A Florida law meant to keep license plates clearly visible is now facing a federal challenge after some drivers were criminally charged over something as simple as a license plate frame.
The law, which took effect in October 2025, increased penalties for obscuring license plates, turning what used to be a minor violation into a criminal offense in some cases. Drivers now risk up to 60 days in jail and fines up to $500 for certain infractions.
News4JAX spoke with Anna Quesada, an attorney and partner at the Ticket Toro Law Firm, who says the law is inconsistently enforced.
“The law is so vaguely written because it lacks definition,” Quesada said. “It doesn’t define what counts as obscuring a license plate or to what degree interference becomes criminal behavior.”
Her team used AI to review public records statewide and discovered the law is applied differently depending on the county.
You can visit their interactive state-wide map here.
“You have counties coming out and saying it’s alright… then in Broward County you have somebody that gets arrested for blocking the ‘S’ in Sunshine State,” Quesada said. “The poor man has a panic attack. He’s taken to jail.”
Ticket Toro became involved after a client in Broward received a criminal citation for driving off a dealership lot with a new car that included a license plate frame the dealership provided.
Her firm has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop enforcement of the law, have it declared unconstitutional, and remove any citations or arrests from drivers’ records.
Three months after the law about obscuring license plates went into effect, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles sent a memo to all Florida law enforcement agencies.
In it, the department said that as long as license plate frames do not block the plate number or the registration sticker, they’re legal.
Until the federal court rules, experts recommend that Florida drivers ensure their license plate number and registration sticker are fully visible and avoid frames or decorations that could obscure these elements.