4 Things Californians Get Ticketed for That Are Perfectly Legal in Arizona

Some things that are fine on an Arizona road can get you a ticket once you’re back in California.

Californians who split time between the two states may not notice the difference until they’re pulled over.

Here’s what to check before you drive back home.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Traffic and vehicle rules are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division.

1. The Front License Plate

California’s front license plate rule lives in Section 5200 of the Vehicle Code: When two plates are issued, one goes in front and one goes in back.

Leave the front plate off, and you’ve committed an infraction.

Every plate also has to stay clearly visible and clearly legible, front and rear, under Section 5201.

Arizona’s rule is different.

Arizona’s transportation code requires a plate on the rear of a car, and a front plate only where a second one is issued.

The state typically issues each owner one plate for every registered vehicle, so a standard Arizona registration has no second plate to mount up front.

2. Front Window Tint

Want to tint your front side windows?

Not past clear film.

Section 26708 bars any object or material on the side windows.

The main exception for the front pair is clear, colorless film rated at least 88 percent, with the film and glass together passing 70 percent.

Arizona’s window statute allows front side windows that pass 33 percent of light, give or take three points.

In plain terms, you can darken your front windows until about a third of the light gets through.

California does offer medical routes, a dermatologist’s certificate for clear film or a physician’s note for a sun-screening device, but neither makes dark tint legal.

Put tinted film on your front side windows in California, and you’ve broken Section 26708.

3. Riding Without a Helmet

California makes it unlawful to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, and Section 27803 covers the driver and every passenger.

Arizona’s helmet law, Section 28-964, requires a helmet for any operator or passenger under 18.

That age-18 rule reaches all-terrain vehicles and motor driven cycles, too.

After 18, it’s your call.

California gives you no such choice, at any age, and its rule reaches motor-driven cycles and motorized bicycles as well.

If you ride from Arizona into California, your helmet goes on before you cross the line.

4. Skipping the Back-Seat Belt

If you’re 16 or older, California wants you buckled in the back seat too, under Section 27315.

The base fine is no more than $20 for a first offense and no more than $50 for each offense after that.

You’re on the hook as the driver too because the same section bars you from driving with an unbuckled passenger 16 or older.

Arizona’s seat belt law covers each front seat occupant and every passenger under 16.

Back-seat adults aren’t covered.

Even in front, an Arizona peace officer can’t stop you over a missing belt alone, and the civil penalty is capped at $10.

What Arizona Still Bans

Arizona's phone law bars you from physically holding or supporting a phone while you drive.

You can still take a voice call through an earpiece, headphones or a device worn on your wrist.

Arizona also bans any covering, substance or electrochromatic film that hides your plate's numbers, year tabs or state name from any angle.

California has a similar rule in Section 5201, which bans plate coverings with two exceptions.

A weather cover on a lawfully parked vehicle is allowed, and so is a security cover limited to the area over your registration tabs.

Fix-It Tickets

A fix-it ticket is a California citation for registration, insurance or vehicle repair that a court may dismiss once it receives proof you corrected the problem.

Most equipment, license or registration violations may be cleared that way, according to the Alpine County court.

Equipment violations like the plate and tint tickets above are often correctable that way.

Your citation has to have the "Yes" box checked.

Get the problem fixed next.

Then a law enforcement agency or authorized agent signs the certificate on the back of your citation.

You mail the signed citation to the court with a $25 administrative fee for each corrected violation.

Emissions Testing

Emissions testing starts at your registration in California, where the DMV says smog inspections are required when you register or renew, with some exceptions.

Arizona uses a map instead.