Is It Illegal to Block Your License Plate With a Bike Rack?
Updated: 2 days ago
A customer (Mike W. of Minnesota) recently pointed out that we don't market on the legality of blocking plates/tags and signal lights. I completely agree with this and honestly have not done much research on the topic. Our primary concern is improving safety when carrying bikes. I don't want to be rear ended, injured or dealing with an insurance company to replace my equipment. It's painful and a waste of my time.
Is it illegal to block your license plate with a bike rack?
With all that said, I did a bit of research and started with Minnesota. There, it is illegal to block your license plate with a bike rack, and it is ticketable — same for your signal lights.
What Minnesota's statute actually says
Portion of the Minnesota Vehicle Registration statute;
"The person driving the motor vehicle shall keep the plate legible and unobstructed and free from grease, dust, or other blurring material so that the lettering is plainly visible at all times. It is unlawful to cover any assigned letters and numbers or the name of the state of origin of a license plate with any material"
Portion of the Minnesota Vehicle Signal (stoplights) statute;
"which shall be plainly visible and understandable from a distance of 100 feet to the rear during normal sunlight and at night"
Check your own state
The reading was interesting and I recommend checking out your state laws and statutes as well as the states you drive in. Here's where I found the Minnesota statutes.
How to keep your plate visible
A license plate holder moves the plate out from behind the bikes. If you already have a Kody light, the add-on holder bolts onto it. If you don't, the pivoting holder mounts straight to your rack. Here's how to choose.
Thank you Mike and I hope everyone has a great weekend!
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