Reply #3: Approximately 30 states require two license plates. [View All]

[Longhorn]

Two License Plates Required
Approximately 30 states require that automobiles have a license plate on both the front and back of the vehicle. Proponents of two license plates argue that it increases safety and helps law enforcement officials. For example, supporters have suggested that two license plates help photo radar enforcement, because the photo is taken from the front of the car.

Opponents, however, suggest that two-plate systems increase the likelihood of fraud because a vehicle owner might put the second tag on another unregistered vehicle, thus evading registration taxes and fees. Another concern is the expense of issuing twice as many plates and storage of the plates. The price of manufacturing a license plate varies from state to state, and sometimes the price differs for specialty plates or personalized plates versus regular plates. For example, Missouri manufactures its plates at an estimated cost of 84 cents per plate, while the estimated price in Connecticut ranges from $2.85 to $8.

As reported in The Fast Track to Vehicle Services Facts: 1999 Edition, a total of eight jurisdictions responded to the question of whether they currently were considering changing the number of license plates required on a vehicle. Almost all the responding jurisdictions that currently require two plates have considered cutting back to one, but efforts have almost always failed. For example, the debate over one versus two plates has been ongoing in California for several years. Currently, law enforcement officials in California and other supporters have prevailed in maintaining the two-plate requirement, but proponents of one plate continue to emphasize fiscal concerns. On the other hand, the Indiana legislature has considered changing its requirement from one plate to two, but the move has been defeated because the advantages of two plates have not been shown to outweigh the costs.

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/transportation/tranrm_p.htm