How to Put On a License Plate

By Anton Rafalovskyi · Published 5 June 2026 · Last reviewed August 2026

To put on a license plate: hold the plate against the mounting holes on the bumper, start each screw by hand so it does not cross-thread, then tighten with a screwdriver or a 5/16″ socket until snug – not hard. Most cars take two screws, some take four. If your car has no pre-drilled holes at the front, use the bracket that came with it rather than drilling the bumper.

It is a ten-minute job that people put off for weeks, usually because they are not sure whether they need the front plate or whether they are about to drill a hole in a bumper they cannot un-drill. Both questions have simple answers.

What you need

• A screwdriver – usually Phillips, occasionally Torx on European cars. A 5/16″ socket fits most plate screws and is easier on the wrist.
• Screws. They should have come with the plate or be in the car already. If not, license plate screws are a standard item at any auto parts store for a couple of dollars.
• A plate frame, if you want one – optional, and see the warning below about covering text.

You do not need a drill for a normal installation. If you think you do, read the front-plate section first.

Fitting it

1. Clean the mounting area. Ten years of road grime under a plate turns into rust.
2. Line the plate up with the holes. If you are using a frame, sandwich it: bumper, then plate, then frame.
3. Start every screw by hand and give each one a couple of turns before you pick up the screwdriver. This is the whole trick – the plastic threads behind a bumper strip instantly if a screw goes in crooked, and once stripped they do not grip again.
4. Tighten until the plate stops moving. Snug, not tight. Over-tightening bends the plate and cracks the plastic housing behind it.
5. Push the plate at a corner. If it rattles, give each screw another quarter turn.

Two screws is standard on the top holes. Four holes exist on plenty of cars but are usually only used where the state requires it or where the plate is exposed to a lot of wind.

When the holes do not line up

This is the common snag, and it almost never means you have to drill.

Nothing on the front bumper. Many cars sold across state lines ship without front holes because plenty of states do not require a front plate. In the box with the car, or in the trunk, there is usually a bracket that clips into the tow-hook cover or bolts to existing points. Use it. Drilling a bumper is permanent, cuts through the paint and invites rust, and it is not reversible if you move to a one-plate state.

Holes exist but are the wrong spacing. US plates use a standard hole spacing, so a mismatch usually means the bracket is aftermarket. An adapter plate costs a few dollars and beats new holes.

Threads spin and never grip. The plastic anchor behind the bumper is stripped. Replace the anchor, or use a nut and bolt through the hole with a washer on the back, rather than forcing a bigger screw in.

Do you need a front plate?

It depends entirely on the state. Roughly two-thirds of states issue two plates and require both to be displayed; the rest issue one rear plate only. In a two-plate state, driving without the front one is a ticketable offense even though a great many people do it, and it is a favorite reason for a stop.

Check your own state before deciding the front plate is optional – the rule is set where the car is registered, not where you are driving.

Rules that get people ticketed

The plate has to be readable. That principle covers most of the specific rules:

• Nothing may cover any text. That includes the state name, the registration stickers and the plate number. Dealer frames and novelty frames very often cover the state name at the top or the slogan at the bottom, which is a violation in many states even though the dealer fitted it.
• No tinted or smoked covers. Illegal in most states, including the clear ones sold as “anti-camera” – if it changes how the plate reads, it is not allowed.
• Right way up and securely fastened. A plate hanging from one screw or propped in the rear window is a citation in most places.
• Keep it clean. Mud or snow obscuring the number is treated the same as covering it.
• Stickers go where the state says. Usually a specific corner, and a sticker over the wrong corner can void the display.

Stopping the screws seizing

The reason plate screws are so often a nightmare to remove years later is that a steel screw sits in a wet, salted steel bumper doing nothing but corroding.

Two cheap habits fix it: use stainless steel screws, and put a smear of anti-seize or even ordinary grease on the threads before fitting. Ten seconds now, versus drilling out a rounded screw head on a freezing day when you are trying to change a plate.

If you are dealing with seized screws already: penetrating oil, wait ten minutes, then push hard into the screw while turning slowly. The reason they round off is people turning before pushing.

How to Put On a License Plate: frequently asked questions