vehicles all the time with non plates.
Guess the LEO's here don't really enforce it. Dunno.

It must be great to live in a crime free area.
Today's priority is fix it tickets for missing plates,  
Tomorrow it for not using your turn signals.  

I just drive casual.

In general, California doesn't seem to care.  You do something stupid and you might have the lack of front plate lumped in with other infractions, but I've never heard of anyone being pulled over for only that.

I made it two years in VA when I was younger before getting pulled over. Now that I'm older I run one because I don't want to give them a reason to pull me over. 

I see see the same thing here on high end cars, but don't think the guys with a 911 or McLaren give a shit if they get a $100 ticket. 

Your state sucks, OP. Front plates being required is ridiculous.

How does a parking lot issue a vehicle citation?

I bought my wife a Mercedes last year.  When I was going over the car with the salesman I noticed the front license plate bracket in the trunk.  I asked if he was going to install it.  He said he would if I wanted, but nobody puts it on.  I left it off and haven't had any issues with the cops.  I live in CT.

Probably the same way you "got away" with it. They just pay the ticket when they get it.

You've driven a cumulative total of roughly a year without such a plate and are wondering if there's anyone else like you?

I agree.

The small towns in my area are looking for a pretext to stop so they'll ticket for a front plate. The big cities don't seem to care.

I bought a new f150 about 6 months ago. Never put the front plate on. So far so good. When I drove a lowered gti It didn't take long at all to get pulled over for no front plate, even when it was on, he just didn't see it. I think around here if you look like a shitbag driving a shitbag car you're probably inviting the man into your life, with no front plate.

WI almost did away with it for cost savings bit the police freaked out so it's still around.

because folks that can afford nice cars can afford lawyers to get the out of tickets.

No big deal

This.
Most people at work never fought that one.

I've been driving my car for fourteen years, just got a ticket the other day while it was parked in chiraq.

In college I tried laying the plate on my dash, got pulled over and scolded.

easer for the Leo's to see if they need to tax you

Must depend on the state. I've been pulled over in my Corvette several times since I bought it. No front plate, no tickets. I was told by one officer after a warning for no front plate that they don't ticket for it. I'm guessing that means that division of law enforcement. I've been ticketed by small town cops where it's all about making money in the past though.

Around here, it's used as a pretextual stop to see about bigger issues (drugs, guns, stolen property). I don't think I've heard of a citation being issued for it.

I was under the impression that a new vehicle sold in a state requiring two plates has to leave the lot with both installed free of charge.

Is This what you are referring to as the expensive alternative to drilling holes in your bumpers? People swear by these things, I would use them but I live in a free state

My dad has a pickup in NY but it is registered in Florida, he got pulled over once but didn't get a ticket in 15 years of driving around in NY without a front plate.

been driving for 27 years, never had a front plate - only stopped once when i was 16 with a warning.

and i had porsches, audis, bmws, mb and range rovers

Yup. Those guys just see it as a "cost of doing business". They just pay the ticket and move on.

It's required here. I drove around for 3 years without one and never had an issue. Maybe they are ticketing you because you're rude or smell bad. 

It will get you pulled-over and a ticket in Virginia.....Easy revenue.....Easy cause for a stop. It's just a matter of time till they snag you.

If your vanity is worth getting pulled over, ticketed, and getting the man involved in your life then by all means have at it because what with licence plate readers the VSP is not going to give-up that front plate ever.

Front plates suck ass but in Virginia the VSP has way too much clout in lobbying our legislature against changing such things.

You got by for months without one. So do they get by for months without one. You are just seeing yourself driving around so what's the big deal.

Some years back I had the front plate of my truck popped off when I came in contact with a frozen snowbank in a parking lot. I drove around for two years (St. Charles County) before a very young state trooper pulled me over on I-70 and gave me a hard time about it. "It IS the law," he told me.  About six months later I finally put it back on. So my impression has been only young, bored law enforcement officers care about it in Missouri.

Illinois requires front plates.  I grew up in Indiana, and there was no front plate.  Front plates are UGLY.  The case could probably be made for cumulative oil savings from increased aerodynamics of cars without front plates.

Been here since 1984, stopped once for no front plate, told the officer I had just had the front fascia replace after an accident, and was waiting for the plate bracket to arrive.  In anticipation of this event, for years I had an artificially aged (read: dirty) front plate in the back seat for just this situation, looks like it's been mounted, I keep a stack of dealer maintenance records in the car and offered to dig through them for the bodywork that never happened.  My story seemed plausible, and the officer told me to go on my way. HA! STRIKE A BLOW FOR FREEDOM!  Never happened before or since.

Bought a new car last year, and the oft-repeated phrase from arfcom, "don't invite the man into your life" caused me to install a front plate for the first time in my life.

It's just an invitation for some cop having a bad day to pull me over on the pretext of no front plate.  I don't go into Chicago often, but two years ago I received a ticket on my windshield for no front plate. Now I don't have to worry about that.

The Illinois Secretary Of State's website says that the front plate is for "traffic control and crime prevention".  Right.

Between plate readers on patrol cars, the iPass (tied to a credit card for automatic payment of highway tolls, you can opt for an itemized bill that shows all activity, dates, times, etc.), a cell phone, and the cameras everywhere, there's no privacy anywhere.  The front plate is just part of the plan.  I will not be surprised when the ticket just comes in the mail, with the photo that is taken of your car as you pass through the automated tolling lanes.

How do the people with fancy cars get away with it?  In my opinion, odds are that the driver isn't transporting something skeevy, it's likely to be someone with a job, mortgage, drivers license, registration and insurance.  The "fishing expeditions" target a certain socioeconomic level, and no front plate allows them to start fishing.  I live near a very wealthy suburb of Chicago, and it's not at all unusual to see Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Bentleys in the non-winter months, and I don't recall ever seeing a front plate on any of them.  I'd imagine that in the rare instance they are ticketed for no front plate, its just the cost of doing business.

At O'Hare and Midway airports, you can be driving a Bentley or a Buick - everyone is fair game.  It's just revenue generation, and shooting fish in a barrel.

Most of my ricer friends have been popped. My muscle car buddy's never get pulled over. 

I never got pulled over in my 70 Fairlane. 

Lately i I have been folding mine up into a eurostyle plate and making new screwholes just so I don't tear them off of my Jeeps. 

They don't allow you to leave and radio the cop who is close by.

In my 2 cases, as I was .mil and had out of state tags, they let me proceed after a few minutes of..."ugh....I'm not sure what we are supposed to do" nonsense. The second time, a cop rolled up just as I was leaving.

FWIW, they treat it as some sort of security issue as they photograph the front plates of everybody leaving.

I certain cars I've owned I flat out said, it doesn't have a mounting plate and I'm not drilling a hole in my bumper. This was the case with my VW R32 (the good one) and my Mercedes CLS550. Also, there is nowhere to put a front plate on my avatar....surprisingly, I've never heard a word about it. I've also routinely been encouraged to do burnouts......by cops.....directing traffic in construction zones...... think about that one.

In Illinois, over the course of years. I bought four cars (two VWs and 2 Volvos, all ordered) with a signed agreement that if some monkey drills the bumper and installs the front plate hanger, no deal - I'm walking.  I had good relationships with my dealers, salesmen and service department, and they honored my request.

i live in upstate Ny and havn't had a front plate on my truck in 2 years, no one seems to give a shit.  Even got pulled over a year ago and got a warning for speeding, didn't even mention it


I guess when you drive a 10 year old domestic pickup no one seems to pay attention to you lol

People around here toss the plate on the dash.

No offense but your question is a bit silly.

You detail how on three separate occasions you "got away" without having a front plate for, in some cases, a substantial amount of time.  Perhaps all of the people driving the "really expensive cars" are in the midst of the same "luck"?

My state not only requires a front plate. Both plates also requires tags.

Just like tinted license plate covers.  
If every vehicle was compliant, there wouldn't be any reasons for a fishing trip.

MO sucks.  I've been pulled over in MO twice for no front plate... in my vehicle registered out of state.