One Plate, And Nothing Over It
G.S. 20-63 — one plate on the rear, kept clean, and no cover or frame that makes it illegible
One plate, on the rear. In North Carolina, the Division issues one registration plate when it registers a vehicle. When only one plate is issued for a motor vehicle other than a truck-tractor, it is attached to the rear; a truck-tractor's goes on the front. A motor vehicle 35 years or more from its date of manufacture may carry plates of the year it was made, if the current plates are kept in the vehicle and produced on request.
Kept clean. The registered owner keeps the plate reasonably clean and free from dust and dirt, and on the request of a proper officer cleans it immediately so the numbers can be readily distinguished. Neglecting or refusing to clean it after that request is a Class 3 misdemeanor.
Covers and frames. A frame, or a transparent, clear or color-tinted cover, that makes a number or letter of the registration, the State name, or a number or month on the renewal sticker illegible is an infraction. So is intentionally covering a number or the renewal sticker with material that makes it illegible, and covering any part of the plate with a device designed or intended to interfere with a clear photograph by a traffic control or toll collection camera.
Bumpers, racks and straps. An operator who willfully mutilates, bends or twists a plate, or covers or partly covers it with a bumper, light, spare tire, tire rack, strap or other device; who paints over, alters or defaces its letters or figures; who puts oil or grease on it to make dust stick; or who displays it other than in a horizontal upright position is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Registration itself, temporary tags and specialty plates are governed by other sections that are not on this page. What a particular ticket means is a question for a licensed North Carolina attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- G.S. 20-63 — Registration plates furnished by Division; displaying; preservation and cleaning; alteration or concealment of numbers
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed North Carolina attorney.