§53. Proper equipment required on vehicles; display of plate
A.(1) No person shall drive or move, nor cause or knowingly permit any vehicle
owned or controlled by him to be driven or moved, on any highway of this state, at any time,
any vehicle or combination of vehicles which is in such unsafe condition as to endanger any
person or property, or which does not contain those parts or is not at all times equipped with
such lamps and other equipment, in proper condition and adjustment, as required in this
Chapter, or which is constructed or equipped in any manner in violation of this Chapter, and
no person shall do any act forbidden or fail to perform any act required under this Chapter.
(2) The permanent registration license plate assigned to a trailer, semitrailer,
motorcycle, or other motor vehicle shall be attached to the rear thereof. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, the permanent registration license plate assigned to any truck having a gross
vehicle weight in excess of ten thousand pounds or to any dump truck may be attached to
either the front or rear thereof. For the purposes of this Section, dump truck means any truck
with a bed that raises to dump a load. The permanent registration license plate shall be so
displayed during the current registration year, except as otherwise provided herein.
(3)(a) Every permanent registration license plate shall at all times be securely
fastened to the vehicle to which it is assigned, so as to prevent the plate from swinging, and
at a height not less than twelve inches from the ground, measuring from the bottom of such
plate, in a place and position to be clearly visible, and shall be maintained free from foreign
materials and in a condition to be clearly legible. Unless authorized by the commissioner, a
person shall not apply any covering, film, electrochromatic film, coating, spray, frame,
bracket, substance, electronic or nonelectronic device, or any material over or on the license
plate that obscures from any angle the numbers, characters, year registration sticker, or name
of the jurisdiction issuing the plate.
(b) For purposes of this Paragraph, "obscure" shall refer to any action or method that
diminishes the visibility, legibility, or reflectivity of any numbers, characters, decals, stickers,
symbols, or jurisdictional identifiers on a license plate.
(c) Notwithstanding the penalty provisions contained in R.S. 32:57, any person who
violates the provisions provided for in this Paragraph shall incur a fine not to exceed
seventy-five dollars for the first offense and a fine of two hundred fifty dollars for a second
and any subsequent offense.
(4) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed to prohibit placing a
permanent registration license plate on a rear fender as long as it is facing to the rear of the
vehicle.
B. Nothing contained in this Chapter shall be construed to prohibit the use of
additional parts and accessories on any vehicle not inconsistent with the provisions of this
Chapter.
C. The provisions of this Chapter with respect to equipment on vehicles shall not
apply to implements of husbandry, nor to vehicles used solely in building highways when
they are temporarily upon the highways, except as herein made applicable. These exceptions
shall not exclude any vehicle or combination of vehicles not used primarily for this purpose,
or ordinary commercial vehicles upon which are placed removable machinery for such
purposes, or vehicles designed for the purpose of evading the limitations of this Chapter.
D. No person shall drive a vehicle upon highways within this state, or permit or
allow any vehicle owned by him or under his control to be driven on said highways, unless
and until such vehicle bears an inspection tag showing it to have been inspected and
approved as required by the provisions of R.S. 32:1301 through1310, if such vehicle is
required to be so inspected.
Acts 1962, No. 310, §1; Acts 2014, No. 148, §1; Acts 2017, No. 46, §1; Acts 2026,
No. 322, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2027.