California quadruples fines for selling license plate flippers

Gadgets That Hide Plates Now Cost $1,000

A new California law targets the people selling devices that let drivers vanish from toll cameras and cops.

Starting January 1, 2026, anyone who manufactures or sells a license plate flipper in the state faces a $1,000 fine per device.

The gadgets have been illegal to use since 2008, but they remain easy to buy online.

Now, California is going after the supply chain, joining a growing list of states that have had enough of drivers who think the rules do not apply to them.

The Button That Makes Plates Disappear

A license plate flipper is exactly what it sounds like.

At the push of a button, the device flips your plate out of view or rotates it to show a completely different plate.

Some versions use motors and remote controls. Others work manually.

The technology has been around for decades, mostly seen in spy movies and car shows where owners want to display custom plates.

But now drivers are using them to dodge tolls, speed cameras, red light cameras, and police.

Drivers Still Pay Just $250

Here is the catch.

If you get pulled over using a flipper, the fine is still only $250. That penalty has not changed since 2008.

The new law specifically targets sellers and manufacturers, not the drivers themselves.

Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, who introduced the bill, originally wanted fines as high as $10,000 per device sold.

By the time Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1085 into law on October 1, 2025, that number had dropped to $1,000.

Critics say the driver penalty needs to go up, too, if California wants to actually stop the problem.

Bay Area Lost $1.4 Million Last Year

The Bay Area Toll Authority tracks how much money disappears when drivers block their plates.

During the most recent fiscal year, obscured plates caused roughly 185,000 unpaid crossings at seven state-owned bridges.

That added up to $1.4 million in lost revenue. And that figure does not include the Golden Gate Bridge, which handles nearly 17 million southbound toll-paying crossings annually—with tolls ranging from $9.75 for FasTrak users to $10.75 for invoice customers. It also leaves out express lanes across Northern and Southern California.

The real number is almost certainly much higher.

CHP Wrote 6,000 Tickets in Three Years

California Highway Patrol has been issuing citations for obscured plates, but enforcement has been spotty.

From 2022 to 2024, officers handed out nearly 6,000 tickets. In 2024 alone, the state patrol wrote more than 1,300 citations.

The problem is that catching someone with a flipper requires actually seeing them use it, and the devices are designed to work fast. By the time an officer notices something off, the plate might already be back in place.

Automated cameras catch the evasion, but cannot pull anyone over.

Stefani Called Them Tools for Lawbreakers

San Francisco Assemblymember Catherine Stefani introduced AB 1085 on April 17, 2025, with a clear message.

She called the devices “tools for lawbreakers” and linked them to vehicle thefts, robberies, and toll evasion. Safety advocates backed her up.

Streets For All, which sponsored the bill, said manufacturers were putting communities at risk by enabling reckless behavior.

Law enforcement agencies broadly supported the changes.

License plate readers have become key investigative tools, and when plates are blocked, those systems fail.

Online Retailers Keep Selling Them

Type license plate flipper into any major online marketplace, and you will find pages of results.

The devices come with remote controls, installation kits, and customer reviews.

Some listings market them for car shows, where owners display custom plates. Others barely hide their real purpose.

California’s new law may target sellers, but most of the commerce happens through platforms based outside the state.

Enforcement will require cooperation from companies that have so far done little to stop the sales.

Several States Have Banned the Devices

California is not the first state to crack down.

Texas and Washington banned license plate flippers back in 2013.

Tennessee followed in July 2024, making it illegal to buy, sell, possess, or manufacture the devices. Violators face up to a year in jail and fines up to $2,500.

Pennsylvania enacted a statewide ban in late 2024, and Florida passed a similar law.

Delaware and Illinois also passed bans in 2025. Wisconsin sent a bill to the governor in late 2025.

In Philadelphia, Mayor Cherelle Parker signed a city ban with a $2,000 fine, saying tag flipping belongs in a James Bond movie, not on city streets.

New York Launched a Ghost Car Task Force

New York has a different name for vehicles with fake or hidden plates. They call them ghost cars.

In March 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams launched a multi-agency task force to get them off the streets.

The team includes NYPD, state police, MTA officers, and the Port Authority. In the first year, they conducted 73 enforcement operations.

Officers arrested more than 900 people, towed more than 4,000 vehicles, and issued more than 39,000 summonses.

Many of those stopped owed tens of thousands in unpaid tolls.

Ghost Cars Cost New York $50 Million Yearly

The MTA estimates that toll evaders using obscured or fake plates cost the agency about $50 million every year.

That money would otherwise go toward maintaining bridges, tunnels, and the transit system.

During task force operations, officers found drivers owing hundreds of thousands in accumulated tolls and fees. One single operation at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge caught drivers who collectively owed more than $537,000.

Once a vehicle gets impounded, the MTA recovers the money: Chair Janno Lieber said the agency collects 98 percent of owed tolls from cars it seizes.

Flippers Are Linked to Violent Crime

Toll evasion is just the beginning.

Law enforcement across the country has connected license plate flippers to far more serious crimes.

In New York, ghost cars have turned up at shootings, robberies, and hit-and-runs.

Officers found stolen vehicles, loaded firearms, and drugs during routine stops.

The devices give anyone with something to hide a way to move around undetected.

Catching Sellers Will Be the Hard Part

California now has one of the strictest laws in the country targeting license plate flippers. But writing a law is easier than enforcing it.

The devices flood in through online marketplaces that operate across state lines.

Distinguishing an illegal flipper from a legal protective cover can be tricky in court. And drivers who want to evade detection will keep finding ways to do it.

For now, California is sending a message: if you sell these things here, you will pay.

Whether that message reaches the people actually making money off the devices remains to be seen.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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