How do you deal with the front license plate issue?

When I bought the car, the salesperson offered to drill holes in the front bumper in order to mount a license plate holder in the front. That would have looked ugly so I asked how strictly this is enforced. I was told an officer would have to be a real cumstain to enforce it. Yesterday a meter maid got me for a lack of front license plate , even requested towing. I called DC and asked about the license plate displayed on the dash, they said no way, gotta be on the bumper. Before I start drilling holes, I'd like to know what anyone else has done about this issue. Bit the bullet and drilled the holes, taken the ticket(s) with a smile, anything else?

NO DRILL!!! and that is BS that a meter maid can give a ticket to a parked car for no plate (another issue) there are lots of screw on plate mounts that use the tow hook (already have a hole) i will find a pic.... http://images.gominigo.com/INSTRUCTI...ES_Porsche.pdf http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsc...Q5fAccessories how much was the ticket.... if cheap pay it and do nothing....

Well, officer, I just had my front bumper resprayed and am waiting for the paint to cure. My plate is right here in the rear foot-well. That's my plan, and I'm sticking to it. They will force me to drill the front bumper over my cold dead body. (Although I made them do it on the Cayenne. Who cares?)

Dude that's awesome, rather than spend the $95 & shipping on eBay I'll just cut out a piece of pressure treated wood and drill a 19mm hole in it

My P-car came from a state which required a front license plate and mine was mounted using standard Porsche hardware, no drilling needed. There were two pop-outs in the front that accepted the Porsche license plate hardware. I have since removed the front license plate as they don't require it in Michigan and have two holes with plastic plugs in them. Good luck and I don't believe you need to drill.

Yes I got DC meter ticket with VA plate. Once I got a DC ticket and wasn't even in DC. If you don't park in DC everyday I would use the bumper tow hook plate cover, easy off/on. If not, get the OEM RoW to US conversion and will not have to drill holes. When using a stock bumper i reset the OEM plate holder to lower the plate. Now i just keep it in the window. I'll have to remember when i park in DC. [IMG] [/IMG]

in the case of being pulled over for it, you have the option of explaining.. in this case some golf cart pulls up while you are in eating a steak and tows your car... that is BS!! my "story" was going to be.... what? get out and act pissed off cuss cuss some more man I just had this detailed, that stupid shop must have knocked that off... I'm going to tear them a new a$$hole! or Man, these Porsche's are always dropping parts off them, whats next?? I'll get it fixed or maybe it flew off when I was going 160 mph yeterday, do you think that is what happened?

its the plates thats the issue.... theyre fugly!.... wish we had the EU ones, I would def sport that.

Mine is on there.. holes drilled in all it's uglyness.... local town cops are Militant about the front plates and I just don't want to deal with them.

secretly Marc has had the other one in the garage for 2 years and just not installed it

I made a 65% scale replica of the front plate and stuck it in the area where the 3rd radiator goes on my 996. I have a bra on the car so it shows through the bra. In 8 years of driving the car this way, I have never had a problem.

States are becoming more and more rabid about front plates because they are (1) a source of revenue for cash-strapped states and (2) are routinely used as a sighting target for police using laser speed sensors. Without a front plate they have to go to the backup target which are the headlights. You will find, if you do a bit of investigating, that the fine for having no front plate has been going steadily up over the years. Don't event think that it's inexpensive and simply pay the fee. Repeat offenders also get hit for a higher subsequent fee. The solution is simple, but requires a little imagination and skill. In fact, you can have it both ways. There in place when the car is parked and then flipped up so that the authorities can't laser off you!

Or ya'll can just move to North Carolina

No front tag needed in Florida either I just dont know if its a trade off for the old people.

I ran w/o a front plate in California for 7 years but you had to be a bit careful depending on what city you were in. I was lucky and never got tagged but lots of friends did and not just by city LEOs. At on point, the University of California started handing out NFP tickets which made it tough to do drives up Mt. Hamilton as the observatory was a favorite stopping point for lunch and belong to the university. After moving to Indiana I no longer had to worry about it. Same goes for Georgia.

I went with the Skene Design bracket. Not cheap, about $50, but mounts nicely with no drilling, if you trust the double sided tape (I didn't) or drilling into the horizontal portion of the bumper. http://skenedesign.com/FPBracket/index.shtml

damm meter maid got me twice in nyc...cops dont bother me...

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That wasn't a meter maid in full leather with whips. I've imagined dodging back and forth as a way to keep the laser operator from getting me. It would be funny and possibly cheaper than the speeding ticket changing lanes unlike they prefer.

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They're not going to force you to drill holes in your car, they're just going to force you to display a front plate. Just saying that refusing to do it isn't going to get you very far if a cop chooses to cite you for it. FWIW I never used to run a front plate at all but cannot afford to get any more tickets of any kind because it would cause problems with my job. I use the tow hook option.

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I ran w/o a front plate in Chicago for 4 yrs, and I got tickets and paid them with a smile. After moving to Indiana, I too no longer have to worry about it.

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I think you missed the "Officer, I have my plate right here but I'm waiting for the paint to dry" part of my post. I won't tell the cop "I'm refusing to ruin the bumper". They won't force me to drill my bumper, or display a front plate. If the cop doesn't buy my story, I'll just take the ticket and pay. Just curious about the job/ticket thing. What if you get a parking ticket?

If we park on City streets,meter or not we get ticked for no front tag. Mine mountd to the tow hook hole.

I ran 944s without front plates in NY for years. Got a ticket for it parked in NYC and got a ticket or two for it in speeding stops. On the 996, because I didn't want to give the law any *extra* excuses to pull me over, I bought the official Porsche bracket from Suncoast. So at least it fits the best it will... and no extra holes were needed. But it's still ugly.

da laws da law... DC they are ******

I have no front plates on either my Arura TL or the 996. my Porsche is new so no idea how or if cops will react differently, but in the TL I go by cops all the time with no issue here in CA. I have to commute by a lot where the cops cars are stored and no one has ever blinked an eye.

In my state, front plate is required but I've never ran it the last 20 years on most of my cars. I have received tickets either when I'm pulled over or parked on the streets. Fortunately I've been able to get out of most of these although it is a hassle. For tickets issued when I was parked, I just temporarily put the plate on the car and took a pic of it and sent it in with no guilty plea. This has worked most of the time for me. YMMV I'm always guaranteed at least 3 tickets if a cop pulls me over for speeding(speeding, tints, no front plate). I have always gotten 2 out of the 3 dismissed thus far. I'm willing to put up with it and risk paying since I really despise front plates, especially on cars like this.

One of the good things about living in Indiana is that they don't have front license plates. I liked that. Now that I live in Colorado where they are required, I use the kind that threads into the tow hook. The cops out on I-70 are pretty aggressive, and I believe they issue tickets to cars without front plates pretty regularly.

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Wash that thing, will ya?

Again? alright... I'll get on it...

Illinois requires front plates. I had a Lexus SC300, and never scarred the front bumper with a plate. Then one day, I was downtown having lunch with my daughter, and got TWO tickets in one afternoon. They waived one of them, but I still didn't put a plate on the front. Certainly not putting a plate on my Turbo either. It seems that the suburban cops don't really care, and the city cops can't find enough things to keep them busy. They should be chasing gang bangers rather than us upstanding Porsche Drivers!!!! larry

cop let me slide,the car was in a show the prior weekend,and told him i hadnt had the chance to put it back on again,also helps that the car was just detailed and looked the part.

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I understand...I'm just saying that the cop is going to decide whether to cite you based on his mood that day, not based on how good of an excuse you can come up with. They've heard them all. My job absolutely requires me to be able to drive and I've already gotten two moving violations this year, which causes me to be put on the "habitual offender" list. Last time I got a no front plate ticket it was listed as "improper documentation" or something silly like that and my insurance actually went up because of it. Parking tickets don't count...

i say screw it lol i dont have a front plate on my car and washington and oregon both require them. as long as i dont park on the street i havent had a problem.

Don't drive thru Fife, my gf got popped speeding 5 over in a 35 in her Miata and was told she would be ticketed for no plate next time.

My appeal was denied. "According to our records, you were cited for failure to display a front or rear tag when two tags were issued by your licensing authority." I got the ticket when the car was registered in VA with VA plates. Since I got this ticket I moved/registered the car in DC and have DC tags. If I don't pay the $50, could they track me down?

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You know what they say...wanna play, gotta pay. If you're in a state that requires front plate, you gotta be prepared to pay if you get caught without one. Simple as that. Everytime I got pulled over for speeding, I was also fully expecting no front plate and window tint violations as well. Just pay it and be done. If it bothers you, put on that front plate.

dude... pay the $50 If your car ever gets towed for some reason, they wont release you car till all fines are paid (with commission of course). If you get pulled over for speeding... having that flag next to your name wont help you at all.

Get a hold of ROLF STUMBERGER at [email removed] He sells a tow hook plate bracket for $39.50 and that includes shipping. Great product and a fair price.

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in a school zone, while texting my domestic partner that I just flipped the bird to a disabled vet who was trying to cross the road in a wheelchair.

SUNCOAST SELLS THE FRONT TOW HOOK PLATE MOUNT.

I have two cars, my 996 and an Acura TL. I've never ever had plates on the front of either, and have never been cited. Even when pulled over for other things. Just don't do it, and when you get pulled over, you were just driving home from the body shop and will be putting it on at home.

I had to park on the street in front of the restaurant where I was meeting my wife and some friends. To my dismay, the parking meter didn't work: money went in, but no time went on. I was aready late, so I went inside. When we came out later, I had two tickets, one for the meter and one for no front plate. The meter maid was still a few cars away, causing someone else some heartache. To my wife's horror, I chased down the meter maid and started to argue with her. She wasn't the brightest bulb, and I had trouble getting through that the meter didn't work. I finally got her to tear up the meter violation by admitting that I did not now or ever have a front plate on my car. I paid that one, and consider it a luxury tax. I ordered this: http://www.rennline.com/Screw-in-Lic...info/E107.108/ from Rennline, but unfortunately I found that the screw hole for the front tow hook is slightly off center with the bumper hole, and it takes some work to get it on and off. My plan was to just screw it in when I have to park on the street, but it's a bit too hard to do. Any suggestions or other products? Experience with tow hook hole being off-center? q

There are plenty of retractable plate holders on the market but our cars are pretty low as is so not sure about scraping issues. I know I probably paid the city for most of the tulips down my street from the tickets I've gotten so far. You Tube

Some local guys are running with color vinyl scans of their front plates here in Wa. st. They have them made at a sign company about 3/4 size and adhere neatly to the front of the car following the contours of the front bumper. No problems....yet! '93rsa 3.8

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That would never fly in my state as they use the reflective surface of the front plate for laser speed detection and hence revenue generation. You know how fat and corrupt Chicago is...

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You dont need a front plate to get a lidar reading. You dont need anything that is reflective to get a lidar reading. Does it help yes. Needed NO.

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Trust me, you're preaching to the choir and I know that but LE has their own reasoning to justify it with to make more money. I'm just glad our state recently passed a new tint law allowing lighter tints at least. Now they just have to take a que from our neighbor state of Indiana on the front plate thing...

You're supposed to have a front plate in Texas, but I've never had a problem. I did have a cop ask me where my front plate was a few weeks ago. I told him it was in the frunk if he wanted to see it. He just laughed and said if he had a Porsche he wouldn't put a front plate on it either. The plate bracket on my truck got knocked off a couple of years ago. I've never replaced it and never had a problem. There is an attorney down the street from me who refuses to put a plate on the front or rear of his car. He's one of those civil libertarian types. He gets tickets and fights them. Claims he's never lost. It's not really a big deal in Texas. You're supposed to have it, but they only enforce it if they want an excuse to pull you over for some other reason.

Simple solution, buy a corvette! I'd better run now...

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Oh you don't want to open up that can of worms either... Glad to see you on 6speed

After reading a lot of people's experiences I thought I'd see how long I could go without a front plate in Chicago. Some reported making it years without a ticket. I made it less than 24hrs! I think it comes down to whether or not you use street parking. Now that street parking is privatized, and the meter maids are looking to write every ticket they can. My meter wasn't expired, so its not like the car caught her attention for that. She had to have been specifically checking front plates. I saw her writing a ticket and explained that I had just bought the car yesterday. She didn't believe me (though it was true), but let me off anyway. My conclusion is that if you street park in metered spaces in Chicago you have virtually no chance of getting away without a front plate.

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Exactly my experience as well. When I used to live in the city, I would normally park it in the garage but on the few occasions that I had to park it in the streets, I would easily find a ticket for any kind of infractions. Now one of the suburbs I used to live in, a cop actually gave me a ticket while my car was parked in my driveway. I wasn't sure if that was really legal or not but the ticket didn't state driveway so I just paid it as I couldn't really prove he'd given me the ticket while parked in the driveway.

I drilled my plate straight onto the body so it would look as clean as possible and wrapped around the front bumper properly. Some people purchase decals of their number plates and stick them on the front bumper and never have an issue. Once you sell the car just take the decal of and you have no holes or issues.

One more reason I'm happy I moved to FL from Mass...

Here in San Francisco they will definitely give you a ticket if your car is on the street without a front plate. They are rabid about giving any sort of ticket they can think up these days. Luckily if you fix it and show the fix to any cop, the fine is only $10. Next time I take off the front bumper I plan to glue some industrial magnets on the back of the bumper so I can take the plate off and on as I like.

Magnets, a lot of plates are aluminum?? The decal plate seems like a good solution most police doing traffic would probably accept that. Also the marker is entered into the computer on a lot of police cars from the rear plate before the officer gets out of the cruiser to check for theft etc. They rarely go to the front of the car due to danger of being hit. The meter maids are hard to get around if they are compensated in any way by the number of tickets issued.

Regarding the magnet solution, magnets are also placed on a plate frame to which the aluminum plate is attached. The contact points between the magnets on the frame and the bumper are covered with plastic tape to prevent scratches. I have never seen it done on a Porsche but a Tesla guy did it: http://teslatap.com/modifications/ma...license-plate/

Here is an easier way http://www.ebay.com/itm/PORSCHE-LICE...e8debf&vxp=mtr Glendale cops are worst of the worse, but for some reason I have never got pulled over for a license plate for the past 6 years. Well I lied I did get pulled over once and the officer asked me why I didn't have a plate on the front and I said cuz it looks like bugs bunny when I slap the plate on there. He just laughed and said I would probably do the same thing and let me off.

Easy solution: Move to Delaware. No front plates required!

Or PA. ForumRunner_20141010_000149.png

This is the cleanest fix I could find: http://www.rennline.com/Tow-Hook-Rec...fo/E1070.1080/ . Not cheap but well made.

I like the idea of using an existing hole... But a lot of beauty comes from symmetry. Offsetting the plate looks worse IMHO. I remember a hinged setup from earlier days that used to lay flat as the wind rushed over it, then at rest it would "stand" back up. Not sure if this would keep the LEOs and their cameras happy, but should work for the meter maids.

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But this was for a car with a larger front grill opening. For now (and the past 25 years)I takes my chances. Only once have I had to pay. And it was a fixit because I was speeding in my GTi at the Te with tinted windows... Punk.

What do you guys think of this approach?

No like. Blocks airflow to the radiator.

I've never had a problem with the local PD . With that being said, I have been on numerous runs in the mountains , were our friendly CHP( Cal hwy patrol) was having a banner day giving no front plate tickets. I now run the tow hook plate. Alan

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Very nice shot and hot car! I agree the plate will block the air flow to the radiator.

Been doing this for over 10 years in Northern VA.

I have found that the supplied offsets and license backplate looks perfect. The offsets angle the plate down following the bumper cover contour. In addition, it doesn't block airflow to the front of car. In NE. it's not worth($$) getting a ticket to me. Besides I feel police have more important things to do than stopping me for no front plates. Just my opinion.

In Massachusetts, it's just not worth the hassle, so I bought the U.S. Millworks tow hook bracket.

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$125 for a bolt, a clamp, and a sheet of something with holes in it. For something that's behind the plate and visual aesthetics are unimportant, I bet I could make something similar for under $10. I like the idea of using an existing hole and just take it off as soon as you come back from the sheriff's inspection, until you get the next "Fix It" ticket.

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Total fail - looks wacked! Off centre etc etc ...besides blocks radiator.

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"Whacked?" Have you been learning new, hip, groovy words from the Interwebs again? That's whack! Er, I mean, whacked. Hopefully OP can find a new look that is more bitchin' and less square, man.

I not long ago got cited for a no plate ticket (neither front not back plate). Whatever. Drove for a year and a month without getting cited.( even got yelled at by a cop in a SUV at a stoplight for flying by him on the freeway, had a cop follow me to a target go tell me to put me plates soon as they arrive.) But finally It had to be some female officer to do it and cite me) Took an hour of my day to go "get it signed off" by a highway patrol . - I actually pulled into their parking lot, walked out of my car and a long strip of 3M double-sided foam tape, and stuck it on the front. Then drove to the "ticket sign off " portion of the lot. Officer gave me a hard time, he told me he knew I was going to yank it off the minute I left, and it will fall off on the freeway, yadda yadda - but I managed to convince him haha . My gf was embarrassed and swore to never come with me again haha. He was right I pulled over down the road and yanked it off. - however I've kept the back plate on since. Took the ticket to court. Paid $25 and was done with it. - I consider it a luxury tax for not having a front plate for a bit over a year. - which to me is worth it . I've been keeping the little sticker they stick on your windshield when you buy a car. The place I got my 996 from ,uses a small black sticker so it doesnt bug and seems to keep the cops thinking I just bought the car and not bug me. (keeping it clean and the fact the car dosnt look very dated helps a lot!)

I see the whole plate thing as a non issue. If I ever get a ticket I'll deal with it and that will be that. No big deal.

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How about for us poor schmoes who already have 2 ugly holes on our bumpers? Stupid front plate fell off or flew off. Already paid $177 for new plates and May 2018 sticker. I wish there was something better than those silly rubber plate blocks.

This works in MA. Buy a 25+ year old car. Buy a used plate from its year of manufacture. Register it as an antique. After a year transfer the registration to the car you want to have only a rear plate. Note that the old car never needs to operate on the road or be inspected.

DC is reckoned to be the Wild West when it comes to handing out traffic tickets. Roughly a quarter billion enterprise, which is partially privatized. I've never been stopped for not having front plates, but they are ruthless when parked. A friend even had her Tesla ticketed for not having plates when parked outside her house in a residential hood. My Targa is way more of a ticket magnet than my previous M3, which also never carried front plates. After 5 of these tickets inside a two month period, I had resorted to parking only in garages and finding remote areas to park in. Not ideal, and so I did some research. Since I only need to show my plate when parked, I wanted something easy on and off and would not scratch the bumper. My solution solution is super fast and cost only $2 on Amazon.

I don't run a front plate..it is required in my state but so far so good. Take the front plate off and purchase color matched bumper plugs: https://www.bumperplugs.com/index.ph...&product_id=71

I fully support* anyone who flouts DC infractions & refuses to pay. *full support rendered in spirit & emotional support. PMs only, no $$ support.

Two simple words..... I forgot

I just bought a 2017 Cayman with park assist. Does anyone have experience with a tow hook license mount that works with park assist sensors?

I haven't run a front plate since I moved to Nevada - nine years ago. I've had 5 different cars and haven't put front plate on any of them and never had an issue.

The Cayman forum would be a good start.