Florida Statute 320.061 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXIII
MOTOR VEHICLES

Chapter 320
MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSES

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320.061 Unlawful to alter motor vehicle registration certificates, license plates, temporary license plates, mobile home stickers, or validation stickers or to obscure license plates; penalty.—A person may not alter the original appearance of a vehicle registration certificate, license plate, temporary license plate, mobile home sticker, or validation sticker issued for and assigned to a motor vehicle or mobile home, whether by mutilation, alteration, defacement, or change of color or in any other manner. A person may not apply or attach a substance, reflective matter, illuminated device, spray, coating, covering, or other material onto or around any license plate which interferes with the legibility, angular visibility, or detectability of any feature or detail on the license plate or interferes with the ability to record any feature or detail on the license plate. A person who knowingly violates this section commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

History.—s. 9, ch. 28186, 1953; s. 3, ch. 69-178; s. 192, ch. 71-136; s. 3, ch. 72-79; s. 7, ch. 77-357; s. 15, ch. 83-318; s. 33, ch. 96-413; s. 23, ch. 2007-196; s. 25, ch. 2010-162; s. 32, ch. 2012-181; s. 2, ch. 2025-36.

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Amendments to 320.061

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Civil Citations / Citable Offenses under S320.061

R or S next to points is Mandatory Revocation or Suspension

S320.061 TAG - unlawful alteration Note 16 - Points on Drivers License: 3

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 320.061

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

S320.061 - FORGERY OF - REPEALED 2010-162 - M: S

S320.061 - NON-MOVING VIOL - ALTER OBSCURE VEHICLE REGISTR/LICENSE PLATE - M: S

Cases Citing Statute 320.061

Total Results: 8 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Hawkins v. Ford Motor Co., 748 So. 2d 993 (Fla. 1999).

Cited 33 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 1999 WL 820573

person required to be licensed under section 320.61); § 320.61(1), Fla. Stat. (1993) (requiring manufacturers

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State v. British Leyland Motors, Inc., 290 So. 2d 576 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974).

Cited 4 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal

because "licensees" are only those licensed under Section 320.61 and dealers, as such, are not licensed under

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Brandon Chrysler Plymouth Jeep Eagle, Inc. v. Chrysler Corp., 898 F. Supp. 858 (M.D. Fla. 1995).

Cited 1 times | Published | District Court, M.D. Florida | 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13358, 1995 WL 544743

manufacturer and a licensee under § 320.61 of the Florida Statutes. Fla.Stat. § 320.61 (1993). A franchise agreement

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All. of Auto. Mfrs., Inc. v. Jones, 897 F. Supp. 2d 1241 (N.D. Fla. 2012).

Cited 1 times | Published | District Court, N.D. Florida | 2012 WL 4841734, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136660

*1247Members must secure a license. See Fla. Stat. § 320.61, Fla. Stat. To maintain the license, the Members

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Jenkins v. State, 102 So. 3d 739 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 21517

...In mid-September 2009, police officers stopped Mr. Jenkins’ car because he was playing loud music, had a tinted plastic cover over his license tag, and failed to make a complete stop at a red light. The officers arrested Mr. Jenkins for altering a license tag, a second-degree misdemeanor. See § 320.061, Fla....

...altering-a-license-plate violations were misdemeanors not committed in the presence of the police officers. See § 901.15(1); Baymon, 933 So.2d at 1270 . We agree. In cases 09-CF-13383 and 09-CF-14318, the officers arrested Mr. Jenkins for violating section 320.061, which provides as follows: No person shall alter the original appearance of any registration license plate, mobile home sticker, validation sticker, or vehicle registration certificate issued for and assigned to any motor vehicle or...

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J. R. Furlong, Inc. v. Chrysler Corp., 419 So. 2d 385 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 1982 Fla. App. LEXIS 21166

about April 3, 1978, CHRYSLER, a licensee under Section 320.61, Florida Statutes, notified its franchise dealer

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Johnson v. State, 537 So. 2d 655 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1989).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 14 Fla. L. Weekly 174, 1989 Fla. App. LEXIS 93, 1989 WL 1037

COBB, Judge. This appeal challenges the constitutional validity of a traffic stop based on section 320.061, Florida Statutes (1987), which proscribes alteration of a license plate....

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Vickers v. State, 677 So. 2d 974 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1996).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1996 Fla. App. LEXIS 8221, 1996 WL 441695

...The appellant was charged with possession of cocaine (count I), in violation of section 893.13(6)(a), Florida Statutes (1993), driving while license is cancelled, suspended, or revoked (count II), in violation of section 322.34(1), Florida Statutes (Supp.1994), alteration of license plates (count III), in violation of section 320.061, Florida Statutes (1993), and false proof of insurance (count IV), in violation of section 316.646(4), Florida Statutes (1993)....

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