TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – This week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new law that discusses how drivers may frame their license plates.
That legislation — SB 488 — actually plays off a similar license plate law from last year, which prohibited alterations to license plates.
This applies to any of the following situations:
Mutilating or defacing a registered license plate
Changing the plate’s color
Applying reflective material, spray, covering or anything else that can obscure the plate
Attaching an illuminated device that can prevent someone from reading the plate
However, the 2025 law sparked controversy when it also banned people from owning a “license plate obscuring device.”
According to state law, drivers aren’t allowed to add a device to their license plates that obscures the license plate number or the decal in the top right-hand corner.
An explainer on the license plate frame law from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
But many took the law to mean that they couldn’t have a frame that covers the top or bottom of the plate, with the confusion even leading to arrests in some cases.
While the state has tried to clarify these rules, SB 488 explicitly states that it is not against the law to have a license plate frame so long as the identifying information isn’t hidden.
[RELATED: How the state of Florida is trying to clear up confusion of new license plate frame law]
SB 488 takes effect in full on Oct. 1, though it doesn’t change much else about last year’s license plate law.
That said, you can check out the full list of new laws approved so far this year by clicking here.
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