It would appear that your friend would have been cited for various issues which are all likely to be considered serious in the state of New York. One is driving without insurance and the others could include driving without registration, improper possession of a license plate or even forgery since he made a fictitious (fake) license plate to place on his vehicle.

New York Vehicle and Traffic Code (VAT) 315 discusses financial responsibility required for cars. Here it states that when insurance with respect to any motor vehicle is terminated by cancellation or failure to renew the owner shall surrender forthwith his registration certificate and number plates of the vehicle to the commissioner unless proof of financial security otherwise is maintained.

If you are convicted of operating an uninsured motor vehicle your license will be revoked for at least one year. Some revocations require you to pay a civil penalty before your application can be accepted for a new license. This includes revocations for No Insurance. These violations come with a $750 civil penalty.

The civil penalty is an additional monetary payment over the normal fine amount. NYS Vehicle and Traffic law 319 notes that being caught without insurance is a traffic infraction and upon conviction you may be fined not less than $150 or more than $1500 or may be imprisoned for not more than 15 days or both the fine and jail time.

Driving without registration in New York State is a violation of NY Vehicle and Traffic Code section 401. New York Vehicle and Traffic law 401 states in part 1 (a) no motor vehicle shall be operated or driven upon the public highways of this state without first being registered in accordance with the provisions of this article.

Later in section 401 of NYS law it notes that an unregistered car can be receive penalties of a fine of not less than $75 nor more than $300 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days or both the fine and jail time. If the violation consists of failure to renew a registration which was valid within 60 days, the fine shall be not less than $40.

If your friend's registration was suspended (perhaps due to not having insurance on his vehicle) than he may also have been given a citation for driving while registration is suspended in which case under VAT 512 it says that he would be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be subject to a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not exceeding thirty days or by both such fine and imprisonment for conviction of a first offense.

What other penalties your friend may be facing in court are hard to say without knowing under what part of NYS law he was cited for the fake license plate. For example under VAT section 402 you are required to have license plates that are official from the state on your vehicle.

Here it states that no person shall operate, drive or park a motor vehicle on the public highways of this state unless such vehicle shall have a distinctive number assigned to it by the commissioner and a set of number plates issued by the commissioner with a number and other identification matter if any, corresponding to that of the certificate of registration. The violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $200.

He also could have been ticketed under VAT 402a which discussing facsimile license plates. In paragraph 1 it states that no person shall manufacture, sell, or offer for sale a decorative or facsimile license plate of a size, shape, color and design which is identical with the size, shape, color and design of license plates issued by the department.

Paragraph 3 notes that whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this section has occurred the court may impose a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars for each violation.

Your friend also could have been cited for a felony offense. Section 2130 says that it is a felony to produce, make, manufacture or reproduce any license plate or tag. Or your friend may have been charged with the forgery of a license plate which comes with harsh penalties.

A NYS trooper representative noted that conviction of these serious types of offenses will give you a criminal record and can affect your job choices in the future. He also stated that to get information on how your local police and courts deal with those that are found with fake license plates contact your local district attorney's office. Your friend can also contact the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles to see how possessing fake license plate may affect his driving record, registration and driving privileges.

Depending upon which violations of New York law your friend that copied the license plate, and thus used a bogus tag to drive, and operated an uninsured vehicle may want to seek legal services for his court appearance and to counsel him on what penalties he will be facing.