question about license plates

[Prime]

ok, a friend of mine has 3 series BMW and a regular plates on there. He ordered a set of vanity plates and they are not here yet. In the mean time, because he lived in Austria for the past year, he decided to order himself a set of custom made German plates (long wider ones with the blue part on the left with a "D") with the same phrase as the California vanity plates that are yet to come. Against better judgement and advice from friends, he decided to put them on his car...

so SJPOPO & SgtGrant, a moment of you time if you would:

From what I understand, you HAVE to have both California plates on the front and back, right? I've seen quite a few BMW's on I-280 and I-880 with German plates on the front and back. I know that European visitors are allow to drive around with their plates if they shipped their car here for temporary use, for less than 6 month, but I highly doubt that all the ones I've seen are from Europe considering, especially the ones with a Euro front plate and a California plate. So, if and when my friend get pulled over (a matter of time I'm sure), what kind of a fine will he be looking at? CaCould he get away putting the California one in the back and the German one on the front?

I'm not too sure about the rule here in California because I just moved here from Canada, so your help would be appreciated (and after reading this forum for as while, I'm definitely taking my maglite leaving it in the trunk...)


thanks in advance

[SgtGrant]

Here are a few sections for you from the California Vehicle Code:
4462. (a) The driver of a motor vehicle shall present the
registration or identification card or other evidence of registration of any or all vehicles under his or her immediate control for examination upon demand of any peace officer.(b) No person shall display upon a vehicle, nor present to any peace officer, any registration card, identification card, temporary
receipt, license plate, device issued pursuant to Section 4853, or permit not issued for that vehicle or not otherwise lawfully used thereon under this code.

5200. When two license plates are issued by the department for a vehicle, they shall be attached to the vehicle for which they were issued, one in the front and the other in the rear. When one license plate is issued for use upon a vehicle, it shall be attached to the rear thereof.

By the way, the DMV always issues two plates for any passenger vehicle. The one plate comment is probably derived from trailer plate issueing.

4000. (a) (1) No person shall drive, move, or leave standing upon a highway, or in an offstreet public parking facility, any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole or pipe dolly, logging dolly, or auxiliary dolly unless it is registered and the appropriate fees have
been paid under this code, except that an off-highway motor vehicle which displays an identification plate or device issued by the department pursuant to Section 38010 may be driven, moved, or left standing in an offstreet public parking facility without being registered or paying registration fees. (g) For purposes of this section, possession of a California driver's license by the registered owner of a vehicle shall give rise to a rebuttable presumption that the owner is a resident of
California.

4000.4. (a) Except as provided in Sections 6700, 6702, and 6703, any vehicle which is registered to a nonresident owner, and which is based in California or primarily used on California highways, shall be registered in California. b) For purposes of this section, a vehicle is deemed to be
primarily or regularly used on the highways of this state if the vehicle is located or operated in this state for a greater amount of time than it is located or operated in any other individual state during the registration period in question.

[Prime]

Thanks a lot for the info SgtGrant. Much Appreciated.