Among the numerous elements that a vehicle must carry in order to circulate, is the license plate. Specifically, article 68 of the Traffic Law states that “to put motor vehicles into circulation, as well as trailers with a maximum authorized mass greater than that determined by regulation, it is necessary to register them and have the registration plates with the characters assigned to them in the manner established. This obligation will be required of mopeds in the terms determined by regulation.”
Likewise, article 10 of the aforementioned Law provides that “the driver must verify that the vehicle’s registration plates do not present obstacles that prevent or make their reading and identification difficult.” Thus, driving without one of the registration plates, doing so with one of them not visible or not legible, carries a financial penalty of 200 euros, although it does not entail the withdrawal of points from the driving license. Now, if you drive with a manipulated license plate, it is considered a serious infraction, punishable by a fine of 6,000 euros and the retraction of six points from the license.
Taking this into account, you may have the misfortune of having your car license plate stolen, or losing it while driving on the road. You must know how to act if this happens, as this will help you avoid an unwanted fine or something more serious, such as another driver committing an infraction with your stolen license plate.
You must remember that driving without a license plate is not allowed and if someone has stolen it, they can put your license plate on another car and commit a crime. So, as soon as you realize that one or both of your vehicle’s identification plates are missing, you must act quickly to remedy it and avoid major problems.
First of all, you must report the loss or theft of your license plate to the Police. Likewise, it is advisable to contact your car insurance to inform them of what happened. This notification will serve as evidence to prove that you were not the one who committed a crime if your license plate has been stolen. In addition, the insurance will send you a tow truck so that you can take your car to the nearest workshop, since you cannot drive without the license plate.
Once in the workshop, they must install a duplicate of your approved license plate. To do this, it is necessary that you show your vehicle’s documentation – the circulation permit and the Technical Vehicle Inspection (ITV) – and that it matches the data of the General Directorate of Traffic. The price for installing the license plate can range from 20 to 50 euros, although depending on your contracted policy, your car insurance may cover this expense.
