That privacy cover on your license plate will no longer protect you in California. New legislation in the Golden State explicitly bans applying anything to your license plate that interferes with electronic reading devices. This includes things like covers, tints, sprays and flippers. Drivers caught using any such devices will face fines of $250.
AB 1085 not only prohibits the use of such products but also the sale or manufacture of them within the state. It imposes a $1,000 fine per item manufactured or sold in violation of the law. This is an expansion upon previous legislation that banned the use or sale of a “casing, shield, frame, border, product, or other device” on license plates to prevent electronic readability. The law was not specific enough to include certain product types and enforcement was mainly focused on drivers.
