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Vehicle and Traffic Law § 396 · Article 12. Other Provisions

Use of state and other seals and insignia on private vehicles prohibited

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — Law content up to date as of October 30, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)

§ 396. Use of state and other seals and insignia on private vehicles prohibited. 1. A person who shall use any seal, device of arms, sign, lettering or insignia of the United States, or of this state or political subdivision thereof, on any vehicle not owned or used by the United States, this state or by such political subdivision thereof, which such seal, device of arms, sign, lettering or insignia represents, is guilty of a traffic infraction.

2. A person who shall use or display the words "Police Department," "Police" or any sign, lettering or device with the letters "P.D.," or any other matter indicating ownership, possession or use by a police department, on any motor vehicle or motor cycle not used by a duly organized police department within this state and not actually operated or used by a member or an employee of a duly organized police department on any public highway, is guilty of a traffic infraction.

3. A person who shall use or display the words "Fire Department," "Fire" or any sign, lettering or device with the letters "F.D.N.Y.," or any other matter indicating ownership, possession or use by a fire department, on any motor vehicle or motor cycle not used by a duly organized fire department within this state and not actually operated or used by a member or an employee of a duly organized fire department on any public highway, is guilty of a traffic infraction.

Source of truth

Edition
Law content up to date as of October 30, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)
Official file
https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/laws/VAT396
Text hash
sha256 b4aeea5dbcdbf0d2d11187794e0ab94c7598f23f32de7b7f7ce1695f5cb4c12d
Composed by
gen_ny_statutes.py 2026-11-10: the Senate's Open Legislation law tree (GET /api/3/laws/<ID>?full=true) read in document order; the Senate's PDF of the whole law (GET /pdf/laws/<ID>?full=true), read with PDFium, prints the same words in the same order

Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.