Attention to modification warped cards! Ministry of Transportation and Communications sets motorcycle license plate angle standard, aiming to put it on the road in July next year

The Ministry of Transportation announced the revised law for the first time to stipulate the hanging angle standard for motorcycle license plates. Locomotive diagram. (File photo)

Some motorcycle riders will modify their motorcycles and adjust the angle of their license plates, but this often leads to disputes in police enforcement. In this regard, the Ministry of Transportation recently announced a draft amendment to the law. In the vertical direction of the horizontal plane, the upward direction shall not be greater than 40 degrees, and the downward direction shall not be greater than 15 degrees. The target is to be on the road in July next year. Violators may be fined up to 36,000 yuan according to law.

According to the revised Article 14 of the "Vehicle Type Safety Verification Management Measures" proposed by the Ministry of Transport and the Vehicle Safety Center, in order to improve the appropriateness and legibility of motorcycle rear number plate hanging, the draft plan stipulates relevant standards for the license plate angle for the first time, referring to Japanese and EU motorcycle rear number plate hanging specifications.

The draft points out that when new types of L-category vehicles from July 1, 2027, and all types of L-category vehicles from January 1, 2028, are parked vertically on a horizontal surface with the front and rear wheels on the ground, the angle at which the rear number plate is hung behind the vehicle shall not be greater than 40 degrees upward and 15 degrees downward in the vertical direction of the horizontal plane, and the left, right and rotation angles shall be 0 degrees.

The Ministry of Transportation stated that the Vehicle Safety Center is currently inviting relevant units to discuss the angle specifications for new motorcycle license plates, and will refer to relevant foreign regulations and the opinions of domestic car owners to establish clear standards to reduce law enforcement disputes caused by tilted license plates. Discussions are currently underway with the goal of hitting the road on July 1 next year, but the relevant amendments have not yet been completed and are still in the draft discussion stage. We will continue to invite relevant units for discussion in the future.

According to the "Road Traffic Management Punishment Regulations", car and motorcycle number plates should be hung frontally at designated locations and must not be covered, painted, altered, or added with other items to render the number plates unrecognizable. The Ministry of Transport pointed out that in the past, relevant regulations did not explicitly limit the license plate angle. This time, it will discuss setting clear standards for the first time. This will mainly take into account local law enforcement disputes and feedback from car owners. The standards for setting license plate angles are based on certain standards. They include general white-plate motorcycles and large and heavy motorcycles. Whether micro electric two-wheelers will be included in the future still needs to be discussed.

The Ministry of Transportation pointed out that in the future, if the angle of hanging the license plate on new cars does not meet the requirements, they will not be able to obtain the license plate. If people change the license plate frame and the angle does not meet the regulations, a fine of 3,600 yuan to 36,000 yuan will be issued.