Illinois · IL · Vehicles
Illinois: Do you need a front license plate?
Front and rear plates
Illinois requires passenger cars to display registration plates on both the front and the rear.
Illinois issues two plates for a passenger car, one for the front and one for the rear. Motorcycles, autocycles, trailers and semitrailers display a single rear plate. The law also covers state-authorized digital registration plates, which follow the same front-and-rear rule. A change taking effect January 1, 2027, lets a dealer install a front plate bracket at the buyer's request.
What the law says
Registration plates or digital registration plates issued for a motor vehicle other than a motorcycle, autocycle, trailer, semitrailer, truck-tractor, apportioned bus, or apportioned truck shall be attached thereto, one in the frontmost and one in the rearmost.
Sources
- 625 ILCS 5/3-413 (Illinois General Assembly) Official · ilga.gov
- 625 ILCS 5/3-413(a) (FindLaw) Mirror of official text · codes.findlaw.com
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- Illinois Secretary of State, Vehicle Services Department
- Website
- ilsos.gov
How bordering states compare
- Indiana Rear plate onlyIndiana requires only a rear license plate on a passenger car.
- Iowa Front and rear platesIowa requires passenger cars to display registration plates on both the front and the rear.
- Kentucky Rear plate onlyKentucky requires only a rear license plate on a passenger car.
- Missouri Front and rear platesMissouri requires passenger cars to display license plates on both the front and the rear.
- Wisconsin Front and rear platesWisconsin issues two plates for cars and requires one on the front and one on the rear.