Purchase/possession of license plate obscuring device

Category

Registration / Plate

Type

Criminal Traffic

Civil / Criminal

Criminal

Offense Classification

Misdemeanor

Degree

2nd Degree

Points

0

Fine / Penalty

Ordinary adult maximum: 60 days jail and $500 fine; applicable sentencing provisions/costs may differ

Base fines are not the total payable amount. Costs, enforcement method, crash consequences, prior history, and court disposition can change penalties or points. A reported zero does not rule out license suspension or revocation.

Mandatory Court

Yes — criminal court disposition

NTA Eligible

Potentially — Rule 3.125; lawful authority and agency procedure required

Custodial Arrest

Conditional — verify 901.15 or other lawful authority; no special exception in 320.262

NTA means notice to appear. Eligibility is conditional; these fields do not independently authorize arrest. Confirm the exact statutory track, lawful arrest authority, traffic procedure, and agency policy.

Civil infractions resulting in death or serious bodily injury require a hearing under §318.19.

Both are required: the person purchased OR possessed the device, AND the item meets the statutory plate-obscuring-device definition. Subsection (2) does not require activation, installation, roadway driving, or a separate crime. Establish the person’s possession/control; proximity to someone else’s device alone is insufficient.

Electronic blackout: a switch-controlled cover that hides the plate number or validation sticker appears to fit §320.262(1)(c), and may also fit (1)(d) if it interferes with recording. Photograph/video the plate before and after activation, the switch/remote, wiring, mounting, model and actual effect. Record who controlled the device and the basis for linking it to that person. Any testing, search or seizure requires its own lawful authority.

Possession is the subsection (2) theory. Describe purchase or possession in the charging narrative, even when observed activation supplies supporting evidence. The subsection does not expressly say “knowingly”; do not assume that resolves every mens rea or constructive-possession issue. Document awareness and control and consult the State Attorney when disputed.

A current subsection (2)-specific standard instruction could not be verified. The Florida Bar’s published instruction index identifies 28.22, Using a License Plate Obscuring Device, for the separate subsection (4) crime-assisted-use track. Do not substitute its additional crime-related elements for simple purchase/possession. The required-facts checklist here is a statutory field summary, not a jury instruction.

Under §320.262(1), the device must be manual, electronic or mechanical, designed or adapted for installation on a motor vehicle, for at least one of these purposes:

• Switch displayed license plates.
• Flip a plate to hide its number.
• Cover or interfere with plate-number/sticker legibility, angular visibility or detectability.
• Interfere with recording the plate number or validation sticker.

§320.262(5): a frame/decorative border is permitted when it does not obscure the plate number or upper-right registration decal/validation sticker. A normal frame is not automatically an obscuring device. Distinguish a purpose-built/adapted concealment device from dirt, damage or an ordinary mounting defect.

• §320.262(2): purchase/possession, second-degree misdemeanor; ordinary adult maximum 60 days and $500, subject to applicable sentencing provisions/costs.
• §320.262(3): manufacture, sale, offering for sale or distribution; first-degree misdemeanor. These acts are not established merely by possession.
• §320.262(4): use to assist a crime or escape/avoid detection or arrest connected with that crime; third-degree felony. Identify the crime and the device’s connection. Activation alone does not establish this track.
• Related offenses: §320.061 addresses knowing alteration/application of interfering material; §316.605 addresses plate display. Assess their elements separately and review overlapping counts with the State Attorney.
• NTA: potentially available under Rule 3.125 for a misdemeanor when lawful arrest/release authority, current rule exceptions, local procedure and agency policy permit. Subsection (2) does not create a special warrantless-arrest exception. Check officer-presence/fresh-pursuit requirements under §901.15(1) or another independently applicable authority. An NTA does not cure an unsupported charge or unlawful arrest.
• Offense date: the 2026 definition/frame amendment took effect October 1, 2026 under chapter 2026-39, §§12 and 47. Verify the version in effect on the conduct date; do not apply a later amendment retroactively.