Veh. Code, § 5155 · Article 8.6. Specialized License Plates
Veh. Code, § 5155
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
The design criteria for a specialized license plate are as follows:
(a) Except as provided in Section 5161, the license plate for a passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle, or trailer shall provide a space not larger than two inches by three inches to the left of the numerical series and a space not larger than five-eighths of an inch in height below the numerical series for a distinctive design, decal, or descriptive message as authorized by this article. The license plates shall be issued in sequential numerical order or, pursuant to Section 5103, in a combination of numbers or letters.
(b) Specialized license plates authorized under this article may be issued for use on a motorcycle. That license plate shall contain a five-digit configuration issued in sequential numerical order or, pursuant to Section 5103, in a combination of numbers or letters. There shall be a space to the left of the numerical series for a distinctive design or decal and the characters shall contrast sharply with the uniform background color. A motorcycle plate containing a full plate graphic design is not authorized.
(c) Specialized license plates may be issued as environmental license plates, as defined in Section 5103.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 39, Sec. 112. (SB 1018) Effective June 27, 2012.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=5155.
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- sha256 d9372ee7fd762018ae1dd91ce5f6aadd7aa52a2eddd2697cae2f85c4f8ada00c
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- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
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Vehicle Code
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