Are you required to have a front license plate on your vehicle? Here’s what Idaho law says – East Idaho News

(Idaho Statesman) — Over the weekend, we answered a query that had Idaho drivers questioning whether or not they’re driving legally or not once they’re in downtown Boise: Are you able to flip left onto a one-way road on a purple mild?

Now we’re answering one other complicated query that would sooner or later trigger you points on the street: Does Idaho require a entrance license plate on motor autos?

The brief reply is sure. Idaho is one among 30 states, plus the District of Columbia, that requires a entrance license plate on most motor autos.

However there are some exceptions.

Title 49 of Idaho Statutes outlines that the next autos are usually not required to have a entrance license plate: bikes, all-terrain autos, utility sort autos, motorbikes and semitrailers operated by a producer, repossession brokers and sellers.

Tractors additionally solely require a single license plate, however the plate should be on the entrance of the tractor as a substitute of the rear.

However there’s additionally one additional exception within the state code: “Automobiles displaying 12 months of manufacture, outdated timer, traditional automobile, road rod, or customized automobile license plates shall be allowed to show one (1) plate connected to the rear of the automobile.”

The outline for every automobile classification may be discovered under, and an utility to use for particular license plates may be discovered on the Idaho Transportation Division’s web site.

• Yr of producer – Automobiles with the mannequin 12 months 1974 or 1968 and earlier could show an genuine Idaho license plate manufactured in the identical 12 months because the automobile and for a similar sort of car.
• Previous Timer – Automobiles manufactured earlier than Jan. 1, 1943, with out main modifications from manufacturing unit specs. This plate doesn’t act as registration and shall solely be used for reveals, parades, excursions, membership actions and different comparable occasions. The automobile can’t be used for enterprise or business functions with solely an Previous Timer license plate.
• Basic Car – Automobiles over 30 years outdated that don’t qualify as an Previous Timer. This plate additionally doesn’t act as registration and may solely be used for reveals, parades, excursions and membership actions. It additionally can’t be used for enterprise or business functions with out customary registration.
• Road Rod – Automobiles manufactured earlier than Dec. 31, 1948, or are designed to resemble such a automobile.
• Customized Car – Automobiles with a reproduction model title over 30 years outdated however don’t qualify for Previous Timer plates.

Additional distinction between Previous Timer and Idaho Basic automobiles may be present in part 49-406A of the Idaho state code.

Makes an attempt have been made to take away the entrance license plate requirement from Idaho automobiles, akin to in 2017, when the Home Transportation and Protection committee narrowly handed a invoice. The invoice ultimately died in a Senate committee.

Rep. Patrick McDonald, a former state trooper, stated in 2017 that the entrance license plates should be required on autos as a result of he “can’t let you know what number of stolen automobiles I recovered as a result of they solely had one plate on them.”

Boise Police Division spokesperson Haley Williams reiterated that time to the Idaho Statesman on Tuesday, saying that it’s simpler to determine autos for law enforcement officials in instances of crime with a entrance license plate.

Getting caught and not using a mandatory entrance license plate in your automobile will end in an tools infraction and a $67 nice. Residents new to Idaho should register and title their automobile inside 90 days of shifting to the state.