Vehicles registered in the state of Nevada are required to display a front and rear license plate, with the exception of motorcycles and trailers. But what happens if you’re caught without a front license plate, and why does Nevada require a front license plate anyway? Let’s begin with the basics.

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Does Nevada require front license plates?

Yes, Nevada requires most vehicles to display both front and rear license plates at all times.

Your license plates must be readable from 100 feet away during daylight hours, and readable from 110 feet away when lit by headlights. They also may not swing and each plate’s bottom must be at least 12 inches away from the ground to promote easy visibility.

Exemptions

Technically, the only classes of vehicles that are exempt from the front license plate rule in Nevada are motorcycles and trailers, both of which are only required to display plates in the rear. This is mostly due to the fact that affixing a front plate to these types of vehicles is difficult.

However, according to

Nevada Statute 482.275

, front plates are optional for vehicles that do not have a front license plate bracket, provided that the manufacturer did not provide an add-on bracket or any other way to display a front plate.

So, if your car doesn’t have a place to attach a front plate, don’t worry! You won’t face legal consequences for failing to display your second plate, although you will need to store it in a secure location to return it to the DMV at a later date.

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How to find temporary car insurance in Nevada

What is the penalty for driving without a front license plate in Nevada?

If your car has a front license plate bracket, you’ll face pretty serious consequences for driving without a front plate.

Drivers who fail to properly display their license plate(s) face a misdemeanor charge, which can result in a fine of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail. For something that can be easily avoided, those are pretty serious consequences. It’s best to play it safe by displaying your license plates correctly at all times!

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Which U.S. states don’t require front license plates?

Nevada has more lax front license plate laws than some states. But there are other states that don’t require front plates at all!

The 19 states listed below have no front license plate requirement:

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Indiana

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Michigan

Mississippi

New Mexico

North Carolina

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Tennessee

West Virginia

Why Nevada requires a front license plate

The main incentive for displaying a front license plate is that your vehicle will be more easily identified if it is

stolen

. When you have a front license plate, law enforcement can positively identify your car from the front or the back, making it much easier to locate your car on the open road.

A front-mounted license plate can also help law enforcement in the event of a traffic violation, a police chase, or any other event that requires vehicle identification.

Which states have the highest rates of car theft?

Fortunately, Nevada isn’t the state with the highest rate of car theft in the country. That title belongs to California, which had 168,323 stolen vehicles reported in 2020. Nevada, by contrast, only had 10,556 vehicles reported stolen in the same year.

That said, the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise metro area has one of the highest vehicle theft rates in the country. This means that, if you live near Las Vegas, you might be grateful for your front license plate if your car ends up stolen.

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Everything you need to know about driving in Vegas

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