Bike Rack License Plate Holders

Do you actually need one?

A loaded bike rack covers your license plate on most vehicles. Whether that's an offence depends on where you are — plate visibility rules are set state by state, and some are specific about it while others are written vaguely enough that it comes down to the officer. We wrote up what the law says about blocking your plate with a bike rack so you can check your own state rather than take our word for it.

The practical answer most customers land on: a holder costs less than a ticket, and it takes the argument off the table.

Which holder do you need?

The Add-On Holder mounts to a Kody light you already have or are ordering. It's the cheaper route and the tidier one, because the plate sits with the light rather than hanging off separately. On the Medium and Large you can have it side-mounted or center-mounted — tell us which you'd prefer when you order and we'll build it that way. Note this one is a bracket only: no lights and no rack mount of its own.

The Pivoting Holder mounts directly to your bike rack instead, and pivots so the plate reads correctly with the rack down and loaded, or folded up and stored. Choose this if you want the plate independent of the light, or if your rack spends time in both positions.

And yes — the plate in the photos is ours. Bring your own.

Adding the plate light

A holder keeps the plate visible. A plate light keeps it readable after dark, which is a separate requirement in most states.

Ordering a light and a plate light together? You need neither of the kits below. The power connection is built into the main cable at the factory, so it arrives plug-and-play.

Adding a plate light to a Kody light you already own? You need two things: the plate light itself, and the Cable Upgrade Kit. The kit is a Y-splitter and a 72" two-pin cable that runs tail light power back to the plate. Without it there's nothing to power the light from.

Replacing a broken plate light, or already have the cabling? Just the plate light on its own.

The light itself is two white LEDs on a 20" lead, sealed like the rest of our gear, and it comes with the stainless hardware to fit it.

Don't see what you need?

The pivoting holder fits most racks we build for, and the add-on holder fits any Kody light — so start by finding the light made for your rack and the holder follows from there.

If you've got an unusual rack, or you're trying to work out which parts you're missing, send us a message with a photo. Cabling questions in particular are much easier to answer from a picture than a description.