Can police check plates of parked cars or moving cars... what's the rule?

Criminal Law Topics
1

I’ve been reading up on vehicle seizures and I’m trying to figure this out. Can police check the plates of a parked car or a moving car, or is that different from asking for registration or a license? Anyone know how this works legally? I came across cases like People v. Ramirez and Delaware v. Prouse, but it’s still kinda confusing. Help me out?

2

Yeah, they can check plates if the car is parked or moving since plates are in public view. No privacy there. But asking for registration or a license is different—they need a legit reason, like a traffic violation.

3

@Tan
Wait, what do you mean by ‘legit reason’? Like speeding or something?

4

Roan said:
@Tan
Wait, what do you mean by ‘legit reason’? Like speeding or something?

Exactly! Speeding, running a stop sign, stuff like that. They can’t just stop you to check your papers otherwise.

5

Roan said:
@Tan
Wait, what do you mean by ‘legit reason’? Like speeding or something?

Yeah, they call that probable cause. Without it, stopping you for license or registration checks isn’t allowed.

6

So, if your car is just parked, they can look at your plates but can’t ask for registration or license unless you’re doing something wrong?

7

Vesper said:
So, if your car is just parked, they can look at your plates but can’t ask for registration or license unless you’re doing something wrong?

Exactly. Plates in public view = fair game. Asking for papers = they need a valid reason, like a law being broken.

8

@Lyle
Got it. Makes sense now. Thanks .

9

Isn’t this what Delaware v. Prouse covered? They ruled you can’t just pull someone over to check their registration, right?

10

Rory said:
Isn’t this what Delaware v. Prouse covered? They ruled you can’t just pull someone over to check their registration, right?

Yep, that’s the one! It’s illegal to stop someone without a valid reason, just to check papers.

11

@Jonathan
And that applies to parked cars too, right? Like, they can’t just come up to you and start asking?

12

Clancy said:
@Jonathan
And that applies to parked cars too, right? Like, they can’t just come up to you and start asking?

Exactly. No probable cause, no questions about registration or licenses, even if your car’s parked.

13

So basically, plates = public info, but registration and licenses = private info, unless you’re in trouble?

14

Gentry said:
So basically, plates = public info, but registration and licenses = private info, unless you’re in trouble?

You got it! That’s the gist. They can’t dig into your private stuff without a reason.

15

Does this mean they could randomly run plates to see if the car’s stolen or something?

16

Asa said:
Does this mean they could randomly run plates to see if the car’s stolen or something?

Yep, they can check plates for stuff like that. No expectation of privacy for plates.

17

Asa said:
Does this mean they could randomly run plates to see if the car’s stolen or something?

But they still can’t stop you just for running the plates unless something comes up.