A 2004 view of I-95 in Philadelphia (Getty Images).
Motorists caught using devices to conceal or switch their license plates could face a stiff fine under a new law Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Monday.
Act 150 makes it illegal to possess, purchase, install, manufacture or sell license plate flipping devices. Those who violate the law could face a $2,000 penalty, according to the law, which passed unanimously in the state House and Senate, with final approval in the upper chamber Nov. 13.
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State Reps. Pat Gallagher (D-Philadelphia) and Greg Scott (D-Montgomery), who were co-prime sponsors of the legislation, said it resolves ambiguities in existing law about whether the devices are legal.
With the law’s passage, Pennsylvania joins a growing number of states to explicitly outlaw license plate flippers, which Gallagher and Scott said can prevent vehicles from being identified to avoid tolls and tickets or for more nefarious reasons.
“House Bill 2426 represents an important move toward accountability on our roads,” Scott said. “By banning these devices statewide, we are closing a loophole and strengthening public safety across Pennsylvania.”
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, a Democrat, signed similar legislation into law in April. Philadelphia has recently stepped up traffic law enforcement on major thoroughfares through the use of red light cameras and speed cameras after a study by the city’s transportation department showed a dramatic reduction in fatalities and pedestrian crashes on Roosevelt Boulevard, one of the state’s most dangerous roads.
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Shapiro last year signed legislation authorizing the expansion of automatic enforcement in Philadelphia, on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and through cameras mounted on school buses to catch drivers who ignore bus-mounted stop signs.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has also struggled with toll evasion after switching to automatic toll collection throughout its system in 2020. A commission spokesperson told the Capital-Star on Tuesday that intentionally obscured registration plates are a minor factor in uncollected tolls. They accounted for 3 in 10,000 vehicles using the turnpike between September 2023 and August 2024, Press Secretary Marissa Orbanek said.
“This means an individual intentionally covered a license plate in some way and could include a license plate flipper,” Orbanek said.
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