By Forum Staff
The City Council on Thursday released “Plate and Switch,” a report detailing the council Oversight & Investigations Division’s probe into the ways out-of-state license plates, some of which are “ghost plates,” can be used to skirt enforcement and accountability across the five boroughs.
Between March and April of 2025, OID investigators surveyed more than 3,500 parked vehicles across 50 square blocks in 10 police precincts. These precincts were chosen due to the high percentage of summonses issued to out-of-state license plates. Out of the over 3,500 vehicles observed, 768 did not have New York State license plates. Among the vehicles lacking New York license plates, one in five either had temporary plates, plates that did not match the vehicle registration, or no plates at all. This issue was most prevalent in the Bronx, followed by Brooklyn and Queens, with Staten Island and Manhattan having the least number of offenders.
A ghost plate refers to any license plate that obscures the true ownership of a vehicle, including fake or improperly registered plates that may otherwise appear legitimate at a glance. Drivers using ghost plates can avoid traffic tickets, tolls, accountability for crimes, and evade enforcement systems altogether. While many vehicles without New York State license plates belong to tourists or commuters, others display fraudulent, expired, mismatched, or even no plates at all.
The investigation found that vehicles with mismatched or “no hit” plates committed more traffic and parking violations, and owe more in outstanding fines, than vehicles with matching out-of-state plates. On average, vehicles with mismatched or “no hit” plates owed $667.68, in comparison to $268.08 for vehicles with matched plates. Overall, vehicles with ghost plates paid less than 20 percent of the fines they incurred, underscoring the lack of traceability and accountability that results in the loss of millions of dollars in fees and fines each year. The research further shows that cars with ghost plates are more likely to commit infractions such as toll evasion, and there are reports of ghost vehicles fleeing from crash scenes and being used to perpetuate violent crimes. They also accrued, on average, significantly more violations for speeding in school zones and blocking fire hydrants.
Key investigation findings:
- Of the over 3,500 vehicles surveyed, 768 had out-of-state plates. Of these 768 vehicles, 530 had plates that matched their vehicle; nearly one in five of the 768 displayed license plates were not registered to the vehicles.
- More than a quarter of the 786 out-of-state vehicles raised concerns: 126, or 17 percent, had problematic plates that either returned no registration or a registration that did not match the vehicle; 48, or 6 percent, carried out-of-state temporary or dealer plates; 64, or 8 percent, had no plates at all.
- The Bronx exhibited the highest concentration of ghost vehicles (73 of 242), followed closely by Brooklyn (54 of 193) and Queens (50 of 179).
- Vehicles with mismatched plates owed nearly two and a half times more in outstanding fines than vehicles with properly matched out-of-state plates—$667.48 compared to $268.08; this disparity is tied to payment behavior: vehicles with valid plates paid 63 percent of the fines they incurred, while those with mismatched plates paid only 16 percent.
