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New York · Through 2026-09-11

N.Y. Vehicle & Traffic Law § 402-b: Obscured and obstructed license plates

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Where this section sits in the code
  1. Vehicle & Traffic Law
  2. Title 4. Registration of Vehicles
  3. Article 14. Registration of Motor Vehicles

§ 402-b. Obscured and obstructed license plates. 1. If any vehicle is

driven or operated on a public highway in violation of subparagraph

(ii), (ii-a), or (iii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section

four hundred two of this article and is committed in their presence, a

police officer, as defined in section one hundred thirty-two of this

chapter, shall be authorized to take such actions as may be required or

permitted by the provisions of this section.

2. If the vehicle is being driven or operated in violation of

subparagraph (ii), (ii-a) or (iii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision one

of section four hundred two of this article, such officer shall issue a

summons, provided, however, that a summons shall not be issued if, in

the discretion and at the request of such officer, the defect is

corrected in the presence of such officer. The refusal of a police

officer to permit the repair of any defect in their presence shall not

be reviewable, and shall not be a defense to any violation charged in a

summons issued pursuant to the provisions of this section.

3. Any complaint issued for any violation of subparagraph (ii), (ii-a)

or (iii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section four hundred two

of this article may be dismissed by the court before which the summons

is returnable if the violation as set forth in the summons is corrected

not later than one-half hour after sunset on the first full business day

after the issuance of the summons and proof of such correction is

submitted to the court or administrative tribunal. For the purposes of

this subdivision, "business day" shall mean any calendar day except

Saturday and Sunday, or the following business holidays: New Year's Day,

Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day,

Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

Collected 2026-09-14T19:32:45Z. Source file · JSON

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